Joc Pederson reportedly knew former Padres outfielder Tommy Pham wanted to slap him

Former San Diego Padres outfielder Tommy Pham slapped San Francisco Giants outfielder Joc Pederson earlier this season and garnered a lot of attention among MLB fans. According to Pederson’s former teammates Tyler Matzek and Josh Tomlin, everyone knew the slap was coming, including Pederson.

Tomlin and Matzek both spoke out on the Chris Rose Rotation podcast with their humorous thoughts on the situation. Tomlin said he “knew it was going to happen” because he saw the text message.

Matzek:

"(T)he biggest one was when we went to San Diego that end of the year and he literally did not leave the clubhouse. Joc did not leave the clubhouse because he knew Tommy Pham was out there"

Considering the length of time Pederson had avoided Pham, everyone assumed nothing would happen.

Clearly, Pham still held a grudge against Pederson. However, the reason for the slap is the most bizarre part.

Former San Diego Padres outfielder Tommy Pham slapped Joc Pederson over fantasy football

According to Pederson, the two were in the same fantasy football league and Pham accused him of cheating over a year ago.

Pham seemed to have a few different reasons behind his action. First, he stated that Pederson made a joke about the Padres he didn’t condone.

However, he later stated money was involved, which seemed to be the main reason. He reportedly stated that there was “too much money on the line” and that he’s “a big dog in Vegas. [He’s] a high roller at many casinos,” via San Francisco Giants beat reporter Evan Webeck.

To make the situation seem even crazier, Pham reportedly dropped out of the league just weeks later.

Evidently, Pederson couldn’t walk away from the fantasy football accusation without a literal slap to the face.