Tommy Pham

At 36 years old, Tommy Pham has this physical status:

Thomas James Pham (born March 8, 1988) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He played for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Tampa Bay Rays before.

Pham bats and throws right-handed, and the total height of Pham is 6 foot 1 inch (1.85 kg), as well as 210 pounds (95 kg). In the 16th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft, the Cardinals selected Pham from Las Vegas, Nevada.

After being drafted, he overcame a number of injuries and vision impairments related to keratoconus to make his first appearance in the major leagues in nine seasons.

Pham was the first Cardinals batter to hit at least.300 batting average, 20 doubles, and 20 stolen bases in the same season in 2017.

Personal life

Pham is of both African American and Vietnamese (25%) origins. He is the first person of Vietnamese descent to play in MLB since 2006, manager Danny Graves.

Pham suffers from keratoconus, a rare eye disorder that causes degenerative vision. After Pham started having vision problems in 2008, it wasn't until Pham started wearing contact lenses in 2009, which gave him 20/15 vision in both eyes, that he was able to track pitches to the best of his ability.

Following a stabbing that occurred on October 11, 2020, Pham underwent surgery at UC San Diego Health, which was the result of a brawl in San Diego outside a local strip joint.

Pham said in 2022 that he is a gambler, and that he is "I'm a big dog in Vegas." I'm a high roller coaster at several casinos. My credit line is shown here.

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Early life and amateur career

Pham was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, to Tawana (age 17) and Anhtuan (age 19). Brittany, his twin sister, was born just two minutes later. As he would be for the majority of their lives, his father was detained at the time, as he would have been for the majority of their lives. His father was born in Vietnam to a Vietnamese mother and an African American father and then moved to the United States with his mother, brother, and sister. Pham's father was born in American football but became involved in heroin and street crime for decades.

Pham's mother's grandparents helped her raise her twins on the condition that she work. She did not finish high school and began working as a busser, a casino waitress, and a bakery, and raised the twins in Spring Valley, Nevada. Pham wore leg braces from the ages of two years to three years; his pediatrician feared he had contracted rickets. Pham said he "can count on one hand" the number of his games she enjoyed throughout his life because his mother worked so hard. Fred Polk, an electrician, married his mother when he was five years old, and they had a daughter named Mercedes. Pham says he has had "issues" with his stepfather, and claims that when Pham was 25 years old and fighting him, his stepfather stabbed him.

Pham attended Gorman High School, Centennial High School, and then Durango High School in Spring Valley, where he played baseball as a pitcher and infielder. Pham, a senior, was named the Class 4A All-State Player of the Year by the Reno Gazette-Journal and a second team All-American after batting.581. He drew some admiration as a pitching prospect, but he didn't like to pitch and rarely pitched his senior year. He started promising to play baseball at Arizona and then moved to Cal State Fullerton, but he did not attend Cal State. Pham opted for professional baseball over college after the St. Louis Cardinals selected him in the 16th round of the 2006 amateur draft. He received a $325,000 signing bonus, much higher than any players drafted as late as the 16th round.

Professional career

Pham spent his first two seasons in 2006, batting.324 with one home run in 216 plate appearances with the Rookie League Johnson City Cardinals. He was a shortstop and made 22 errors in 37 games, giving an.849 fielding percentage. He was then moved to the outfield and batted.188/.272/.277 with two home runs in 303 plate appearances for the Class A- Batavia Muckdogs and Class A Swing of the Quad Cities, while class A-Wing was not present.

In 2008, he achieved.203/.272/.396 with a career-high 156 strikeouts in 438 plate appearances for Class A Quad Cities and the Class A+ Palm Beach Cardinals, earning a career-high 156 strikeouts. He batted.232/.378 in 380 plate appearances in Class A+ in 2009. In 2010, he sustained a small fracture in his wrist. He tore a wrist ligament in a game in June 2011. He played 40 games and batted.294.

He suffered a torn left shoulder labrum in early 2012, costing him the majority of the season. He batted.154 in 43 plate appearances for the AA Springfield Cardinals in the 2012 season. He tore his other labrum after being promoted to AAA Memphis Redbirds of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) in 2013. After recuperation, he returned to Springfield. He batted.264 for Memphis in 30 games and.301 for Springfield in 45 games. Pham played in 104 games over the 2014 season and batted.324/.491, with 63 runs scored, six triples, 10 home runs, and 44 runs batted in (RBI). He played for Leones del Caracas in the Venezuelan Winter League in 2014-15, batting.143 in 63 plate appearances.

On September 7, 2014, Pham was called up to the big leagues with the Cardinals for the first time. He stood out in both of his first two plate appearances in 2014.

Pham began with Memphis in the spring season, but he missed the first two months due to a strained left quadriceps. Pham had two home runs and a career-high five RBI against the Iowa Cubs on June 9. He batted.338 in his first 24 games after recovering from the disabled list. Later in Baseball America, Pham was named the best defensive outfielder of the PCL for 2015.

Pham was recalled by the Cardinals on July 3, 2015, and he doubled for his first major league hit and then scored the winning run in the game, his first major league appearance. As the Cardinals defeated the Padres 3–1, Pham hit his first major league home run and drove in all three of the Cardinals' runs, his first three major league RBIs.

Pham tripled over in his first multi-home run game against the Milwaukee Brewers on September 16, beating the Milwaukee Brewers 5–4. In three consecutive plate appearances dating back to his last at bat against the Cincinnati Reds on September 13, he was homered in three consecutive plate appearances spanning his last at bat appearances. Pham doubled and tripled in the next game against the Brewers, giving him six hits and eight RBI in consecutive games against Milwaukee. The Cardinals also won the National League Central division. Pham made his professional appearance against Jon Lester during Game 1 of the 2015 National League Division Series (NLDS) in the bottom of the eighth inning of the 2014 National League Division Series (NLDS) against the Cubs, in which he reached his first home run against Jon Lester.

In 2016, the Cardinals selected Pham for the Opening Day roster. During batting practice on Opening Day, he hurt his left oblique. He was the first player to be on the DL after the start of the regular season. On May 17, the club recalled him from the DL and optioned him back to Memphis.

He batted.226/.324/.440 in 183 plate appearances in 78 games. He had the highest strikeout percentage against left-handed pitchers (41.7%) on the season (19.9).

Pham did not make the 2017 Opening Day roster and began the season at Memphis. After batting.293/.371/.500 at Memphis with four home runs and 19 RBIs in 25 games, he was recalled to the Cardinals on May 5.

Pham hit the Atlanta Braves twice at SunTrust Park on May 7, 2017 in a season-high four hits. In a 64 victory, his second home run was the deciding runs in a 64, 14-inning triumph. Pham eventually became the starting right fielder. He batted.306/.411/.520, with 23 home runs, 73 RBIs, 22 doubles, and 25 stolen bases in 128 games. He was the first Cardinals batter to hit at least.300 average, 20 doubles, 20 triples, and 20 stolen bases in the same season. He was also the third in the league in power-speed (244.0). He led the major leagues by being picked off six times, the most by a Cardinal in 29 years. In Fangraphs' Wins Above Replacement (WAR), Pham came in tenth in the majors. He ranked 11th in the National League Most Valuable Player Award (NL MVP) voting, making him the youngest Cardinals player to receive votes.

Pham's at-times leading to the portmanteau "Pham-tastic" from some as well as himself. Pham said he kept himself disciplined with regular workout regimens and utilized technologies such as Statcast to sharpen and improve his playing abilities.

Prior to the 2018 season, the Cardinals named Pham as their starting center fielder.

On April 25, Pham's bat batsman trained in a batting cage, a resistance band arc in which Pham had failed, Pham's design was defeated, and his bat snapped off the group and cracked Pham in his forehead. It resulted in blunt trauma to Pham's head and a serious contusion. Mike Matheny, the game's boss, has banned him from the game. He was not on the disabled list and was back to action a few games later. In 396 plate appearances over 98 games, he batted.248/.399 for the Cardinals.

The Cardinals gave Pham and the Tampa Bay Rays $500,000 in international bonus pool funds for minor leaguers Justin Williams, Génesis Cabrera, and Roel Ramrez on July 31, 2018. Pham was batting.248 with 14 home runs and 41 RBIs at the time of the trade. "I'm just sad... I'm just sad...I want to give more, from a playing perspective," he said after the trade. I became involved in the local community. I loved doing this, and here's why. "They gave me a chance."

Pham fractured his foot while being struck by a pitch in his second game as a Ray, and he was on the 10-day disabled list. Pham was activated by the Rays on August 16, and he hit his first two runs as a Ray in a game against the New York Yankees that night. Brandon Workman of the Boston Red Sox fired Pham in his first home run in a Rays uniform on August 25, his first home run in a Rays uniform. Since being batting.368/.7005 with five home runs and 17 runs batted in, Pham was named to the MLB team of the month for September. In 39 games for the Rays, he had a.343/.622 with seven home runs and 22 RBIs, while mainly playing left field.

Pham played in the 40th straight game on April 5, 2019, the longest in Ray history. Pham's first grand slam was on April 6, his first grand slam. He batted.273/.369/.450/.450 in 2019 and led the major leagues in infield hits (25). He had the highest fielding percentage of all major left fielders (1.000). "I'm sure one of the one percent of the game that comprehends the sabermetrics," a self-described student of the game.

Pham and Jake Cronenworth were traded to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Hunter Renfroe, Xavier Edwards, and a player who will be revealed later (PTBNL). Esteban Quiroz, the PTBNL, was named in March 2020.

Pham slashed.211/.312 with 3 home runs and 12 RBIs in 125 plate appearances over 31 games in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He made ground balls 62% of the time, the third-highest percentage in the Netherlands. On August 16, 2020, he suffered a fractured hamate bone in his left hand and underwent surgery, leaving him without a month of action.

Pham was stabbed in his lower back when he was in an altercation outside a strip joint in San Diego in October 2020 and was stabbed in his lower back. He underwent surgery, and he obtained 200 stitches. Pham said in an interview that fans booed him with profanity in connection with the incident: "I could defend myself and, you know, I'm a good fighter." For no reason, I don't do Muay Thai, kung fu, and box.

He underwent his third surgery since August later this year. The surgery was performed to repair a tear in the cartilage on the small finger side of his left wrist.

Pham batted.229 (the 7th lowest batting average in the United Kingdom)/.383(3rd-lowest) in 561 plate appearances over 155 games. With 30 pinch hitting appearances, he led the major leagues. The Padres granted him a free agency on November 3.

Pham signed a one-year deal with the Cincinnati Reds on March 26, 2022, with a mutual option for 2023. He said, "I'm playing to get my numbers," he said when talking about his goals. That has nothing selfish in it; I am unconcerned about anything else. I'm going to look out for myself."

Pham sluggishly attacking Voit's decline on April 19, after his former teammate Luke Voit collided with Pham's teammate Tyler Stephenson at home plate while unsuccessfully trying to score. He promised to combat Voit, but he said, "If Luke wants to resolve it, I get down really well." Anything, Muay Thai, or whatever. I have a (gym) owner who will let me use his facility. So, fuck 'em.'

Pham was suspended three games and fined $5,000 for slapping Joc Pederson of the San Francisco Giants in the face prior to a game on May 28. Pham said his slap was inspired by a meme shared by a Pederson group seven months before, and Pederson's interpretation of the fantasy league rules. Pham said he had no regrets about his slap. "It's a matter of principle, man," Pham explained.

Pham batted.238 with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs in 91 games with Cincinnati.

Pham was traded to the Boston Red Sox on August 1, 2022, for a player who would be announced later or cash considerations. Pham batted.234 with 6 home runs and 24 RBIs in 53 Boston games, breaking the season with a.236 average, 17 home runs, and 63 RBIs, out of 144 total major-league games.

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