Giants Baseball Insider

SF Giants scoreboard graphic snubs Diamondbacks outfielder Tommy Pham

The SF Giants scoreboard operator appeared to be holding a grudge against Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Tommy Pham before Thursday’s game.
Marc Delucchi|
SF Giants scoreboard graphic snubs Diamondbacks outfielder Tommy Pham
SF Giants scoreboard graphic snubs Diamondbacks outfielder Tommy Pham

In this story:

San Francisco GiantsArizona DiamondbacksCincinnati Reds

As the SF Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks prepared to take the field on Thursday afternoon, the lineup graphic at Oracle Park for the Dbacks had one notable omission. As Giants public address announcer Renel Brooks-Moon introduced each member of Arizona's starting lineup, designated hitter Tommy Pham's name was missing from the scoreboard graphic. While mistakes happen all the time at ballparks, it was noteworthy given Pham's history with the Giants organization, specifically Joc Pederson.

Pham, of course, slapped Pederson prior to a game last season over a dispute stemming from a fantasy football league. Pederson had stashed players on the injured reserve, but Pham claimed that the league had rules banning such a practice. Pham also claimed that Pederson had insulted the Padres, the team Pham was on at the time. Whether or not Pham or Pederson had the correct interpretation of the rulebook, Pham's choice to escalate the situation to a physical altercation months after the NFL season was clearly uncalled for.

The Diamondbacks acquired Pham in a trade with the New York Mets at this year's trade deadline. While the Giants could have conceivably benefited from Pham's production in the outfield, hitting .268/.348/.472 with 15 doubles and 10 home runs this season. However, a member of Giants brass told Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic that the team would never acquire Pham because of the incident.

When Pham took his first plate appearance during the game, his name appeared on the scoreboard, but there was no picture of him, something that was true for all other Dbacks hitters. However, his name and photo were on the scoreboard for his second plate appearance.

Perhaps it was just a mistake. But given Tommy Pham's history with Joc Pederson and the SF Giants, it's worth wondering if someone operating the Oracle Park scoreboard wanted to take a little dig at the veteran outfielder.

Published
Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

Share on XFollow maddelucchi
Home/San Francisco Giants News