Tommy Pham sparks outrage with shocking "steroids" dig at Blue Jays' Addison Barger

Veteran Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Tommy Pham was involved in a bench-clearing incident during the team's series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.

During the seventh inning, Pham was walked by Jays reliever Brendon Little. Pham flipped his bat and started jogging to first base. However, the veteran outfielder turned around and had a verbal exchange with Blue Jays catcher Tyler Heineman, leading to both benches clearing.

Following the game, Heineman said he didn't say anything to Pham, claiming his reaction was unprovoked, per Blue Jays reporter Keegan Matheson's X post.

"It was weird, man. It was weird. Unprovoked and super weird," Heineman said.

However, Pham clarified that Heineman was "bitching" about the ball, commenting on the post:

"Bitching about a ball not being called a strike to the umpire when it’s clearly below the zone and away is disrespectful not only to the umpire but the hitter as well so like I said when I flipped the bat fuck him @KeeganMatheson dude has two years in the show I know the zone."

When a fan with Blue Jays outfielder Addison Barger's profile picture replied to Pham's comment, the Pirates outfielder made a shocking comment:

"Your profile pic is of someone who takes steroids, loser."

The veteran outfielder also lashed out at other fans in the post, before deleting his comments.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider addressed Tommy Pham incident

The benches-clearing incident didn't lead to any scuffled as Tommy Pham was escorted away by George Springer. Following the game, Blue Jays manager John Schneider downplayed the incident.

"I'm not worried about Tommy Pham's opinion about anything really," Schneider said. "I'm worried about our defense, I'm worried about our at-bats, and I'm worried about pitching. That happens in the heat of the moment and we have to worry about us. ... I'm not really worried what Tommy Pham thinks about anyone."

The Pirates, who led 3-2 before the benches cleared, added two runs in the eighth inning to secure a 5-2 win in the series opener with Tommy Pham going 1-for-3 at the plate.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash