Tommy Pham submitted an early candidate for boneheaded play of the year in the Tampa Bay Rays’ loss to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday night, and he made no excuses for the mistake after the game.
Trailing 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Rays had two outs and runners on first and second. They were a single away from tying the game and an extra-base hit away from potentially winning when Pham was picked off at first base by Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez.
Head on a swivel, Pham. pic.twitter.com/vQRmCEArwS
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) April 21, 2019
Pham was clearly caught sleeping, and he probably would have had a much better chance of being called safe if he simply attempted to dive back to the bag. He didn’t, and he had a very harsh assessment of the mental lapse after the game.
#Rays Pham: “All I’m going to say is I f—-ed up, and that’s it. I have nothing else to say. I messed up.”
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) April 21, 2019
For a player who has been critical of his team’s fans in the past, getting picked off at first to end a potential ninth-inning comeback is not a good look. At least Pham owned up to it.
