New York Mets left fielder Tommy Pham made a pretty clever move on Friday night that helped his team get a key out late in the game.
San Diego Padres infielder Ha-Seong Kim hit a double down the line with one out in the bottom of the 7th during a tie game on Friday, which would have put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Pham took what appeared to be a very casual route to the ball and took his time throwing it back into the infield, which prompted Kim to try to take third.
Pham immediately unloaded a perfect throw to third, and Kim got caught getting greedy.
Tommy Pham just baited Ha-Seong Kim into going to 3rd here and threw an absolute rocket to throw him out. Wow.
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) July 8, 2023
To be clear, this is a tremendously risky strategy on Pham’s part. If he does not make a perfect throw, Kim might be safe at third, and Pham would get deserved criticism for his lackadaisical outfield play. Kim also probably should have been aware enough not to fall for the ruse, but it worked for Pham here.
Pham is a former Padre, and he was infamously defensive of the team during one incident. Now he’s the one making them look bad.
