What did the Padres fan say to Tommy Pham? Diamondbacks outfielder gets into a heated argument

Tommy Pham was involved in a heated altercation with a few fans seated in Petco Park during the Arizona Diamondbacks' road game against the San Diego Padres. The outfielder was heckled at and retaliated with a few words of his own near the on-deck circle.

Tommy Pham was formerly a member of the Padres organization in the first two years of the decade. Apart from San Diego, the 35-year-old has also played for other teams with Arizona being the seventh he has represented in the major leagues. He has a career batting average of .260 with 411 RBIs including 117 homers.

During his stay with the Padres franchise, Pham didn't find much success. In the 2021 season, he had the seventh lowest batting average in the NL with at least 15 home runs. Other off-field issues such as altercations also didn't help the cause. He was eventually granted free agency by the club at the end of the season.

On his return to Petco Park with the D-backs, Pham hit out at a fan who cursed at him. Initially leaving for his at-bat at the top of the first, the outfielder turned back to the fan who replied during the argument that the D-backs batter better 'strike out'.

"Fans here, man, I just don't get it ... Older white gentleman called me a piece of sh*t. I don't think that's acceptable, especially when you're so close to the on-deck circle," Pham said as he felt disrespected.

On-deck altercation not the first fan incident for Tommy Pham this weekend

Tommy Pham also stated in the post-game interview that he was involved in another minor incident over the weekend when a fan who was inebriated talked trash to him.

“She was drunk. ‘Tommy Pham, that’s why we got rid of you.’ I’m like, ‘Lady, I reached free agency,” Pham said. "They didn’t get rid of me. In fact, they tried to re-sign me.’ … People man, right outside the hotel.”

These kind of situations shouldn't take place in the MLB as fans and players should be expected to keep their own dignities.