In a recent report by The Athletic, chronicling the downfall of the 2023 Mets, former Met outfielder Tommy Pham reportedly called out the group for collectively not working as hard as other teams he had been a part of in his 10-year career (he had played for five different teams before joining the Mets this season).
“Out of all the teams I played on, this is the least-hardest working group of position players I’ve ever played with,” Pham told Francisco Lindor, per The Athletic.
According to the report, Pham wanted to see more batting practice groups before games so he could get more work in the outfield tracking fly balls. He also, per the report, went on to say that he had a lot of respect for the work ethic of the team’s core, like Lindor, Pete Alonso, and Brandon Nimmo, but the fact that Pham made that observation in the first place was enough to infuriate Sal.
“Think about that, how pathetic that is. That is damning on that team,” Sal said. “I don’t give a crap what anybody says, I said what I had to say about the clubhouse, and I stand by it…they need to change the core of this team.
“If you read that article like I did, you will further believe that’s the case. How is it acceptable to have position players that aren’t working hard? What the hell is wrong with you guys? Something is off with that team, and if they don’t change the core, at least one or two pieces from there, it’s not gonna change next year, regardless of who they bring in.”
The report also revealed that, after Pham made that comment to Lindor, the Mets star shortstop when back to him before Pham was traded to Arizona, and thanked Pham for “teaching me how to work hard again.”
That was the part of the report that infuriated BT.
“That’s disgraceful,” BT said. “You’re making $32 million, in your prime, you’re playing in New York for a team that expects to compete for a championship, and you forgot how to work hard? That is an embarrassment. That is an indictment on Lindor, on Alonso, and Buck Showalter.”