Pham eager to contribute in reserve role for Mets
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Mets outfielder Tommy Pham is in his tenth massive league season and he finds himself in a task that he hasn’t been in since he was a younger participant with the Cardinals: He is coming off the bench because the fourth outfielder. He will fill in for Mark Canha and Starling Marte each time they want a break within the motion.
Pham, 35, nonetheless appears to be like at himself as a starter and he plans to arrange for each sport as such. The cause for this philosophy is that he doesn’t need to be caught off-guard each time supervisor Buck Showalter calls on him to get into the sport. Pham felt this fashion ever since he performed for St. Louis underneath then-manager Mike Matheny.
“If Mike Matheny ever went up to me and said, ‘Hey, you are in,’ I was never caught off-guard as far as preparation,” Pham said. “I always want to have that edge. I’m preparing as a starter just in case something happens. Mentally, I’m not thrown off, or if someone goes down, I feel like I’m ready.”
On Friday, Pham known as former Major League outfielder Curtis Granderson to not solely want him a belated joyful birthday, however to get his tackle coming off the bench.
Granderson — who performed most of his profession as a beginning heart fielder with the Tigers, Yankees and Mets however was a fourth outfielder in his closing seasons with the Dodgers, Blue Jays and Marlins — gave Pham some sage recommendation: “Don’t put any pressure on yourself.”
“[Granderson] said, ‘Make sure Buck and everybody else have transparency with you. There are no surprises or anything like that.’ I’m just going to prepare every day, work hard and try to do my best so that I can help the team win and still prove that I can play this game at a high level,” Pham stated.
Despite getting off to a sluggish begin this spring (4-for-30 coming into Friday’s motion), Pham has left a constructive impression on Showalter.
“He is leading our club in plate appearances,” Showalter stated. “He is dwarfing all people. Every time he doesn’t play [in a Major League game], he goes in [the back fields] getting at-bats.
“He is everything I heard about. He is a good teammate. Works very hard at his trade. He is in great shape. He takes care of himself. He is very focused, serious, but serious about the right things. He has that gruff exterior, but you can talk to him easily. If you don’t want to know what’s on his mind, don’t ask him. He is going to tell you. I kind of like that.”
How lengthy Pham will play within the massive leagues is anyone’s guess, however he says he want to play Major League Baseball for 5 extra years.
“That’s one of my personal goals,” Pham stated about taking part in previous 2023. “I nonetheless really feel like I can play this sport at a excessive degree.
“That’s what drives me. It drives me crazy because athletically, I’m still testing with great numbers. [The Mets] are seeing it here in the weight room. That’s kind of like self-motivation. I still feel like I can contribute even more than my role right now.”
