Former New York Mets outfielder Tommy Pham begins playing in his first career World Series on Friday with the Arizona Diamondbacks, but he’s still happy to talk about the team he started the 2023 season with.
“That team (the Mets) is more talented than this team (the D-Backs squad getting ready to play in the World Series),” Pham said Thursday at media day. “Let’s be honest here. But what makes this team different is everyone is still at this level trying to reach their max potential.”
Pham again refers to his feeling that former teammates with the Mets didn’t try hard enough. A 2023 Mets roster that was very similar to the 2022 Mets that won 101 games. Though the 2023 Mets dealt with a key injury to star closer Edwin Díaz before the season started and key outfielder Starling Marte was playing hurt for what seems like most of the year.
“The drive wasn’t there [with the Mets]. That drive is here [with the Diamondbacks]. That’s what separates this team from most teams. You have guys that are still trying to get better every day. You have teammates trying to help you out. And that’s dangerous,” Pham said.
The 2023 Mets were certainly a disappointment after an offseason spreading spree for the ages that still couldn’t stop the team from being a seller at the deadline. Pham and radio talk show hosts have been pushing the “lack of effort” and/or “clubhouse issues” narratives, while other veteran players traded at the deadline, like Mark Canha and Max Scherzer (also in the World Series), pushed back on that notion.
“I don’t think I necessarily agree with the fact that other players don’t work hard,” Canha said. “I think it’s just to expect everyone to work the way that Tommy Pham works every day is a little bit much. And that works for him and what I do works for me.”
“We actually had a great clubhouse. We had great veterans in the clubhouse. Everybody included. That’s definitely not the reason why we lost. We were a tight-knit group, had a lot of fun together,” Scherzer said.
Pham hit .241/.304/.415 with the D-Backs in the regular season after being traded for young shortstop Jeremy Rodriguez. The 35-year-old Pham has a .590 OPS this postseason, including going 2-for-20 with nine strikeouts in the NLCS against the Phillies.
