Tommy Pham Raises Concerns Over Baseballs in Chicago

Tommy Pham believes something was wrong with the baseballs on the South Side of Chicago. The former White Sox outfielder recently interviewed with MLB Networks Jon Heyman and said he noticed something different with the balls at Guaranteed Rate Field. 

“I thought the ball in Chicago was deader than on the road,” Pham said. “I complained to MLB about that, it of course got nowhere. You guys remember that ball that I hit and [Colton] Cowser robbed me in center field. It was off [Craig] Kimbrel. It said it was 102 [mph] at 29 [degree launch angle]. I was looking up at the scoreboard, you know when he caught it to see how hard I hit it. I was kind of looking like, ‘There’s no way I just hit that ball 102, it felt like at least 105+. The balls feel really soft this year. There are reports that the drag is down. You know there is a reason why the offensive numbers are way down and the pitching numbers are better this year. It’s no coincidence.” 

The game Pham is referring to occurred back on May 24th. The White Sox were trailing the Baltimore Orioles 6-4 in the bottom of the ninth inning when Pham launched a Kimbrel fastball 401 feet to center field. Unfortunately for Pham and the White Sox the potential home was robbed by Cowser before it could clear the fence.

Despite Pham’s comments, his home-road splits show that he was better offensively while playing at Guaranteed Rate Field. Pham is slashing .299/.376/.442 at home this season vs. .250/.288/.385. However, he does have four home runs on the road, vs. three at home, two of which came in Busch Stadium after he was traded to the Cardinals. 

Pham played 70 games with the White Sox this season, hitting .266/.330/.380 with 19 RBIs and 5 home runs. He was dealt to the Cardinals in a three-team deal at the trade deadline. 

His comments provide the White Sox with a convenient excuse for why their offensive numbers are so poor this season. The team currently ranks last in runs scored, batting average, and slugging percentage while ranking 29th in hits, and home runs.