Halos’ Trout unsure if he will continue as commish
Mike Trout’s future, he admits, is very much in doubt, writes Ben Walker of The Associated Press.
Not as a baseball great. As the commissioner of a fantasy football league that’s suddenly gotten a lot of attention.
“Am I going to resign? I haven’t made that decision,” the Los Angeles Angels star said Wednesday, laughing.
“But every commissioner I know always gets booed,” he said.
The bizarre saga began last Friday when Cincinnati outfielder slapped San Francisco outfielder before a game. Pham later said it was over a fantasy football dispute, and he was suspended three games by Major League Baseball.
This week, Pham added another strange twist when he said Trout ran their football loop.
“Trout did a terrible job, man,” Pham told The Cincinnati Enquirer. “Trout is the worst commissioner in fantasy sports.”
Trout, a noted Philadelphia Eagles fan, said he’s tried to tamp down the beef.
“I talked to Tommy, I talked to Joc, everybody that was part of it,” Trout said before the Angels’ game at Yankee Stadium was postponed. “Just passionate about fantasy football.”
Pederson claimed Pham blamed him for cheating by making an illegal move with an injured reserve spot, costing the Reds player significant money.
Trout said he wasn’t going to referee that one in public.
“It’s in the past,” the three-time AL MVP said, adding, “it’s a legendary fantasy football league, for sure. It’s just one of those things, everybody’s competitive. Everybody loves fantasy football. Who doesn’t?” he said.
Angels manager said Trout shouldn’t give up being the commish.
“Listen, guys love it. I get it. And I did,” he said. “You get absorbed and during the week you have to make all these transactions, which really gets annoying because all you’re doing is you’re buried in the newspapers or the — at that time, it was magazines. You had to buy all the magazines. I love fantasy football, but I will not ... I’ll never do it again.”
Trivia question
On this date in 1987, the Seattle Mariners drafted Ken Griffey Jr. first overall. In what round was Ken Griffey Sr. drafted?
He said it
More from Maddon: “It absorbs you too much And the bad part about fantasy football is you start rooting for players on teams other than the team that you actually root for, and that’s when you have to stop doing it. When I started rooting against the Cardinals and when the particular player on my team’s playing, that’s when I knew I had to quit. And I did, about 1999, 2000, something like that.”
Trivia answer
Griffey Sr. was drafted in the 29th round by Cincinnati in 1969 out of Donora, Pa. Ken “Trey” Griffey III was drafted by the Mariners in the 24th round of the draft in 2016. He wore No. 24 at the University of Arizona at the time as a receiver. He hadn’t played baseball since he was a preteen.