Pittsburgh Pirates player beefing with Toronto Blue Jays fans online after on-field argument
Even at the age of 37, Tommy Pham is a late entry on the all-time Toronto Blue Jays villain list.
On Monday, Pham’s Pittsburgh Pirates and the Blue Jays faced off in what could be described as a fiery affair.
Pham and Toronto catcher Tyler Heineman were involved in a heated confrontation in the seventh inning, which caused both benches to clear and meet on the diamond.
After being walked by Toronto pitcher Brendon Little, Pham tossed his bat gingerly and appeared to get up in the face of Heineman.
Benches cleared in Pittsburgh after Tommy Pham bat flipped a walk, but cooler heads prevailed pic.twitter.com/wLkuXZJj7u
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 19, 2025
Toronto manager John Schneider, who was tossed from the game, took aim at Pham’s reaction following the 5-2 loss for the Jays.
“I’m not worried about Tommy Pham’s opinion about anything,” Schneider said in his post-game media availability. “I’m worried about our defence. I’m worried about our at-bats.”
Heineman, meanwhile, stated that he thought the incident was “unprovoked” and “super weird.”
But what made this beef different was that the war of words continued online, with Pham taking to X to both rile up Jays fans and reply to reporters sharing quotes out of the Blue Jays locker room.
Heineman replied to MLB.com reporter Keegan Matheson, saying that Heineman was “bitching” about the umpire’s calls and being “disrespectful.”
Bitching about a ball not being called a strike to the umpire when it’s clearly below the zone and away is disrespectful not only to the umpire but the hitter as well so like I said when I flipped the bat fuck him @KeeganMatheson dude has two years in the show I know the zone
— Tommy Pham (@TphamLV) August 19, 2025
Pham zeroed in on a fan who had an X profile pic of Toronto player Addison Barger, saying in a since-deleted post that “your profile pic is of someone who takes steroids, loser”.
Tommy Pham, in a deleted tweet, responding to a fan with an Addison Barger profile pic, claiming that Barger takes steroids#LightsUpLetsGo pic.twitter.com/6Mw1y2pqa1
— Carter 🦡🔴⚪️ (@Wiscontreal7) August 19, 2025
Barger was suspended for a drug policy violation in 2019 while in the minor league system of the Blue Jays, though a report from The Athletic’s Eno Sarris shows that it could have been amphetamines for therapeutic use rather than steroids.
(Update: Barger himself says it was a stimulant, per the Athletic’s Mitch Bannon.)
Spoke with Addison Barger. He wanted it clarified that he was suspended for a stimulant not a steroid – 50 games in 2019.
He’s been tested every year since, as every player is, with no discipline since. #BlueJays
— Mitch Bannon (@MitchBannon) August 19, 2025
Pham also suggested that the Blue Jays were interested in him at the trade deadline, as relayed to him earlier in the day by Toronto starter Max Scherzer.
Shit me and max was chopping it up yesterday during BP actually he told me the jays asked about me during the deadline and he told them go get me
— Tommy Pham (@TphamLV) August 19, 2025
The Blue Jays and Pirates return to the field Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. ET/3:40 p.m. PDT, before a matinee to close out the series Wednesday at 12:35 p.m. EDT/9:35 a.m. PDT.
If the first matchup was any indication, the final two games of the series in Pittsburgh should be a feisty affair.
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