Focused on Greatness

A story of Tommy Pham — Joey Johnston for Inside Pitch 2019: Edition 2

Rays left fielder Tommy Pham isn’t a mystery to the people who know him best. He’s sincere. He’s loyal. He’s a jokester. He loves kids. And he has a million-dollar smile.

“Yes, it’s true,” Pham says with a chuckle. “I actually do smile.”

It’s a dazzling look that people don’t see often at Tropicana Field. From afar, he might seem intimidating, even unapproachable. But when Pham shows up — sometimes six hours before the first pitch — he’s there to work. When he’s between the white lines, it’s all about business.

Since Pham’s acquisition from the Cardinals last July 31, he has added considerable juice to the Rays lineup, flashing a speed-power-defense combination matched by very few players in franchise history.

The numbers were considered a given. That’s why the Rays front office followed him intently for a few seasons, then pounced when a trade opportunity presented itself.

Pham’s approach is the real fascination. He’s intense, proud, highly goal-oriented. With unshakable self-belief, extreme ownership of everything connected to his craft and regimented preparation that stops at nothing for continued improvement, he’s a man on a mission.

Every day.

Every moment.

“In that aspect, he’s different than any other player I’ve played with,” Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier says. “I’ve never seen such a competitive nature.”

“Tommy is almost unhuman in the energy he pours into every aspect of the game,” Rays hitting coach Chad Mottola says. “It puts pressure on everybody else to do the same. Some guys need a break. They come and go. Tommy is just on and he doesn’t turn off. It’s impressive and fun to be around.”

For Pham, 31, there aren’t many gray areas in baseball. It’s all black and white.

“If you ask me a question, I’ll give you an answer,” Pham says. “Sometimes, people don’t like the truth. That’s one thing I’m learning. They’d rather you lie to them, tell them a good lie, something they want to hear, instead of the truth. I’d rather be told the truth than a good lie.”

Truth is, he’s on a perpetual deadline to squeeze production from every ounce of his potential. Whether it’s nutrition, mechanics, kinesiology or even sabermetrics, knowledge is power. Winding down after a game, Pham might flip on his television, then stand in front of a mirror to examine his swing mechanics before going to sleep.

“When we were kids, even if it was a team party, Tommy wanted to be working in the batting cages,” said Pham’s best friend, Alvino Ramirez, who lives in their hometown of Las Vegas. “He was a hard-nosed kid. Now he’s a hard-nosed adult. He’s just locked in. Really locked in. All the time.”

Time is Pham’s most precious commodity. He abhors wasting it. His baseball journey has included lots of distracting curveballs, which prompted frustration. Finally, the time seems right. That time is now.

There was a time when Pham thought he was done with baseball. He called Ramirez to vent. It was early-season 2017. Pham was 29 years old and stuck at Triple-A Memphis.

Would his big break ever happen? It was his 12th season of professional baseball.

Almost all of it — except for 136 games and 314 at-bats — was in the minor leagues. He had weathered some hideous setbacks, including four straight years with season-ending injuries and surgery.

Still, he felt more than ready to make a big league impact. It seemed like he was going nowhere.

“I think it was just one of those nights,” Ramirez said. “He said, ‘I want to quit,’ but I wasn’t going to let him quit. I said, ‘You’ve worked too hard and you’re too good. You’ve got to keep grinding.’”

About 10 days later, the Cardinals called up Pham.

There was no looking back.

The 2017 season was Pham’s breakout year — 23 home runs, 25 stolen bases, .306 batting average, .411 on-base percentage and .520 slugging percentage — that earned him 11th place in National League Most Valuable Player voting. He became the first player in Cardinal history to have a 20–20 season with at least a .300 avg.

Finally, he appeared to have a solid future.

Who knew it would be with the Rays?

“I was shocked,” says Pham about learning of the trade deadline deal that sent him to the Rays for three prospects in 2018. “I didn’t see it coming and they weren’t even rumored.

“I didn’t know why. [The Rays front office] explained the blueprint, but I still didn’t see it. It took me a while. Now I look around and see this aggressive, athletic young team with so much up-and-coming talent. I couldn’t be more excited.”

Not as excited as the Rays, though, who visualized Pham as the perfect addition. It was a small sample size in 2018, but Pham displayed his skills in 39 games with the Rays, batting .343, slugging .622 and smacking seven homers with 22 RBI. The team was a scorching 27–12 with him in the starting lineup as a result.

Momentum continued earlier this season, when Pham established a club record for the most consecutive games to reach base.

“Tommy is a special player,” Manager Kevin Cash says. “He helps you win games in a lot of ways. Everybody talks about the bat, but he can do it on the bases and he can certainly do it in left field.”

“I thought his (2018) performance was out of this world,” Rays Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom says. “He was exactly the force in the middle of our lineup we were hoping he would be. When you bring someone in, it’s not something we take lightly. You don’t know how they’re going to mesh. But the guys really embraced him. And he took to the group.”

Now Pham feels at home.

“Getting traded for the first time is a difficult experience for anyone,” Pham says. “But it was pretty easy for me to adjust to this team. It’s a very young team with the same kind of vibe as me. It’s kind of the perfect fit.”

The perfect fit. The feeling of comfort. The sense of being appreciated. Your accomplishments being rewarded.

Who wouldn’t want all of that?

Pham always did. But it has been an especially hard road.

“I never wanted to feel sorry for myself,” he says. “In a way, I think [struggles] helped to make me who I am today.”

His mother, Tawana, was 17 when she had Pham and twin sister Brittney. The father, Anhtuan (born in Vietnam to a black American father and a Vietnamese mother), has been mostly incarcerated through Pham’s life. They never had a father-son relationship and Pham doesn’t care to start one now.

Tawana, though, has been a guiding force.

“My mom is a straight shooter,” Pham says. “She told me the odds were going to be against me. She said, ‘You’re a black man in this world, your dad is in prison and the system is designed to make you go to prison. What are you going to do to change it?’

“I’ll never forget her saying that. I’m a realist, so I knew I had to stay out of trouble and do well in school. I didn’t want me and my sister to put stress on her because she was working and didn’t need that. I wanted to become something when I grew up.”

When Tawana said she didn’t have money for Christmas or birthday gifts because of bills, Pham never complained. He understood.

Pham played for the Las Vegas Wolfpack, a travel-ball powerhouse. If he needed new shoes or equipment, nothing was given to him. He found a side job to earn it.

He became an A-student and was accepted to academically prestigious Rice University before committing to a baseball scholarship at Cal State Fullerton (Pham instead signed a pro contract with the Cardinals out of high school after becoming a 16th-round pick in 2006).

Then came the mostly painful path through the minors. It probably made Pham appreciate the good times.

“I think it helped to shape my drive, discipline and determination,” Pham says. “We’re in a world where you’re always put down, always told what you can’t do, especially in this game. You have to believe.”

True to form, Pham has a left-arm tattoo that reads: “Believe In Yourself.”

“My high school coach once told everyone on the team, ‘You’re not Division I material,’ but I had every D-I college recruiting me,” Pham says. “You get to pro ball and you’re told you’re not a big leaguer. Once you make it there, you’re told you’re the fourth outfielder. You become an everyday player and they say, ‘You’re not that good.’ You’re always having to prove yourself.”

Kiermaier witnesses Pham’s determination every day.

“Nobody plays with more of a chip on their shoulder than Tommy,” Kiermaier says. “I see how he operates behind closed doors. That’s a compliment to him. Nothing is going to keep him down.”

Not even a degenerative eye disease that could have halted his career.

During the 2008 season at Quad Cities, Iowa, Pham began experiencing vision problems. Eventually, it was diagnosed as Keratoconus. It’s a disease of the cornea in which the collagen becomes weak. It causes the cornea to bulge out in a cone-like shape and distort someone’s vision.

Doctors compared it to Pham looking through a windshield smeared with Vaseline or being in the bent-mirror fun house at a carnival.

Pham didn’t know how to solve this problem. There was the risky proposition of a cornea transplant. But after meeting eye specialist Brian Boxer Wachler, Pham opted for a non-invasive treatment that incorporated ultraviolet light and a vitamin application to stabilize his condition.

Pham, with the help of specially designed contact lenses, has since coped well with his Keratoconus, which had about 200,000 cases last year. His vigilance includes carrying around a case of extra lenses, solution and hand sanitizer. He even keeps a small makeup mirror in his uniform back pocket, handy assistance if the lens isn’t properly positioned.

Even if someone’s vision is 20/20, that might not translate to being an effective major league hitter, where excellent eyesight is part of the job description. One doctor, aware that Pham has stabilized his condition while excelling at baseball’s most demanding level, described him as a “miracle.”

Pham, who is researching stem-cell surgery being performed in other countries, has become an ambassador for the National Keratoconus Foundation. He will hold a “KC” awareness private event at Tropicana Field on June 12. The foundation will invite a portion of the affected families in Florida and bring in Pham’s doctor to speak.

Pham’s outreach typifies his resilient nature, which has endeared him to Rays teammates.

“He wants to spill that baseball knowledge and use it to help our young guys,” infielder Daniel Robertson says. “Pretty much everybody has been through a lot to get here. He had to work hard and overcome some things, so that’s an example we can all look to.”

“During batting practice, Tommy is out in left field working on his defense every day,” infielder Joey Wendle says. “That’s something a lot of fans don’t necessarily see. That’s a contagious attitude. Everything he does from the time he gets to the field is in preparation for the game. He truly knows his craft and it shows up in the game.”

As always, it’s evident from Pham’s unmistakable facial expression.

Robertson said he knew Pham took his craft seriously, even though they had never met until last season’s Rays arrival.

“Just watching him on TV, you can see how he is without knowing him,” Robertson said. “The way he plays the game. How much it means to him. The expression on his face. He’s intense.”

So many elite athletes are described as “intense.” It has almost become a throwaway line.

With Pham, though, it’s an apt description of the attitude he brings to the ballpark each day.

“I like having Tommy here because he’s a great influence on our young players,” Mottola said. “His stare means a lot more than my stare. He holds you accountable. He creates a culture where actions mean more than words. And that’s what you want.

“You can just look at Tommy Pham and know he means business.”

But Pham says it shouldn’t be assumed that he’s always a stone-faced, humorless person.

“A lot of people see me smiling in the offseason,” Pham says.

He wants to be a good example to his nephew, who worships Pham and mimics his baseball work ethic. Pham considers himself a big kid, enjoying activities such as paintball, go-karts and laser tag.

“There are certain times when I can let myself go, loosen up and be almost a different type of personality,” Pham says. “I like to smile. I like to laugh. But on the field, I’m focused.

“People say I have a nice smile. I’ve heard that once or twice. I’m not sure I believe it, but it’s nice to hear. If we keep winning, if I hit a few home runs, maybe I’ll smile some more.”

But the intensity won’t go away.

“I try to protect him a little in his search for perfection, which doesn’t exist in hitting, but yet I still let him explore,” Mottola says. “So there’s a balance. Every relationship I’ve ever had is pretty easy when you’re honest. He’s no exception.

“In fact, he appreciates it more than most. He tells the truth and he wants to hear the truth. It’s very direct. If we disagree, there are no feelings hurt.”

Back home in Las Vegas, when he was a young pro player, Pham was playfully mocked by big leaguers who frequented the same baseball facility. Pham remained in the batting cages, working himself relentlessly.

The others cautioned him: Hey, kid! Too much. Take a break. You’re going to hurt yourself or create some bad habits.

Pham’s glare was his only response. Didn’t they understand? He wanted to become a big leaguer. He was after somebody’s job. Maybe their job.

“This is my job, my craft, and I take it seriously,” Pham says. “This is the way I go about it. I want to get better every day.

“I think I’m in a good spot to do that. I like this team a lot. With the young guys we have, we have a lot of studs on this team that don’t really get the recognition they deserve. They’re really good. By the middle of the season, I think everyone will start to know their names. Especially if we’re winning. I think we’re going to do a lot of winning.”

Smiles all around.