Tommy Pham Should Inspire You To Have A Catch With Your Kid

In terms of his Major League career, it hasn’t been easy going for Tommy Pham. He would need to overcome a lot just to stand on the field during this ALDS.

Pham had a number of injuries in the minors, but it was keratoconus, a degenerative eye condition, which eventually causes blindness. In fact, Pham is legally blind in one eye. Fortunately, he’d have vision and career saving surgery.

As his surgeon, Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler would say of Pham, “If somebody would tell me an individual could play Major League Baseball with keratoconus, I’d say, ‘Absolutely not.’ Only Tommy Pham. I think Tommy is one in a million.” (Derrick Goold, St. Louis Dispatch).

After a terrific 2017, where he had a 6.2 WAR, Pham would struggle in 2018. This led to his clashing with his manager, Mike Matheny, who would eventually be fired for tumult like this. Ultimately, Pham fell out of favor with the Cardinals leading to his getting traded to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Cardinals loss is the Rays gain. That was all the more apparent with Pham having a strong 2019 season for the Rays.

Pham hit a big homer in the Wild Card Game, and in Game 4 of the ALDS with the Rays facing both elimination and Justin Verlander, Pham’s homer in the top of the first set the tone for the Rays who’d win 4-1.

After the 4-1 victory, Pham was asked about who he wanted to thank for getting to this point in his career, and he would answer himself for never giving up.

He talked about throwing a ball to himself and throwing a ball up so he could hit it. Now, these are things we all did as kids. However, unlike many of us, that was Pham’s only option because he didn’t have a dad growing up.

Hearing that shows you the dedication and drive Pham had to get to this point. It also shows you the love of the game for him to do that. It shows how he can overcome all obstacles including not having a dad and a degenerative eye disorder.

This makes Pham both a role model and an inspiration.

He also should serve as a reminder to take time for your kids. We all get you’ve had a long day at work, and you’re exhausted. Dinner needs to be made. Homework needs to get done. There are practices, music lessons, and so much more.

What we also have is plenty of time during the week. At some point during those seven days, we can easily find time to dust off our mitts and have a catch with our kids. If your kid isn’t into baseball, then something else.

Kick a soccer ball. Throw a football. Fly a kite. Play tag. Something. Anything.

Fact is you have an opportunity Pham didn’t. That’s to have that father-son relationship. Cherish it. Take advantage o it.

You can start by throwing some BP.

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