On the surface, San Francisco Giants outfielder Joc Pederson and Cincinnati Reds outfielder Tommy Pham have relatively nothing in common other than the fact that they're both outfielders in the National League.

However, the two are more similar than meets the eye as they are both part of an offseason fantasy football league, where the stakes must be quite high.

The reason for that is that on Friday, the two reportedly got into an altercation before the Giants/Reds game in Cincinnati that night due to this very same fantasy league.

The incident itself occurred around 4 pm or so before what was supposed to be a 6:40 pm start time on Friday. 

Rain pushed back the starting time to 8:48 pm and roughly two hours before the revised start time, Pham agreed to be removed from the starting lineup pending an investigation from MLB.

According to Reds beat writer C. Trent Rosecrans, Pham slapped Pederson "Will Smith-style" as a result of a disagreement that stemmed from a group text in the aforementioned fantasy football league.

Of the wild things that have happened in the world of sports and pop culture recently, including Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at The Oscars, this has to be up there with one of the most peculiar.

Fantasy football is the most played fantasy sports in the US by a wide margin, and based on this altercation, it means quite a lot to those who participate, especially in leagues where money is involved.

As for Friday night's game, the Reds lead the Giants, 2-0, through the fifth inning. Tyler Stephenson and Matt Reynolds both have an RBI for Cincinnati thus far. 

This article first appeared on FanNation Fastball and was syndicated with permission.

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