Why Mets' Tommy Pham has beat up, blistered hands

New York Mets veteran outfielder Tommy Pham isn't losing his spot on the roster without a fight. 

"When I’m not swinging well, I’m spending hours in that [batting] cage," Pham said following New York's 6-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, per Dan Martin of the New York Post. "I haven’t been playing and look at my hands: they’re beat up [and] blistered. You’ve got to work if you’re underperforming. You’ve got to work your way out of the funk." 

Pham and the Mets agreed to a one-year contract reportedly worth $6M with $2M in incentives this past winter, and new corrective lenses seemed to help the 35-year-old see better at the plate early into the season. However, Pham then went cold and acknowledged last month amid a batting slump that he could find himself out of a job if he didn't start hitting.

Pham delivered two solo home runs in Sunday's defeat to improve his overall batting average for the season to .234. He's hit a total of five homers and 16 RBI across 39 games, and Martin mentioned that Pham went five-for-eight with four extra-base hits and two walks in his last three starts. 

Pham detailed his frustrations after he opened the bottom of the first inning of Sunday's game with a strikeout. 

"That first at-bat, 95-97 [mph] felt like 105," he admitted. "After I struck out, I went into the batting cages and threw a fit, to say the least. I felt like I lost my timing. I’m glad I found it." 

Pham also accepted blame after he and left fielder Mark Canha failed to track down an errant throw in time to prevent a run from scoring in the top of the third: