Tommy Pham turns on his recorder first.

The Mets clubhouse is fairly quiet. It opened minutes earlier. Pham is one of the few players present, watching as I approach his locker. He questions what I want to discuss, suspicious of what I will write. The Mets’ hottest hitter claims he’s been burned before by reporters. He doesn’t trust me, either, which is fair. We met for the first time about 60 seconds earlier.

Pham, 35, takes out his phone and presses record, becoming the first athlete in my 16-plus years at The Post to join me in documenting an interview. He will not be misquoted. He will not be taken out of context.

His words are potent and unpredictable. No major leaguer can match his greatest hits.