The Arizona Diamondbacks don’t sound particularly enthralled with Madison Bumgarner’s secret rodeo career.
Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen admitted Monday that the team had no idea Bumgarner had used the alias Mason Saunders to secretly compete in professional rodeo events, but the team does believe the pitcher has not done so since signing with Arizona.
Arizona #Dbacks GM Mike Hazen says he was unaware of Madison Bumgarner participating in rodeo events in his spare time during his days with the #SFGiants when signing him, and believes it hasn't occurred since signing with the Dbacks after reading the Athletic story.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 24, 2020
As funny as the story about Bumgarner’s well-honed alias is, it does open up a bit of a can of worms from a contractual perspective. This is not the sort of thing the Diamondbacks would like to see Bumgarner doing, and it’s normal for contracts to include language prohibiting players from taking part in potentially dangerous activities. It may be true that Bumgarner hasn’t taken part in any rodeos since signing, but there’s no guarantee he won’t over the course of his contract, and it’s not clear if the Diamondbacks will know or what they’ll do about it.
