DOUBLE LIFE

MLB Star Madison Bumgarner Has Secretly Competed in Rodeos Under Fake Name for Years

“Oh boy,” Bumgarner said when asked about his alter ego.

Most of us know Madison Bumgarner as the four-time Major League Baseball All-Star and three-time World Series champion. But, to the great and good of the rodeo community, he’s a competitor known on the scene as Mason Saunders. Bumgarner’s double life as a rodeo star has been exposed by The Athletic after its reporters stumbled across a Facebook photo of “Saunders” at a rodeo ranch in Arizona. The newly acquired Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher has reportedly been secretly competing in rodeos for years, and came clean this weekend after being shown the photo by the reporters. “Oh boy,” Bumgarner reportedly said to the reporters, knowing the game was up. “This is ruining my alias.” Bumgarner said that, if he competed under his real name, he would get too much attention at the ranches. It’s unclear if he’ll carry on competing as Saunders, or find a new secret identity.