They know him as Mason Saunders, an accomplished rodeo participant who has won thousands of dollars in competitions. You know him as Madison Bumgarner, a three-time World Series champion with the Giants now pitching for the Diamondbacks.
After extensive research, The Athletic revealed this double life Bumgarner is living, going by an alias he used to be incognito. Last December, he won $26,560 in a roping competition. When approached, Bumgarner admitted it was him.
“Oh boy,” he said. “This is ruining my alias.”
He even said he may have won other events. He used the alias to take away attention. The last name is his wife’s maiden name. Mason is a shortened form of Madison.
“Something for my wife to call me when we were out in public to keep people from recognizing me,” he said. “But you’re going to ruin that for me.”
It’s uncertain if this would violate terms of his contract with the Diamondbacks if he continues to compete in rodeos. They declined to reveal that. It has been a hobby of his since he was 15 years old.
“It’s just part of who you are. No matter what hobbies I have, I take ’em serious,” said Bumgarner, who was a free agent when he won a rodeo competition in Wickenburg, Ariz., roughly two weeks before he signed a five-year, $85 million deal with Arizona in December. “That’s just my personality. I don’t do anything just for fun, per se. I wish I did.”