Madison Bumgarner was able to keep his identity more or less a secret while competing in rodeo, but there’s no hiding the dangers associated with the former Giants pitcher’s preferred hobby of roping calves.
Using the alias of “Mason Saunders,” Bumgarner has been surreptitiously participating in team roping events — and doing quite well, even winning $26,560 in a December competition — The Athletic reported Sunday. Not that the man who signed a five-year, $85 million deal with the Diamondbacks needs the extra cash — roping runs much deeper than that for Bumgarner, who said “it’s just part of who you are.