Madison Bumgarner has been secretly competing in rodeos under fake name, 'Mason Saunders'

Major League Baseball and professional sports contracts often prohibit players from participating in dangerous activities. They're usually not allowed to ride motorcycles. Patrick Mahomes isn't allowed to play basketball. Some contracts even prohibit horseback riding.

Let's hope that Madison Bumgarner is contractually in the clear, because for the past few years the newly acquired Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher has been secretly competing in rodeos.

The secret was out this weekend.

On Sunday, The Athletic came across a Facebook photo from December posted by Racho Rio — a Wickenburg, Arizona-based rodeo ranch. The photo was of a competitor named "Mason Saunders."

Mason Saunders, though, was actually a four-time MLB All-Star and a three-time World Series champion.

There was another photo of Bumgarner competing on horseback while being called "Mason Saunders" in the caption.

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But this wasn't exactly a secret that Bumgarner was ashamed about or even diligently kept under wraps. He owned up to it right away. He said to The Athletic:

"Oh boy," Bumgarner said Sunday when shown the photo. "This is ruining my alias."

And he continued, explaining that he used the alias mostly to keep word of his participation within the rodeo world.

Why the alias then? That was to protect his adventures from garnering too much attention outside the insular world of roping. ("I'm nervous about this interview right now," Bumgarner said through a smile to a pair of reporters from The Athletic at one point. "I'm upset with both you two.") If he competed as Madison Bumgarner, every phone camera in the arena would be trained on him, he said.

But now that word is out, the baseball world needs to see MadBum in action. This story is too good.