After all the bad press for baseball over the last two weeks, now there's this: National's GM Jim Bowden is under federal investigation for skimming latin prospects' signing bonuses, according to SI.com. The probe is investigating Bowden back to 1994.Oh great, another baseball scandal. Just what we all need.
According to the report, two baseball sources say that Bowden and one of his Latin American scouts is linked to former pitcher and Bowden special assistant Jose Rijo. Rijo has ties to two former White Sox Dominican scouts who were fired by GM Kenny Williams in May of 2007 for pocketing money saved for Dominican players' signing bonuses. Although, Williams was quoted in 2007 as saying the scouts were fired "for actions in Latin America that were violations of club policy and standards".
The scout linked to Bowden, Jorge Oquendo, worked for Bowden when he was the GM for the Reds in 1994, and also between 2000-2003. He worked for the the White Sox former director of player personnel, David Wilder in 2006 and 2007.
Good to know that scouts are taking bonus money from players.
How big a deal is this? Well, probably not that big a deal for baseball fans. It's unfair to the players, sure, and it should be stopped. But at this point baseball fans are likely desensitized to misconduct by anyone in Major League Baseball. It's not another black eye for the sport like the steroid scandal or the big names coming out in it.
Maybe, though, it's just another smack in the head.
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