The Probe Gets Deeper—More MLB Teams May Have Asked Dominican Players For Kickbacks

Earlier, when we told you that scouts working for the Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds were being investigated by the FBI and MLB for asking signed Dominican players to kickback some of their salary, we had a sneaking suspicion it wasn’t over. Well, lo and behold—baseball’s prized franchises, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, along with the Chicago White Sox, have now joined the investigation as other teams whose scouts were on the take. While stealing from poor players is nothing new, this is the first time MLB has taken the firm-fisted stance it has, and it wouldn’t have gone there if it weren’t for a White Sox official named David Wilder, and his decision not to tape wads of money to his stomach coming back from thievin’.

The scandal began to break in March when Wilder, then the scouting director for the White Sox, was stopped in Miami by U.S. Customs officials while trying to bring about $40,000 in cash back from the Dominican Republic. from the Dominican Republic. Sources said Wilder, who has not been criminally charged, has been cooperating with the FBI.

Snitch! But when you think about it, are he and his ilk criminals, or modern day Robin Hoods, stealing from the rich ball clubs and giving to the poor–themselves?

“The families went along with it because they were still getting the money,” one source said. “[The scouts] were really stealing money from the clubs.”

And the clubs steal money from us by charging $9 for a 16 oz cup of beer. It’s a horrible chain of events that when you get to the end, you just want to cry. Or look at pictures of boobies. We prefer the latter.
Earlier: Did The Washington Nationals Try To Screw Dominican Players Out Of Their Cash? They Might Not Be The Only Ones
Yankees prospects may have been forced to kick back bonus money [ESPN]
Image [SI]