Home Run Derby

Baseball has a long history of its players cheating.

Spitballs, corked bats, interference, sharpened spikes, stealing signs, and performance enhancing drugs among those transgressions. 

And sometimes, there’s cheating that happens off the field.  And not just marital infidelity.  There’s also the guys who try to cheat Uncle Sam out of his take.

So in honor of this April 15th – TAX DAY – here’s a look at Baseball’s biggest tax cheats.  Well, the ones who got caught anyway.

Derek Jeter

In 2001, Jeter purchased a $13 Million Apartment in Trump Towers near the World Trade Center.   Which would make you think he’s a resident of New York.  But Jeter has claimed to be a resident of Florida since 1994 … I wonder if it’s merely a coincidence that Florida has no state income tax. 

Well, the New York Department of Taxation and Finance didn’t think it was a coincidence, and in 2007 charged Jeter with evading three years worth of  Taxes from 2001-2004.   New york said that Jeter was indeed a resident of the Empire State and not the Sunshine State.

Jeter reportedly settled the case with New York in 2008.  The terms and value of the settlement are unknown.

Barry Bonds

Okay this one is totally speculative and unofficial since the Feds didn’t include any Tax Evasion charges in their indictment of Bonds back in 2007. 

But it was widely reported in 2006 that Bonds handed over at least $80,000 in ”possibly undeclared $80,000 in cash from memorabilia sales” to his mistress, Kimberly Bell.  Bell said that Bonds “instructed her to deposit the money in amounts less than $10,000.”

My guess is that the Feds dropped the Tax Evasion charges because Bell was an unreliable witness – she’s got man-hands, after all.

Willie McCovey

In 1986, McCovey was inducted into the Baseball hall of Fame, presenting him with even more lucrative cash opportunities to appear at card and memorabilia shows.

However, from 1988-1990, McCovey underreported his income from those shows by $69,800 and as a result, received two years’ probation and had to pay a $5,000 fine in 1995 for tax evasion.

McCovey claimed a hired accountant made the error.

Duke Snider 

Also in 1995, another Hall of Famer fell victim to tax evasion charges.  Duke Snider, the former Brooklyn/ Los Angeles Dodger great was nailed with two years’ probation and $5,000 fine after he pleaded guilty to failing to report $100,000 in income from promotional appearances at card and memorabilia shows from 1984-1993. 

Snider apologized and acknowledged his wrongdoing

I made the wrong choice. I was knowledgeable. I was aware of the crime I was involved in. And I made the wrong choice. I hope the effects of it won’t hurt baseball that badly

Both McCovey and Snider were nabbed in part to a 1989 Card Show in Atlantic City that showcased the 11 living players who had hit 500 Home Runs.

Darryl Strawberry

In 1994, the IRS slapped Strawberry with a lien after he underreported his income by $502,043 from 1986-90.  Once again, it was income from card and memorabilia shows. 

The following year, Straw cut a deal and pled guilty to one count of tax evasion - he had to spend six months in home confinement and then 100 hours of community service.  The deal allowed him to keep playing baseball. 

In 2008, Strawberry started paying some of it back, agreed to pay back the IRS for 1989 and 1990 back taxes.

Cecil Fielder

In late 2008, the IRS filed a lien against Fielder for $273,123 in unpaid taxes from 2001-2004. 

It’s just one of many examples of the poor monetary choices the former slugger has made in his career, mostly stemming as a result of his massive gambling debts.  It’s also belived to be one of the reasons he and his son are no longer on speaking terms. 

Speaking of his son …

Prince Fielder

As much as the younger Fielder would have you believe he’s unlike his old man, the IRS thought differently in 2005 when it slapped Prince with a Lien for $409,149 in unpaid taxes. 

The taxes were from 2003, when Fielder received his $2.4 million signing bonus from the Milwaukee Brewers.  To his credit, Fielder paid off the lien in January 2009, before he signed a new two-year contract with the Brewers.

Pete Rose

In 1990, Rose pled guilty to two charges of tax evasion.  Rose admitted to filing income tax returns that did not show income ($345,967)  from selling autographs, memorabilia, and gambling winnings.

Rose was fined $50,000 and sentenced to five months in prison and 1,000 hours of community service.  He also had to pay the IRS over $350,000 in back taxes and interest.  Rose was released from prison in January 1991.

And if that wasn’t bad enough … Rose got slapped AGAIN in 2004 when the IRS filed a Lien for $973,693 in uupaid taxes from 1997-2002.  This time however, Rose acknolwedged the debt and tried to negotiate payment terms.

Wesley Snipes – Okay not a ballplayer, but he played a convincing one in “The Fan”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 15th, 2009 at 6:18 am and is filed under Autographs, Baseball Cards, Baseball Law, Pete Rose, Taxes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.