From the department of things that seem too good to be true: David Samson, the much-maligned team president of the woeful Miami Marlins who’s been called a “con man” that runs his team like a “chop shop,” was absent for two months of the 2013 regular season because he was in the Philippines filming the next season of Survivor. That’s right, an MLB team president chose to compete on a reality show instead of running his team during the season.

Entertainment Weekly says the filming of Survivor: Cagayan occurred during July and August of 2013, which means Samson wouldn’t have been around for the July 31 trade deadline. Miami was quiet that day. At the time, most figured they didn’t want to part with one of the few bargaining chips they still had, Giancarlo Stanton. But given the Samson news, maybe the Marlins kept Stanton because, I don’t know, the team president was eating coconuts and participating in reward challenges narrated by Jeff Probst instead of fielding offers from other teams.

Making things even weirder, during the time period when Samson would have been filming, Marlins hitting coach Tino Martinez resigned after a story leaked about him abusing players. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan said his sources believed team owner Jeffrey Loria thought the leak came from Samson. What, did Samson blurt it out at tribal council or trade that info for a clue to a hidden immunity idol?

Even Probst, the longtime host of Survivor, found the timing strange. He told EW’s Dalton Ross:

“I was surprised that David could get away from his job while his team was still playing. But he was definitive in his answer and very to the point: ‘I have it worked out. Next question.’ And that’s how he plays this game.”

Samson will be on the “brains” tribe on the season debuting Feb. 28, which suggests Survivor producers don’t watch much baseball.



