John Rocker

John Loy Rocker (born October 17, 1974) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played six seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB).

The Atlanta Braves selected Rocker in the 18th round (516th overall) of the 1993 Major League Baseball draft.

He made his major league debut in 1998 with the Atlanta Braves, for whom he played parts of four seasons.

He was later a member of the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

In 1998, the Braves promoted Rocker to the major leagues.

In his first season in the major leagues, he was 1–3 with a 2.13 ERA in 38 innings pitched.

The following year, an injury put Atlanta closer Kerry Ligtenberg on the disabled list, moving Rocker into the role of closer, where he was 4–5 with 38 saves and a 2.49 ERA.

Rocker received notoriety during his career for making controversial statements, which began with a 1999 Sports Illustrated interview and continued after his retirement.

In a story published in the December 27, 1999, issue of Sports Illustrated, Rocker made a number of allegations stemming from his experiences in New York City and answering a question about whether he would ever play for the New York Yankees or the New York Mets:

"I'd retire first. It's the most hectic, nerve-wracking city. Imagine having to take the 7 Train to the ballpark looking like you're riding through Beirut next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS, right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time, right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It's depressing... The biggest thing I don't like about New York are the foreigners. You can walk an entire block in Times Square and not hear anybody speaking English. Asians and Koreans and Vietnamese and Indians and Russians and Spanish people and everything up there. How the hell did they get in this country?"

During the interview, he also spoke of his opinion of the New York Mets and their fans:

"Nowhere else in the country do people spit at you, throw bottles at you, throw quarters at you, throw batteries at you and say, "Hey, I did your mother last night—she's a whore." I talked about what degenerates they were and they proved me right."

The interview was conducted while driving to a speaking engagement in Atlanta.

The reporter, Jeff Pearlman, wrote that during the interview session, Rocker spat on a Georgia State Route 400 toll machine and mocked Asian women.

Also, Rocker referred to Curaçaoan teammate Randall Simon as a "fat monkey".

Although Rocker later apologized after speaking with Braves legend and Hall of Famer Hank Aaron and former Atlanta mayor and congressman Andrew Young, he continued to make controversial remarks.

In 2000, he was 1–2 with 24 saves, posting a 2.89 ERA, but in June 2000, Rocker was demoted after threatening a reporter.

Rocker started to receive intense taunting from opposing teams' fans due to his negative behavior, and his pitching performance began to decline.

For his comments, Commissioner Bud Selig suspended Rocker without pay for the remainder of spring training and the first 28 games of the 2000 season, which on appeal was reduced to 14 games (without a spring-training suspension).

On June 22, 2001, Rocker, along with minor-league infielder Troy Cameron (Atlanta's first-round draft pick in 1997), was traded to the Cleveland Indians for right-handed relievers Steve Karsay and Steve Reed, along with cash.

In Cleveland, his record that year was 3–7 with a 5.45 ERA and four saves.

Rocker pitched in the ALDS against the Seattle Mariners.

After the season, the Indians traded him to the Texas Rangers for pitcher David Elder.

In Texas, he refused designation to the minor leagues.

In 2002, he again struggled at 2–3 with a 6.66 ERA and was released.

In 2002, while with the Rangers, Rocker again made national headlines for his views after directing slurs towards patrons of a Dallas restaurant at which he was dining, located in the predominantly gay neighborhood of Oak Lawn.

In 2003, Rocker signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays but was released after two appearances and an ERA of 9.00.

He took the 2004 season off to recover from surgery on his left shoulder.

He last played professionally for the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball in 2005.

In 2005, he signed with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League.

In April 2005, he asked New Yorkers to "bury the hatchet."

After going 0–2 with a 6.50 ERA in 23 games, he was released on June 27, 2005.

In June 2006, Rocker defended former teammate Ozzie Guillén, at the time the manager of the Chicago White Sox, for referring to Chicago Sun-Times sports columnist Jay Mariotti as a "fag".

Guillen, a native of Venezuela, claimed it was not a derogatory term and that, in Venezuela, the term only questions another man's courage rather than his sexual orientation.

"This is a free country. If he wants to use a lewd term, he should be able to use a lewd term," Rocker told the Chicago Tribune.

"Can't you use a lewd term in America if you want?"

Following the conclusion of his baseball career, Rocker competed on Survivor: San Juan del Sur with girlfriend Julie McGee, placing 16th.

In high school, he was a pitcher for First Presbyterian Day School in Macon, Georgia.

He threw three no-hitters during his high-school career.

He initially committed to play college baseball for the Georgia Bulldogs.