John Rocker, Victim

[Rob E Dangerously 0]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2054529&num=0

 

Foreign territoryBy Wayne Drehs

ESPN.com

 

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. – They lined the stadium concourse, some young, some old, some wearing Mets caps, others supporting the Yankees, all of them there to see John Rocker.

 

The man who made fun of the way Asian women drive. Who said his least favorite thing about New York was "the foreigners." Who has come back here, to New York, to resurrect his stalled baseball career.

 

John Rocker is at a loss for what he can do to change his perception by fans.And there he was, a half hour before the first pitch, in a pinstriped Long Island Ducks uniform, strategically positioned as the designated team representative at the "Commerce Bank Autograph Booth."

 

With an orange, webbed foot on the face of his cap and a blue Health Plan of New York patch on his right sleeve, the hard-throwing left-hander, who once said he'd retire before playing for a New York team, spent 35 minutes signing anything and everything New Yorkers could put in front of him. Gloves. Programs. Ticket stubs. Baseball cards. DVDs. Even the Sports Illustrated article that started this mess.

 

In those 2,145 words sit all the answers. Why his autograph line stretches into the right field corner of the stadium. Why the media can't leave him alone. Why fans continue to berate him. All the hatred, all the anger, it all points back to those pages.

 

The pages Rocker just signed.

 

It has been almost six years since Rocker mocked Mets fans, sharing his colorful description of the passengers on the now-infamous No. 7 Train. Rocker has grown up since then. He has matured. His publicist will tell you so. Rocker will show you.

 

His autograph session Wednesday night was a genuinely heartwarming affair, with the outspoken pitcher holding babies and posing for pictures. Each fan got a smile. A handshake. Eye contact. For those that offered their support, including one fan in a "Rocker for President" T-shirt and another who encouraged him to stay out of trouble so he could pitch for the Yankees, Rocker offered a "Thank you" and an "I appreciate that."

 

But nights like this are the minority. In a country known for its ever-forgiving ways, a place where a president was all but excused for a White House affair, John Rocker can't get off the hook.

 

He has become stereotyped himself, just like the minorities he belittled. No matter what he says, no matter what he does, no matter what he is like in person, strangers have already formed their opinions. He can do no right.

 

"I've taken a lot of crap from a lot of people," said Rocker, who racked up 88 saves, more than 330 strikeouts and a 3.42 ERA in six seasons with the Braves, Indians, Rangers and Devil Rays. "Probably more than anybody in the history of this sport. I know Hank [Aaron] and Jackie [Robinson] took a good deal of crap, but I guarantee it wasn't for six years. I just keep thinking: How much am I supposed to take?"

 

Wednesday night's lovefest was an aberration. A home game. The first time in a long time, Rocker said, that he stepped on a ball field and didn't feel like keeping his head down and hiding in the dugout.

 

In the other six games the Ducks have played this year – all on the road – Rocker's life was continually defined by those 2,145 words. Every time he stepped on the field, someone was there encouraging him to fail. Telling him he's an embarrassment. Screaming for him to go home to Atlanta. In Atlantic City, the public-address system played, "New York, New York" when Rocker entered the game. He tipped his cap, played along.

 

But he's still a punch line. Still the enemy. And he's growing tired of it.

 

"After two years of not pitching, I really figured that I wouldn't have to hear the boos and cursing and the extremely derogatory remarks. I really figured I would be treated like a human being," he said. "But it's still there – the same force that it's always been.

 

"Most anybody else would have quit five years ago. I don't have to deal with the media scrutiny, the fan scrutiny, the mental persecution I get put through, the hatred and negative energy on a daily basis."

 

Rocker has been out of baseball since 2003, recovering from reconstructive shoulder surgery. After a February phone call from the Florida Marlins, he rediscovered the velocity on his fastball and has come here, 35 miles east of Shea Stadium, to the independent Atlantic League Long Island Ducks, in hopes of working his way back to the majors.

 

Since the infamous Sports Illustrated article, John Rocker has remained at the center of sometimes unwanted attention.So far, it has been a struggle. Rocker is 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA. He leads the league with seven walks though he has pitched only two innings. Ducks pitching coach Dave LaPoint, a veteran of 12 years in the major leagues, said Rocker is going through a "dead-arm period" and has shut him down through the weekend.

 

Off the field, things have been just as, well, rocky. Tuesday night in Atlantic City, in a game against the Surf, Rocker lost it. After allowing the game-tying and game-winning runs to score, Rocker was walking off the mound when a fan reminded him that he was a long way from Atlanta.

 

According to news reports, Rocker responded by saying, "I'm still a millionaire, and you're a piece of s---."

 

According to Rocker, all he said back to the fan was, "Kiss my BUTT."

 

Regardless, the altercation made headlines in Wednesday morning newspapers from Biloxi, Miss., to Grand Prairie in Alberta, Canada.

 

"I have my head down, trying to ignore the guy, I say, 'Kiss my BUTT,' and that makes national headlines?" Rocker said. "He curses me, and it makes national headlines? How much am I supposed to take? At what point can I defend myself and the respect I think people should have for me? Or am I just supposed to put my head down and keep my tail between my legs?"

 

The answer is yes. That's what Rocker's personal publicist, Debi Curzio would say. Curzio, a native New Yorker, is right alongside Rocker on the battle lines, fighting to change what she says is a misguided public image. She contacted Rocker after reading the infamous Sports Illustrated story and offered her help.

 

"I'm not in the business of putting a wolf in sheep's clothing," Curzio said. "I'm not a miracle worker. I wouldn't represent Mike Tyson. But I believe in John. He's really a very intelligent person, a very likable person. He has a great sense of humor. People have just never gotten a chance to know him."

 

Curzio has been working with Rocker regularly for more than a year now. She started www.johnrocker.net, a Web site that includes a photo of Rocker in an NYPD cap. She has spread the word about his longtime charity work, including Rocker's trip to the Atlanta Motor Speedway with a group of kids from the Ronald McDonald House, and his work in Florida assisting victims of Hurricane Charley. And she has helped people understand that Rocker is also a real estate developer and owns a computer company run by a man from the Bronx who happens to be black.

 

Perhaps most important, she has become the buffer between Rocker and the media. She screens each potential interview, asking about the angle of each story, the type of questions that will be asked and whether the interviewer has worked with Rocker in the past. From there, she recommends only the interviews she thinks will be "positive." Then, she sits in on the interviews.

 

The only other time Rocker talks is after a game in which he has pitched. And then the conversation is limited to baseball.

 

"When you get bombarded from all these angles, you just put the wall up. It's hard for him to know who to talk to and who not to talk to," Curzio said. "My job is to keep him focused on baseball and not have these distractions."

 

Everything is controlled. At last week's season-opening news conference, the Ducks' representatives urged that all questions posed to players be about baseball. Nothing personal.

 

When one reporter asked Rocker why a minor-league pitcher needed a personal publicist, team owner Frank Boulton snapped.

 

"That's baseball?" Boulton asked.

 

"No," Rocker said. "But I'll answer anyway."

 

He explained that he didn't have time to handle all the requests. He later talked about the importance of keeping his cool in the upcoming season, should fans try to get under his skin.

 

"You can choose how you want to react to an outside force," he said. "I can choose how to react, and I'll react by not letting them bother me."

 

Which makes Tuesday night's episode all the more disappointing. Rocker knew how he should have reacted. And though the interaction was similar to the hundreds of others that take place between players and fans each season, because it was Rocker, it was looked upon differently. Because of those 2,145 words, it was suddenly the same old Rocker up to the same old tricks.

 

"That's the slipup that the media was waiting for," Curzio said. "And now they have it."

 

Said Boulton: "There's always going to be somebody. That's what he has to realize. There will always be somebody trying to get under his skin. He just needs to learn how to walk by and get in the dugout."

 

If only it were that simple. If only John Rocker could just walk away – every time. If only the fans would ignore him – some of the time. But this is minor-league baseball, where the attraction isn't the game on the field but the circus around it. And Rocker is now the ringleader.

 

In the final 42 words of the Sports Illustrated story, veteran relief pitcher Mike Remlinger was asked whether Rocker's antics go too far. After thinking for a few seconds, he answered.

 

"The thing is," Remlinger said, "baseball is a game of humility. You can be on top one minute, as low as possible the next. When you're young, you don't realize it, but sooner or later you learn – we all do. Be humble."

 

And there was John Rocker, now 30 years old, standing in his Long Island Ducks uniform, unable to pitch because of a dead arm, wondering when – wondering if – he would make it back to the majors. The memories of that story have lasted six years, but his life has come full circle, with the loudest cheers, the greatest support right here in New York.

 

"I don't know what it is, I don't know why, but people here have just taken me in," Rocker said. "It makes me feel even worse [about the article] now that I have met the people of Long Island and seen what nice, genuine people they are. Everywhere I go around here, in the hotel, the restaurants, wherever, people are wishing me good luck. They're just nice, genuine people. It's really motivational."

 

Wayne Drehs is a staff writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at [email protected].

 

and here's the money quote (which I cut out of the article)

 

“I've taken a lot of crap from a lot of people. Probably more than anybody in the history of this sport. I know Hank [Aaron] and Jackie [Robinson] took a good deal of crap, but I guarantee it wasn't for six years. I just keep thinking: How much am I supposed to take?” — John Rocker

 

Yes John.. you are so much more of a victim than Jackie Robinson.

 

Jackass.

 

[Precious Roy 0]

 

"SHUT UP!! What are you looking at, you homo MEXICANS?? Any of you ever been bow hunting? I bow hunt! I love my FATHER! I love IRON EAGLE MOVIES! THE BRAVES AND WHITE PEOPLE RULE!"

[Styles 0]

Yeah I was just about to point that out too.

 

Rocker has grown up since then. He has matured. His publicist will tell you so. Rocker will show you.

 

"I've taken a lot of crap from a lot of people," said Rocker..."Probably more than anybody in the history of this sport. I know Hank [Aaron] and Jackie [Robinson] took a good deal of crap, but I guarantee it wasn't for six years. I just keep thinking: How much am I supposed to take?"

 

""I'm still a millionaire, and you're a piece of s---."

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

At least he's got good hair.

[Styles 0]

I thought long hair is for queers...

[Rob E Dangerously 0]

He looks a lot like Steven Richards

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Aside from that STUPID "Jackie Robinson" quote, I'm sick of all the John Rocker talk. I only wish Big (Sports) Media would be this hard on racist baseball managers from Chicago...

[DerangedHermit 0]

John Rocker is why the Ducks suck right now....goddamn asshole. The Ducks didn't have this problem when they had Bill Simas as closer.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

boo fuckin' hoo.

[Slayer 0]

It's the DJ from "Northern Exposure"

[Carnival 0]

It's the DJ from "Northern Exposure"

perfect

[Guest LooneyTune]

John Rocker, Dumbass

 

He has a right to his opinion on anyone he wants, and that's why america has Freedom of Speech, but he comes off as a 10 year old preppie who has only known minorities to be servants, homosexuals be mocked, and all around weirdos be thrown in jail.

[2GOLD 0]

John Rocker is actually Ty Cobb light. The reason Cobb got away with it is he was actually damn good and soaked up the hate. Rocker apologized and then imploded.

 

If Cobb had been his hero he would have came out of the bullpen begging people to boo him and then struck the first batter he faced in the ribs with a fastball. Instant hateful fanbase.

 

Had Rocker not imploded, he would have still been a closer in the majors. His career didn't end because of words, his career ended because he couldn't get it done.

[Vern Gagne 0]

I don't know if it's fair to call Rocker, Cobb Light. Cobb was a racist asshole. Their's enough stories from minority teammates like Randall Simon to say Rocker wasn't a racist, but just a very narrow minded person.

[2GOLD 0]

I don't know if it's fair to call Rocker, Cobb Light. Cobb was a racist asshole. Their's enough stories from minority teammates like Randall Simon to say Rocker wasn't a racist, but just a very narrow minded person.

 

Hence, Cobb light.

 

If he was full Cobb, he'd be a true racist asshole. Rocker is just Cobb light, narrow minded and just doesn't think before he talks but he's probably not the racist moron he makes himself out to be with his comments. Cobb was narrow minded and knew exactly what he was saying.

 

Rocker let it all get to him after he said it, I still think that is why he came apart. He pulled a Ryan Leaf, he couldn't handle critism and never recovered from it. Rocker just doesn't seem to have the mental ability for the pros anymore.

[Guest Brian]

Wasn't Randall Simon the one he called a fat gorilla?

[Jericholic82 0]

Nice mullet there John

[Vern Gagne 0]

Simon says him and Rocker were friends.

[Slayer 0]

Nice mullet there John

That's not a mullet, that's regular long hair

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I never saw the big deal in Rockers comments. He ripped on New York City. We've all done that at some point, haven't we?

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Wasn't Randall Simon the one he called a fat gorilla?

Yeah.

 

And Simon was the one that hit that sausage mascot in Milwaukee..

[2GOLD 0]

I never saw the big deal in Rockers comments. He ripped on New York City. We've all done that at some point, haven't we?

 

Someone said it best after it happened

The only reason anyone cared is because he was a white boy pitching for a team in Georiga. If John Rocker had been the closer for the Mets, it would have been laughed off like nothing ever happened.

 

But Rocker was a white redneck pitching in the south making fun of New Yorkers.

[cabbageboy 0]

I've always maintained that Rocker simply said what a lot of people from the Southeast would say visiting NY or LA. I'm from Louisville, KY which has its share of minorities and gays, but is hardly like NYC I would think. I went to Los Angeles a few years ago and it was quite a culture shock. Seemed like everyone was a foreigner who couldn't speak English, homeless people practically accosted me begging for change in Santa Monica...it's kind of an alienating experience.

[Jericholic82 0]

I've always maintained that Rocker simply said what a lot of people from the Southeast would say visiting NY or LA. I'm from Louisville, KY which has its share of minorities and gays, but is hardly like NYC I would think. I went to Los Angeles a few years ago and it was quite a culture shock. Seemed like everyone was a foreigner who couldn't speak English, homeless people practically accosted me begging for change in Santa Monica...it's kind of an alienating experience.

True, I was never bothered too much by rockers words, cuz I had heard the same from many others and I laughed it off. However I knew he was dead meat the next time he came to NYC.

 

 

Hey I live in Cali and make fun of the people here sometimes (mostly for what I call the poser syndrome), wonder why we haven't heard most of the same from some southern player about LA?

[LooseCannon25 0]

Wasn't Randall Simon the one he called a fat gorilla?

Yeah.

 

And Simon was the one that hit that sausage mascot in Milwaukee..

lol.....i remember that. One of the finniest things i've ever seen

 

 

 

Rocker can't apologize, and then proceed to curse the fuckin fans off. This guys a moron and saying Jackie Robinson didn't have to take shit for 6 years was fuckin silly. He's been awful so far for the ducks anyway.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

SAUSAGEGATE! That was awesome.