John Rocker has gotten plenty of people mad at him. But the truth is, he might be his own worst enemy.
The Atlanta Braves’ relief pitcher was demoted to the minor leagues last week after wildly erratic play and major bad-boy behavior. The Braves said his shaky on-field performance – he had 10 saves but also averaged 2.4 base runners per inning – was behind the demotion. But the field wasn’t the only place Rocker was out of control. The day before the demotion, he was fined $5,000 for allegedly cornering and yelling at Sports Illustrated reporter Jeff Pearlman, who wrote the now-famous article in which Rocker blasted minorities, gays, welfare moms, you name it. Those nasty SI comments earned Rocker a fine and suspension and made him a controversial figure among teammates and fans (not to mention Backtalk readers!).
Rocker said early last week that he might refuse to go to the minor leagues. He said that he never threatened the SI reporter and that he was upset by the Braves’ treatment. (When asked in an interview what else he would do, the pitcher said, “I would be a stockbroker, probably.”) But on Thursday, he suited up for the Class AAA Richmond (Va.) team.
