Miles From Nowhere

For the love of God, bring John Rocker back!

Miles From Nowhere


This one's gonna be controversial.

People hate it when i bring him up. They cringe, roll their eyes, bite their lips and try to refrain from uttering pointed stereotypes about what kind of person I appear to be.

The same as they say about Rocker-
"Bigot"
"Hillbilly"
"Racist"
"Hick"
"Moron"

Whatever.

John Rocker was a heck of a closer. He was one of the best from 1999 to that fated 2001 season. After a solid 24 save season in 2000, he started the 2001 season on fire with 19 saves in 30 games. Then it all burst into flames halfway through the season.

Rocker went to a bar with a man who wrote for Sports Illustrated one night during that 2001 season, and with his guard down, spouted off his thoughts on the currents state of America. I'm not saying his comments were taken out of context, just that if you get a few beers in most middle class, white American men, they'd give you a similar viewpoint. Not only that, but Rocker was young and a notorious short-fused. To say that SI took advantage of the guy is being polite.

His now famous "interview" included his thoughts on New York-
"Imagine having to take the Number 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. I'm not a very big fan of 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?"

John Rocker grew up in Macon, Georgia. I've driven through Macon, there ain't much there in the way of cultural diversity and all that. I've often thought similar things while riding a subway in New York. The difference is that I never had the chance to blast off to some reporter, and I probably wouldn't have been so pointed in my remarks given the oppurtunity. Rocker represented the silent majority of souther whites who aren't sure what to think of American society and the changes it's undergoing. It's shocking to many people to hear someone come right out with such controversial thoughts.

Rocker's career will be defined by that one article that took every oppurtunity to make him look like a backwoods, racist redneck. The Atlanta Braves initially supported their young star, but when his pitching performance was affected by the hateful reaction of fans in metropolitan areas, they decided to trade him to the Indians. After a few years of bouncing around and being harassed by fans, Rocker finally called it quits this year. His only crimes were being young, hotheaded and politically incorrect. An older, more mature Rocker has tried to put it all behind him, but apparently the same liberals who harp about equility and compassion will never forgive him. He will remain one of my favorite baseball players simply for being a controversial figure and a damn fine player.