The Most Hated Figure in Major League Baseball

When you think of who the most despised player in Major League Baseball history was, which name comes to mind? Roger Clemens? Barry Bonds? Jose Canseco? This former MLB player that I'll be talking about in this story is a name that you may or may not be familiar with. He's former Atlanta Braves relief pitcher John Rocker. Rocker was born on October 17, 1974, meaning that as of 2024, he's 50 years old. He played for four different teams: the aforementioned Braves, the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians), Texas Rangers, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (now known as simply the Tampa Bay Rays).

In the December 27, 1999 issue of Sports Illustrated, Rocker made a series of controversial and derogatory remarks from his time in New York City to degrading different groups of people. In that interview, which was conducted by Jeff Pearlman, he was asked a couple of questions. The first being if he would play for either the Yankees or Mets. Before I go any further, I want to give everyone a warning that some of the statements made by Rocker may not be suitable for all readers, so please read at your own discretion. I don't believe in censoring myself when I write stories on Vocal. As a creator on this platform, I believe in transparency and honesty. Just to be clear: the following statements made by John Rocker doesn't represent my personal values or a reflection who I am. I've said in a previous story about homophobia in the baseball community that I wouldn't repeat the things that John Rocker uttered 25 years ago, but I believe that it's necessary to share his highly offensive remarks to everyone, teaching everyone that this kind of rhetoric is unacceptable and uncalled for. The following statements from John Rocker are his own words, not mine.

Now on to his controversial interview.

John Rocker was asked if he would be in either a Yankees or Mets uniform and he said the following:

"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?"

Also in that same interview, Rocker infuriated Mets fans and the organization stating:

"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."

His comments from the Sports Illustrated interview received an amount of backlash. After apologizing to the now late, great Hank Aaron and then Atlanta Mayor and congressman Andrew Young, he continued to make offensive remarks. I'll share some thoughts about John Rocker in a bit, as well as lessons we can all learn from this.

After being so vile in that Sports Illustrated interview, Rocker suffered the consequences for it. Then Commissioner Bud Selig suspended him without pay for the rest of spring training in 2000 and the first 28 games of the regular season. It was later reduced to 14 games on appeal. This was not the first time he has made offensive remarks. Two years after the aforementioned interview, he made headlines once again. This time, he spewed homophobic slurs towards patrons at a Dallas restaurant.

So what are my thoughts about John Rocker? First and foremost, I denounce and condemn his comments 100 percent. I will not and never will cosign his awful behavior, like many baseball fans are doing today. I don't understand why these fans continue to support this awful man. You would've thought that 25 years later, John Rocker would see the error of his ways and apologize to the people he had offended. That he finally learned his lesson. But no, he's still the same vile jerk people have gotten to know back in the 1990s. Even if he were to give a sincere apology today, I still wouldn't accept it and believe that he's remorseful. It showed in that 1999 interview that he had zero remorse for his actions and refuses to take any personal responsibility. The things he said back then would not fly today in 2024. He would be canceled by the voice of public opinion. To be honest, he has already been canceled by some baseball fans, Braves fans, Major League Baseball, the Braves organization, and the players that he had played with. I highly doubt that he'll ever be inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame or the Braves Hall of Fame. The Braves players that I respect highly are Chipper Jones, Greg Maddux, Hank Aaron, and John Smoltz. These four are now Baseball Hall of Famers. John Rocker will never be in that class. He wouldn't know what class or decorum meant if his life depended on it.

A person with common sense will condemn and denouce John Rocker's comments while the other state would vigorously tout that he has free speech. Yes, you do have the right to say whatever you want. However, the things that you say or do has consequences. Free speech doesn't mean freedom from consequences. Just because you have the right to say something, it doesn't mean that you're exempt from any backlash you might receive. I'm not going to let John Rocker get away with that excuse. Not only he's the biggest asshole that has ever played the sport, but a racist, homphobic, and out of touch man who is only known for becoming a controversial figure. He'll always be known as such for the rest of his life.

As someone who is black and part of the LGBTQ+ community, John Rocker has no soul and lacks empathy for others. All he cares about is pissing everyone off to start drama. He's not an ally, nor he's someone I'd want to be friends with or trust. People say to forgive and forget. I refuse to be one of those people. I'll never forgive John Rocker, because he refuses to see the obvious. If you were to search for who was the biggest piece of shit in Major League Baseball history, his name would most likely appear. Unless John Rocker change his ways and truly apologize, which I highly doubt, he'll always be the most hated person in baseball and in real life. He's an embarrassment to the game of baseball who deserves no mercy or sympathy. Whenever I have common sense and call people out for their awful behavior in these baseball community spaces, I get ridiculed and laughed at. I don't care how good or bad John Rocker was as a player. If you're so blatantly disrespectful towards certain groups of people and refuse to reevaluate your biases, then that says a lot about who you are as a person. No one should give him a pass for being so disrespectful and refusing to take accountability. He probably blames the media and society for his behavior. In reality, neither is at fault. Those were his own words that came out of his mouth. No one made him say those awful things. That's how he really feels about people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and so on.

The lesson I want to leave with everyone who have read this story is this: regardless of who someone is or who they identify as, they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. No ifs, ands, or buts. Be kind to others and don't be like John Rocker.