John Rocker has been traded from the Atlanta Braves to the Cleveland Indians, an event that has not been without a great deal of attention.
Trading players from one team to another is not unusual; indeed, it is a routine occurrence in the business of baseball. But, John Rocker is a special case, and one wonders if the respective teams knew what was at issue.
Rocker is at best grossly immature, and at worst, he is a certifiable bigot whose on- and off-the-field antics and utterances are despicable.
Certainly, he is considerably less than a wholesome representative for major league baseball. Not surprisingly, both teams made light of his personality and the extreme negativism he brings. They would have you believe that the trade helped both teams. Perhaps so, but the belief here is that it had become necessary to move Rocker out of Atlanta. Whether he brings his act to Cleveland or straightens out remains to be seen.
Let us remember just a couple of years ago Rocker was fined and suspended by major league baseball for inappropriate remarks and actions. His comments in New York last week following a game with the Yankees were consistent with what Rocker is all about.
Asked to speak with reporters, Rocker was quoted as having said, “I would rather mop the floors in a peep show than talk to you.” When we consider the general tendency of many players to be totally public relations unconscious, it may be this remark will go unpunished.
Unfortunately, Rocker may be a creature of the times, and a product of a bigoted, ignorant environment. Jacques Barzun, a historian, writer, and keen student of the human condition wrote, “To know America, you must first know baseball.”
As such, we must accept that the game is a microcosm of our society. Thus, Rocker is emblematic of problems in our society, as open and great as it is. Thankfully, while there are the John Rockers and Albert Belles (to mention a couple totally bereft of good manners), there are a lot of solid citizens epitomized by the likes of Derek Jeter and Cal Ripken, Jr.
Of course, the behavior of Rocker and his ilk is not new to baseball by any stretch of the imagination. To be sure, there have been many anti-social types, as personified by none other than Ty Cobb.
The Rocker affair leads to a recall of the social contrariness of Dixie Walker, a Brooklyn Dodger outfielder of the 1940s. It was a serious transgression that marred a remarkable major-league career of a man who had a .306 lifetime batting average over nearly two decades, and was extremely popular in Brooklyn. He was to become known as “The People’s Cherce (as pronounced in Brooklyn).”
Baseball had made significant social progress through the arrival of Jackie Robinson, thanks to the foresight of Branch Rickey. Allegedly, in 1947, Walker (a southerner by birth) organized a petition signing among his teammates, hoping to force Rickey to keep Robinson off the team. Obviously, the petition was squelched. Walker asked to be traded and was, albeit a year later.
Dixie Walker’s problem apparently was coming to grips with the social order, and playing with blacks, and in the long perspective of history, one wonders if he was merely ignorant, much as Rocker may well be.
To Walker’s credit, however, it has been said that after the failed petition, and prior to having been traded, he would help Robinson when they were teammates. Additionally, years later he would say that Robinson had been a great ballplayer.
Rocker should learn from Dixie Walker, and adapt to society. To use an old line, he should “learn to say hello before it is time to say goodbye.” Forgetting the baseball talk about both teams being helped by the trade, it may provide Rocker with an opportunity to change his behavior, and let his talent do the talking.
» Sam Person is a retired CPA and university professor of accounting. He has been a baseball fan for over sixty years and enjoys writing on baseball topics.
Also by Sam Person
» DiMaggio for Williams: The Trade That Never Happened
» My Favorite Events at Each Position
» Some More Jewish Baseball Players
» My Brother’s Baseball Cards
» Strange Endings to Baseball Careers
» The Pitching Change
» More submissions
Copyright © 2001 by Sam Person. Posted June 25, 2001.
BALLPLAYERS | TEAMS | CHRONOLOGY | TODAY | BOOKS | NEWSLETTER | ERRATA | FAQ
