Rocker Gets a Hint of What Is in Store

For more than two hours Monday, baseball’s most diverse crowd really unloaded on its most celebrated redneck.

Poor John Rocker was hounded by autograph-seekers.

“He’s still somebody,” said one woman, doing a twirl in her signed baseball shirt.

He was swarmed by those hoping to catch one of the balls he threw into the stands.

“Hey, I’ve said stuff like he said, everybody has said stuff like that,” said a middle-aged man.

Then, just before 10 p.m., in the ninth inning of a game between the Dodgers and Rocker’s Atlanta Braves, it finally happened.

Rocker sprinted from the right-field bullpen to the mound, and a city’s conscience broke out.

During 15 breathtakingly angry minutes, Los Angeles told the sports world, this is not over.

It reminded everyone that insulting minorities, gays and immigrants in a national forum is a wound not easily healed.

An autograph can’t fix it. A souvenir ball can’t end it.

The minute Rocker’s cleats hit the field, Dodger Stadium erupted in chair-shaking boos filled with a venom rarely heard in these placid parts.

By the time he reached the mound, he had been pelted with cups and trash thrown with such furiousness that the public-address announcer was quickly and heartily threatening arrests.

The boos stayed strong with every pitch. The debris disappeared, but then fans in the stands began throwing words and shoves, emotions spilling over like ninth-inning beer.

Then, finally, with a 1-and-1 count on Kevin Elster and a man on first base, a fan spoke for everyone.

He ran onto the field.

He turned his back on the man who turned his back on us.

And he mooned him.

Forcing Rocker, perhaps, to see the world as the world sees him.

Such displays of trash-throwing and trespassing are dangerous and stupid.

But, as for the booing, the John Rocker who was mostly pampered for eight innings needed to hear you.

In only his second road city of the season, this John Rocker now has a hint of what awaits the ignorant and intolerant who seem unrepentant.

“The thing about John is, he’s made his own bed, now he’s got to live with it,” Atlanta’s Brian Jordan said.

Rocker had no comment because, lately, he never has any comment. Instead of trying to repair his reputation through the media, he is blaming it.

Refusing to address newspapers and fans, he has said, “is payback.”

His teammates think it is just common sense for a guy who doesn’t have much.

“Actually, we’re glad he doesn’t talk to the media right now, because he doesn’t know how to talk to the media,” Jordan said. “It’s all about maturity.”

None of this has stopped fans in Orlando or Atlanta from giving Rocker standing ovations.

Once again, in the case of both cities, we can be happy that there is not here.

Not that it started that way.

As usual, the L.A. fan showed up late.

With the exception of a few stouthearted twentysomethings unafraid to remind him of the people he hurt, Rocker had a nice stay before he took the mound.

Before the game, down the right-field line, he was surrounded by so many autograph-seekers, he could easily ignore the shouts of TV worker Ed Lee.

“John Rocker, you racist pig!”

And the screams of salesman Daniel Rodriguez.

“Rocker, you’re ugly!”

He may not have even paid much attention to student Mario Quintero.

“Rocker, you can autograph my toilet paper!”

In fact, these comments seemed mostly to enrage only those seeking Rocker’s autograph.

Somebody yelled, “Hey Rocker, are you as dumb as you look?”

Andrea Gazan, a student, turned and shouted, “Are you as dumb as you sound?”

She later said, “I don’t agree with what Rocker said, but he has his beliefs, and he has already been punished, and we need to move on.”

So move on Rocker did, to the bullpen during the game, where he signed autographs between innings--against posted National League rules--and again was so beloved he could easily ignore the chants.

Many of those who bought the $17 seats in the left-field corner did it not to rip Rocker, but to stare at him.

“I can’t believe it’s just a few of us down here yelling at him,” said Carlos Juarez, a business owner. “And everybody looks at us like we’re doing the bad thing.”

That said, John Rocker did have one little problem before his mound appearance.

It was with the three security guards initially assigned to watch the bullpen fence.

They were, well, um, minorities.

“He gave us this little sarcastic wave,” said one of the guards, “and I’m thinking, ‘You bleep. We’re trying to protect you.’ ”

He will have that protection throughout the season as he exists in a diverse world that he shunned.

While Monday night featured the worst display of fan animosity shown Rocker so far, it is probably only the start.

“We’ve got to get used to the fact that in every new town, this is going to be an event,” Atlanta announcer Don Sutton said.

After this one, while walking off the field after saving the Braves’ 2-1 victory, Rocker threw one last ball into the stands, gently tossing it to a child.

It was a nice gesture.

Taking tangible, sincere steps to embrace everyone around that child, no matter what their race or nationality, might be a better one.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at his e-mail address: bill.plaschke@latimes.com.