John Rocker set for one (and only) chance on CBS' 'Survivor'
Former MLB closer John Rocker is going to be on CBS' hit reality show "Survivor," starting Wednesday night. Find out what he had to say about being on the show, having a target on his back and if he'd play again.
By
Matt Snyder
•
3 min read
The 29th season of CBS' hit reality show Survivor begins Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 8 p.m. ET, 7 CT. This version is called "Survivor: San Juan del Sur" and is the second season with the "Blood vs. Water" twist -- that is, each castaway is paired with a loved one, though said loved one begins on the opposite tribe.
Baseball fans will recognize one of the castaways this season: Former MLB closer (mostly with the Braves) John Rocker. He's paired with his girlfriend, Julie.
Given that Rocker is huge (he said that he's 6-feet-5 and currently weighs around 250 pounds), is well known for his controversial comments in a 1999 Sports Illustrated article, is a former major-league player and made over $5 million in his career, being a fan of the show tells me that he'll enter the game with a huge target on his back.
What's funny, though, is he didn't realize it.
"I foolishly thought going in that I could kind of sneak under the radar and go unnoticed and ... yeah, that didn’t happen," he said in a phone interview with CBSSports.com.
"I tried to be as nice as I could to everybody and be my normal self. Obviously looking from past seasons, whether it's Jeff Kent, Jimmie Johnson or Cliff Robinson, the athlete gets singled out," Rocker said. "The presence that someone who is 6-foot-5, 250 pounds carries with him, it’s hard to go unnoticed. People start saying 'who is this big guy here,' and eventually put two and two together. 'Oh, it's that guy.'"
(Photo credit: Timothy Kuratek/CBS)
Which left me wondering, would he have trouble combating stereotypes that stem from his past comments and, if so, would having his girlfriend around help shield him?
"To some degree, but not to a huge extent," he said of stereotypes about him being carried over.
"I thought maybe [Julie] could soften them up and get them to see I'm not the monster the media has portrayed me to be, but once you get out there and realize you're on two different tribes, that goes out the window."
Misjudging how he would be perceived by the other castaways wasn't the only thing Rocker got wrong. He also didn't think Survivor would be as real as it actually is.
"I wouldn't say it was harder than I expected; I would say it was worse than I expected," he said.
"I've been a part of a number of reality shows in the past. I was on the inaugural season of Pros vs. Joes and been behind the scenes of a number of other shows. Seeing how staged and for-the-camera a lot of reality shows are and what they're trying to create, I just assumed Survivor was going to be the same. I was wrong. I was really shocked to find out what you see is what you get. It's pretty straight forward."
(Photo credit: Timothy Kuratek/CBS)
Given his athletic background, it's possible to say that Rocker had a bit of an advantage in terms of preparing himself to go through the grind of the show, but it's such a unique experience, it's pretty tough to prepare.
"In terms of preparation, I think [I had an advantage]," Rocker said. "Just because I'm used to taking just a few weeks after the season to recover and then working out and staying in shape every day. But there again, I thought I came up with a good plan, where I was training like I was training for a major-league baseball season -- as far as an offseason training regimen -- but Survivor and major-league baseball are two drastically different things. I don't know what the proper way to train for Survivor would be."
The winner of Survivor takes home $1 million, but money wasn't the ultimate motivation for Rocker to appear on the show, he said.
"Just the life experience," he answered when asked about his motivation to compete on the show. "I've done a lot of cool things in my life, gotten to travel a lot and see a lot of things and this was one of those bucket list things to check off and say, 'Yeah, I did that.' To bring back stories and memories, that kind of stuff. Especially to get to bring Julie, that was a neat bonding experience for us. It was an all-around interesting life experience."
Sometimes players are brought back to second, third or even fourth seasons on the show. If he were invited back, would he go?
"Absolutely not," Rocker said with zero hesitation. "One time is enough."
So we'll see how he fares in his one time on the show, starting this coming Wednesday, only on CBS. Set those DVRs and tune in.
