--- description: The retired pitcher will compete in Survivor: San Juan del Sur — Blood vs. Water, which will debut on Sept. 24. title: Ex-MLB Bad Boy John Rocker to Star in Newest Season of Survivor image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt06dad038510ea44f/6986a133d0b6f26723305da3/john-rocker.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Infamous Ex-Pitcher John Rocker to Star in Newest Season of _Survivor_ by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 28, 2014 9:37 AM CUT  Former Braves player John Rocker participates in a pre-game ceremony honoring many Braves alumni at Turner Field on August 8, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia. Former Braves player John Rocker participates in a pre-game ceremony honoring many Braves alumni at Turner Field on August 8, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia.Kevin Liles — Getty Images by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 28, 2014 9:37 AM CUT The newest season of _Survivor_ will feature none other than former Major League Baseball pitcher John Rocker, according to [CBS Sports](http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/24682700/former-mlber-john-rocker-and-girlfriend-to-compete-on-cbs-survivor "undefined"). The retired pitcher, who played portions of six seasons in the MLB, will compete in _Survivor: San Juan del Sur — Blood vs. Water_, which will debut on Sept. 24, CBS says. Rocker is notoriously remembered for the bigoted comments he made about New Yorkers during a widely publicized interview in _Sports Illustrated_ in 1999. “I was raised in a professional baseball clubhouse and still carry a lot of that idiocy with me,” said Rocker in a [trailer](http://mashable.com/2014/08/27/survivor-season-29-cast/?utm%5Fcid=mash-com-Tw-main-link "undefined") released by CBS. The former reliever will appear on the show alongside his girlfriend Julie McGee. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3203034/baseball-pitcher-john-rocker-survivor/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3203034/baseball-pitcher-john-rocker-survivor/"},"headline":"Infamous Ex-Pitcher John Rocker to Star in Newest Season of Survivor","datePublished":"2014-08-28T09:37:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:53:47.174Z","description":"Series kicks off on Sept. 24","url":"https://time.com/3203034/baseball-pitcher-john-rocker-survivor/","keywords":["Television","Baseball","MLB","Racism","reality tv","CBS","Survivor"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt06dad038510ea44f/6986a133d0b6f26723305da3/john-rocker.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Stout","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-stout/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt06dad038510ea44f/6986a133d0b6f26723305da3/john-rocker.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Washington Nationals v Atlanta Braves","caption":"Washington Nationals v Atlanta Braves","creditText":"Kevin Liles — Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3203034/baseball-pitcher-john-rocker-survivor/","name":"Infamous Ex-Pitcher John Rocker to Star in Newest Season of Survivor"}}]}] ```