The gate to the visitors' bullpen parted, and there he was, sprinting towards the pitcher's mound into a thick wall of hate. This was the moment America had waited for: John Rocker against the city of New York, a one-on-one which, if anyone was counting, was more like eight million on one.
|  | | John Rocker was able to collect himself and pitch a perfect eighth inning Thursday. |
Until the eighth inning, the first of a four-game Mets-Braves series was just a long, cruel tease, as everyone in the ballpark waited for the chance to see Rocker and his familiar, sneering face.
Oh, no one dared to miss judgement day: there were cops and reporters, TV cameras, MLB officials and, of course, the very people Rocker had picked a fight with last October in the playoffs, and again in Sports Illustrated in December.
Finally, the collision occurred, as the Braves were clinging to a 6-4 lead with six outs to go. There was talk that Atlanta manager Bobby Cox would take the easy way out this weekend, keeping Rocker hidden behind the army of 700 police officers for all four games, letting this NL East showdown pass without incident.
But Cox chose to enter the jaws of controversy, asking Rocker to retire Robin Ventura, Todd Zeile and Jay Payton. It was as big a gamble as the Braves could've taken, considering they were in first place by only two games and actually needed to beat the surging Mets, who had won seven straight before Thursday.
At least Rocker had the sense to skip the No. 7 train, choosing to accept a ride to Shea in an unmarked police cruiser. Once he arrived, Rocker was protected by the largest contingent of police officers anyone could remember working a Shea event, prompting one veteran of the force to say, "God forbid anything else happens in the city today."
Rocker was in the building by 2 p.m. slipping into the visitors clubhouse only after the corridor had been cleared and swept of any possible security breaches by plainclothes cops -- just like a foreign head of state. Give Rocker credit, though, for having the guts to interact with fans during batting practice, shaking hands and signing autographs and actually smiling.
Rocker did far better in person than he did in a video-taped, stiffly-delivered speech to Mets fans that aired on the DiamondVision screen, just as fans were settling in for Rick Reed's first pitch.
All that did was heighten the level of tension in the ballpark, because no one believed Rocker wrote that statement. Or if he did, no one believed he believed it. No matter how hard Rocker tried, there was no softening the city's rage, and whether the wait would last a night or an entire summer, New Yorkers wanted payback.
Was Rocker nervous? You bet. He practically hyperventilated while making the short sprint to the mound in the eighth inning, and it didn't help matters that two objects -- a baseball and, apparently, a battery -- were hurled from the stands.
But despite the projectiles, which missed Rocker, the Braves were generally pleased by the non-violent reaction from fans.
"We were kind of observing from afar," Chipper Jones said. "Just giving everyone a chance to throw what they want, yell what they want, and then go out there. I give a lot of credit to the fans, because John ticked off a lot of people. They were very professional."
Professional, meaning sensible. Meaning, for the most part, Met fans respected Rocker's right to pitch in safety. But the noise-level was overpowering. Radio broadcaster Bob Murphy, who has been calling Met games since 1962, asked listeners, "Have you ever heard 46,000 boo that loudly?"
Indeed, Rocker seemed wobbly and literally out of control as he took his warm-ups, breathing so hard it looked like he might pass out. He fell behind in the count to Ventura, going 3-1 on pitches that weren't even close.
In the Braves' dugout, Cox worriedly leaned into Leo Mazzone's ear, the two wondering if this would be Rocker's 34th walk in less than 23 innings this year. And it would've been, had Ventura not swung at ball four -- a shoulder-level fastball that could've changed the course of the game.
Who knows if Rocker would've stayed in the game to face Zeile and Payton, both right-handed hitters? Who knows if, in another deluge of rage and frustration, Rocker wouldn't have lashed out at one of the dozens of fans taunting him from atop the Braves' dugout?
We'll never know, because Ventura's swing-and-miss paved the way for strike three one pitch later. All the anxiety seemed to flow out of Rocker at that instant, and he went about the business of smothering the Mets, 1-2-3.
Later -- after Cox allowed Kerry Ligtenberg to finish off the Mets in the ninth, preserving the 6-4 victory -- Rocker refused to meet with the press, which was predictable. And the Mets were equally reluctant to over-focus on Rocker's appearance, which manager Bobby Valentine called, "a non-event."
What the Mets did say, in Ventura's words, was, "he pitched very well. He threw great. But he's always been a good pitcher, so it wasn't a surprise to us."
In fact, the Mets clocked Rocker's fastball at 96 mph, which is to say, his universe had returned to normal.
For now, anyway. For one night.
"From the 22nd of December, this was the day, June 29th, everyone circled on the schedule," Braves president Stan Kasten said. "We've made it through it. It turned out to be just a baseball game."
Bob Klapisch of the Bergen (N.J.) Record writes his Baseball in the Big Apple column throughout the season. | |
ALSO SEE
Rocker retires Mets, Braves win, calm reigns
Safely back at Shea (sans train), Rocker pitches perfect eighth
AUDIO/VIDEO
 John Rocker gives a statement before the game.
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