With many groups now clamoring for Rocker’s head, Major League Baseball last week took the extraordinary step of ordering Atlanta’s bullpen ace to have his head examined. Commissioner Bud Selig said he would withhold any disciplinary action until Rocker undergoes a psychological evaluation. The Braves applauded the move. Atlanta president Stan Kasten said Rocker has never evidenced these attitudes in his behavior and has apologized and is truly remorseful. “Under those circumstances,” he said, “I am not going to abandon a player or an employee or a friend.”
But Major League Baseball is unlikely to be as charitable. Selig termed Rocker’s sentiments “reprehensible and completely inexcusable.” In a nation where trash-talking athletes and talk-radio rants are part of the culture, he may find a few defenders. For now, the pitcher’s best hope may be that the doctors determine his problems stem from his head, not from his heart.
