Who Is John Rocker Of ‘Survivor: San Juan Del Sur’?

Season 29 of Survivor premieres Wednesday night on CBS, and fans cannot wait. This is another blood versus water season, and John Rocker is one of the contestants hoping to outplay, outlast, and outwit the others. Baseball fans may recognize Rocker, but many Survivor: San Juan del Sur fans are curious to know more about him. What’s the scoop on Rocker, who is playing alongside his girlfriend Julie McGee?

John Rocker is a former relief pitcher for the Atlanta Braves. He has a reputation for being controversial and outspoken, and many are curious to see if he will be recognized in the game. He’s not the first familiar face to play Survivor, and there have been varied results when somewhat famous people try to fly under the radar.

Before filming for Survivor: San Juan del Sur started, Rocker told Entertainment Weekly that he hoped he wouldn’t be recognized, but he also was being realistic. He expected it to be tough to go through the game without someone figuring out who he was. John noted that playing in games aired on TBS for a number of years makes it unlikely that someone won’t figure it out. Is that being realistic or perhaps a bit cocky?

As EW notes, before filming even started, at least one couple had already figured out who Rocker was. Watch for Jeremy and Val to take notice and figure it out almost immediately. It will be interesting to see if others recognize the former Braves pitcher, or if Val and Jeremy say anything.

Granted, simply playing for the Atlanta Braves isn’t the only potential challenge with going unnoticed. As previously shared by the Inquisitr, John Rocker has a bit of a reputation. A 1999 Sports Illustrated interview revealed some controversial comments that have followed Rocker throughout the years. He managed to offend multiple groups all in one interview and many have not forgotten.

Was doing Survivor: San Juan del Sur a good experience for John Rocker? Not necessarily, it seems. After filming, he spoke with CBS Sports, and Rocker admitted that he wasn’t able to fly under the radar in Survivor 29. He said he tried to be nice and was his normal self. However, he thinks due to his size, he was singled out and other castaways then figured out who he was.

Rocker says that he thought maybe having his long-time girlfriend Julie McGee in the game would soften fellow castaways up so they would see he isn’t a bad guy. However, all of the pairs were split onto different tribes for the early part of the season, so Julie being there didn’t help his game. Many Survivor spoiler fans think they have determined that Rocker will go relatively early this season.

Did the season ultimately still go well for Rocker? Apparently he doesn’t think so. He says it was worse than he expected. He admits that he thought a lot of it would be staged, as he’s done other reality shows in the past and that had been his experience. In this case, however, he says things ended up being pretty straightforward in syncing up to what fans see on television, and it seems that threw him.

The former Atlanta Braves pitcher says he did the show for the life experience, and it was a “neat bonding experience” to have Julie there. Was it such a great experience that he would come back for an All-Stars season? Apparently not. Rocker says in no uncertain terms that doing it once was enough for him.

This is a varied cast this season, with ethnic diversity throughout, as well as a gay couple of castaways in Reed Kelly and Josh Canfield. Will the harsh conditions and diverse cast bring out the worst in John Rocker? Survivor: San Juan del Sur fans will be tuning in to CBS every Wednesday beginning September 24 to find out.

[Image via Herald Mail Media]