Former Atlanta Braves Pitcher John Rocker to Star on New Season of 'Survivor'

In awful, tangentially baseball-related news, John Rocker will be making his return to television this September as a cast member on Survivor.

Bloguin reports that the former Atlanta Braves pitcher will be competing alongside girlfriend Julie McGee on the show for a $1 million prize.

Rocker spoke about his chances to win the prize money with Entertainment Weekly’s Dalton Ross in a recent interview.

Naturally, Ross was curious to know if the former ballplayer’s rampant xenophobia would be held against him come competition time.

In short, Rocker’s not too concerned.

“Not really,” Rocker said. “I see these folks that I’m getting ready to play this game with as very similar to the 13 years of professional baseball that I played, and the teammates that I played with. Some of my biggest supporters after that SI debacle were my current and past teammates.”

Rocker also said he’s going to try to keep a low profile in the game, as pro athletes don’t typically make it far on Survivor.

“I’m gonna try to play under the radar,” Rocker said. “Hopefully they won’t know that I had a significant career in major league baseball.”

Yep. John Rocker. Under the radar. Works every time.

McGee believes the biggest obstacle to Rocker winning is how muscular and scary he is.

“He’s intimidating, he can’t help it,” McGee said. “He’s a big guy…he’s going to try his best not to be as intimidating. I don’t know, maybe push his muscles down.”

When asked how winning Survivor would stack up against his baseball achievements, Rocker rolled his eyes. 

“Seriously?” Rocker asked. “It’d be a feather in the cap, but take me back to the World Series.” 

Survivor: San Juan del Sur—Blood vs. Water premieres Sept. 24 on CBS. Mark your calendars accordingly and try not to pelt your screen with batteries, sports fans. 

It’s not worth it. D-cells are expensive.

Follow Dan on Twitter for more sports and pop culture news.

Follow @Dr_Carson_