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Controversial former MLB pitcher John Rocker offered explicit criticism of New York City on Tuesday ahead of the election for the city’s next mayor.
Rocker discussed remarks he made to Sports Illustrated in December 1999 after the Atlanta Braves faced the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series. He wrote on social media that the city hasn’t changed much in his eyes.
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Atlanta Braves’ final pitcher John Rocker returns some compliments to unruly New York Mets fans after the final out of Game 3 of the 1999 National League Championship Series at Shea Stadium. (Howard Earl Simmons/New York Daily Archives via Getty Images)
“25 years ago, I criticized New York for its rapid decline and third world country status,” he wrote on
Rocker was referring to Zohran Mamdani, who is the favorite to win the election against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
Rocker’s infamous remarks to the magazine took place during the height of the Braves-Mets rivalry in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Mets ultimately defeated the Braves in the 2000 NLCS and went to the World Series against the New York Yankees later that year.
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani greets supporters as he attends a “New York is Not for Sale” rally at Forest Hills Stadium in the Queens borough of New York, United States, October 26, 2025. (Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)
“I would retire first. It’s the most hectic and nerve-wracking city,” he told the magazine when asked if he would ever play in New York. “Imagine having to take the 7 train to the ballpark looking like you’re walking through Beirut next to a kid with purple hair, right next to a fag with AIDS, right next to a guy who just got out of prison for the fourth time, right next to a 20-year-old mother with four kids. It’s depressing.
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Anti-John Rocker fans search for him before the game between the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets at Shea Stadium in Flushing, New York, July 2, 2000. (Ezra O. Shaw/Allsport)
“The thing I don’t like most about New York is the foreigners. You can walk a whole block in Times Square and not hear anyone speaking English. Asians, Koreans, Vietnamese, Indians, Russians and Spaniards and all up there. How the hell did they get to this country?”
Rocker was suspended for his remarks and forced to undergo psychiatric consultation, according to the New York Post. He certainly heard it from the Shea Stadium faithful when he came to town the following year.
Rocker, who made 38 saves in 1999, was out of Atlanta midway through the 2001 season. He was out of the majors after two games with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2003.
He may not have played in New York, but he came as close as he got with 23 appearances for the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball in 2005.
Former Atlanta Braves relief pitcher John Rocker watches a game between the Miami Heat and the Atlanta Hawks in the first quarter at Philips Arena on February 19, 2016. (Brett Davis/USA TODAY Sports)
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Mamdani, a socialist, won the Democratic nomination for New York. Race for city mayor. The elections will take place next Tuesday.
