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36-651: The Central Nebraska League began play as an Independent level minor league in 1903, The five members were the teams based in Giltner, Nebraska , Holdrege, Nebraska , McCook, Nebraska , Minden, Nebraska and Red Cloud, Nebraska . The league began the season calling itself the Southwestern Nebraska Baseball League. The first published standings of the league had the Holdrege and McCook teams tied for first place with 4–0 records on June 19, 1903. Giltner

72-474: A 1999 Sports Illustrated interview and continued after his retirement. Following the conclusion of his baseball career, Rocker competed on Survivor: San Juan del Sur with girlfriend Julie McGee, placing 16th. In high school, he was a pitcher for First Presbyterian Day School in Macon , Georgia . He threw three no-hitters during his high-school career. He initially committed to play college baseball for

108-537: A 6.66 ERA and was released. In 2003, Rocker signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays but was released after two appearances and an ERA of 9.00. He took the 2004 season off to recover from surgery on his left shoulder. In 2005, he signed with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League . In April 2005, he asked New Yorkers to "bury the hatchet." After going 0–2 with a 6.50 ERA in 23 games, he

144-590: A level considered major league from 1914 to 1915. Few independent leagues existed between 1915 and 1993. Major exceptions included the Carolina League and the Quebec -based Provincial League . The Carolina League, based in the North Carolina Piedmont region, gained a reputation as a notorious "outlaw league" during its existence from 1936 to 1938. The Provincial League fielded six teams across Quebec and

180-604: A semi-pro traveling team. as of July 24, 1903 Central Nebraska League - Baseball Reference Independent baseball league An independent baseball league is a professional baseball league in the United States or Canada that is not overseen by Major League Baseball or its affiliated Minor League Baseball system (historically referred to as organized baseball ). Independent leagues have flourished in northeastern states, where dense populations can often support multiple franchises . Because they are not subject to

216-552: A shoulder surgery. In December 2011, he admitted to using steroids, saying "Yeah, of course I was [using steroids]. I mean who wasn't? Let’s be honest here, who wasn't?" The comments made by Rocker about New York City would be lampooned by the MTV animated series Celebrity Deathmatch in their episode " Celebrity Deathmatch: North vs. South"; befitting the theme, his opponent was New York Yankees icon Derek Jeter , with an elderly announcer reciting some of his dialogue in-universe before

252-602: A speaking engagement in Atlanta . The reporter, Jeff Pearlman , wrote that during the interview session, Rocker spat on a Georgia State Route 400 toll machine and mocked Asian women. Also, Rocker referred to Curaçaoan teammate Randall Simon as a "fat monkey ". Although Rocker later apologized after speaking with Braves legend and Hall of Famer Hank Aaron and former Atlanta mayor and congressman Andrew Young , he continued to make controversial remarks. For his comments, Commissioner Bud Selig suspended Rocker without pay for

288-529: A variety of independent semi-professional leagues consisting of industrial teams , where the players are regular employees of the company that own the team and are additionally paid to play baseball for the company on the side. South Korea also has series of small independent leagues. Additionally, as of 2024, two Japanese teams without affiliation to NPB teams play within NPB's minor leagues (the Eastern League and

324-774: Is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played six seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his major league debut in 1998 with the Atlanta Braves , for whom he played parts of four seasons. He was later a member of the Cleveland Indians , Texas Rangers , and Tampa Bay Devil Rays . He last played professionally for the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball in 2005. Rocker received notoriety during his career for making controversial statements, which began with

360-546: The Chicago Tribune . "Can't you use a lewd term in America if you want?" Referring to sensitivity training , he was quoted as saying: "It was a farce, a way for the scared little man, Bud Selig , to get people off his ass." Rocker stated that when he attended mandatory sensitivity training he would seldom remain longer than 15 minutes. He also claimed he never paid the $ 500 fine that was levied against him. In late 2006, Rocker

396-508: The Georgia Bulldogs . The Atlanta Braves selected Rocker in the 18th round (516th overall) of the 1993 Major League Baseball draft . In 1998, the Braves promoted Rocker to the major leagues. In his first season in the major leagues, he was 1–3 with a 2.13 ERA in 38 innings pitched. The following year, an injury put Atlanta closer Kerry Ligtenberg on the disabled list , moving Rocker into

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432-749: The MLB Draft League , which operates as an amateur collegiate summer baseball league in the first half of each season and a professional league outside of the structure of Minor League Baseball for the remainder. Independent baseball leagues and teams exist outside of North America, though rarer. In Japan, the Japan Independent Baseball League Organization, which consists of the Shikoku Island League Plus and Baseball Challenge League , operates independently from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Japan also has

468-519: The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum , Tim Raines and Rickey Henderson . Gary Carter , another Hall of Famer, managed in the league. The Atlantic League has had many notable managers and coaches, including Wally Backman , Frank Viola , Tommy John , Sparky Lyle , and Bud Harrelson . The Northern League alumni include Leon "Bull" Durham , J. D. Drew , and Darryl Strawberry . Independent leagues are those professional leagues in

504-556: The Statue of Liberty . Rocker made his screen-acting debut in the 2002 horror comedy The Greenskeeper as a murderous golf-club groundskeeper. In 2006, Rocker appeared on the Spike TV network's Pros vs. Joes , a program that pits retired professional athletes against amateurs. In August 2014 it was announced that Rocker would appear on the 29th season of the competitive reality series Survivor alongside his girlfriend Julie McGee. He

540-551: The Western League ). Similarly, within KBO Futures League , the minor league of Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), there is an unaffiliated team that consists only of South Korean military personnel . A select number of Japanese independent teams also participate in the off-season Miyazaki Phoenix League alongside Japanese and Korean minor league teams. John Rocker John Loy Rocker (born October 17, 1974)

576-460: The Braves, calling him "a piece of shit". On Survivor , during an argument with fellow castaway Natalie Anderson , Rocker told her, "If you were a man, I'd knock your teeth out." In March 2007, Rocker was implicated in a steroid ring that included Applied Pharmacy of Mobile, Alabama . Rocker initially denied the reports that he had used somatropin but a spokesperson later claimed that Rocker had been prescribed human growth hormone following

612-716: The National Association after one season of independence. Notable exceptions were the California League , which was independent in 1902 and from 1907 to 1909; the United States Baseball League , which folded during its independent 1912 season; and the Colonial League, a National Association Member that went independent in 1915 and then folded. Another independent league, the Federal League , played at

648-522: The Northern League's success paved the way for other independent leagues like the Texas-Louisiana League and Northeast League . Over the next eight years, at least 16 independent leagues formed, of which six existed in 2002. As of the 2024 season, there are seven active leagues, with four of them acting as MLB Partner Leagues . Additionally, Major League Baseball co-operatively operates

684-507: The United States and Canada not under the purview of organized Minor League Baseball and the Commissioner of Baseball. Independent baseball existed in the early 20th century and has become prominent again since 1993. Leagues operated mostly autonomously before 1902, when the majority joined the NAPBL. From then until 1915, a total of eight new and existing leagues remained independent. Most joined

720-590: The ballpark looking like you're riding through Beirut next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS , right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time, right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It's depressing... The biggest thing I don't like about New York are the foreigners. You can walk an entire block in Times Square and not hear anybody speaking English. Asians and Koreans and Vietnamese and Indians and Russians and Spanish people and everything up there. How

756-480: The hell did they get in this country? During the interview, he also spoke of his opinion of the New York Mets and their fans: Nowhere else in the country do people spit at you, throw bottles at you, throw quarters at you, throw batteries at you and say, "Hey, I did your mother last night—she's a whore." I talked about what degenerates they were and they proved me right. The interview was conducted while driving to

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792-418: The match to rile the crowd against Rocker (though he would not portray himself in the episode, being impersonated by a worker on the show, Sean Lynch). Jeter, thoroughly infuriated by his comments, wins the match by throwing a tomahawk into his pitching shoulder (so deeply it forces his arm into an upright position), then electrocuting Rocker by hooking a car battery to his tongue, with his charred body resembling

828-494: The negativity surrounding Rocker earlier in the game as one of the multiple reasons that she decided to withdraw from the competition. Though not directly based on Rocker, Danny McBride said that Kenny Powers, the main protagonist of the HBO series Eastbound and Down that the pitcher was "more or less an inspiration" for the character. In December 2011, Rocker released his autobiography , Scars and Strikes . As of 2012, he writes

864-509: The remainder of spring training and the first 28 games of the 2000 season, which on appeal was reduced to 14 games (without a spring-training suspension). In 2002, while with the Rangers, Rocker again made national headlines for his views after directing slurs towards patrons of a Dallas restaurant at which he was dining, located in the predominantly gay neighborhood of Oak Lawn . In June 2006, Rocker defended former teammate Ozzie Guillén , at

900-503: The role of closer , where he was 4–5 with 38 saves and a 2.49 ERA. In 2000, he was 1–2 with 24 saves, posting a 2.89 ERA, but in June 2000, Rocker was demoted after threatening a reporter. Rocker started to receive intense taunting from opposing teams' fans due to his negative behavior, and his pitching performance began to decline. On June 22, 2001, Rocker, along with minor-league infielder Troy Cameron (Atlanta's first-round draft pick in 1997),

936-445: The season as a traveling team. The Central Nebraska League permanently folded after the 1903 season. The exact team records and standings of the 1903 Central Nebraska League are unknown, as the league folded on July 28, 1903. The last known standings were published on July 24, 1903, shortly before Minden and Giltner disbanded. Red Cloud and McCook disbanded shortly thereafter, disbanding the league and leaving Holdrege to continue play as

972-645: The territorial limitations imposed on affiliated minor-league teams, independent clubs can relocate as close to affiliated teams (and one another) as they choose to. For example, the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania , cannot have an affiliated team because of its proximity to the Harrisburg Senators and Reading Fightin Phils , leaving the Atlantic League to place a team—the Lancaster Barnstormers —to fill

1008-529: The time the manager of the Chicago White Sox , for referring to Chicago Sun-Times sports columnist Jay Mariotti as a "fag". Guillen, a native of Venezuela , claimed it was not a derogatory term and that, in Venezuela, the term only questions another man's courage rather than his sexual orientation. "This is a free country. If he wants to use a lewd term, he should be able to use a lewd term," Rocker told

1044-655: The void. Another example is the greater New York City metropolitan area, where there are many independent teams: the Long Island Ducks , Staten Island FerryHawks , New Jersey Jackals , New York Boulders , and Sussex County Miners . The Atlantic League considered as the top level of competition among the independent leagues, and has had more marquee players than any other independent league, including Jose Canseco , Mat Latos , Steve Lombardozzi Jr. , Francisco Rodríguez , Chien-Ming Wang , Roger Clemens , Rich Hill , Scott Kazmir , Juan González , John Rocker , and Dontrelle Willis . Two former Atlantic League players are in

1080-529: Was in first place with a 10–2 record, followed by McCook at 7–3. Giltner was in third place with a record of 5–8, followed by Minden at 3–7 and Red Cloud 1–11. Newspaper records indicate that through July 24, 1903, Holdrege and McCook were tied for first place with 19–7 records. The standings were published shortly before the Minden and Giltner teams both disbanded. When Red Cloud and McCook disbanded shortly after, this left only Holdrege remaining. Holdrege then finished

1116-425: Was independent from 1948 to 1949. Similarly to early 20th-century independent leagues, it joined the National Association in 1950, playing for six more years. Independent leagues saw new growth after 1992, after the new Professional Baseball Agreement in organized baseball instituted more stringent revenue and stadium requirements on members. The Northern League and Frontier League both started play in 1993, and

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1152-470: Was interviewed by the sports blog Deadspin , along with fitness model and then-girlfriend Alicia Marie. In the interview, Rocker discussed his "Speak English" campaign, as well as his upcoming book, Rocker: Scars & Strikes . Rocker stated that the book would not be used to try to repair his reputation, but would rather be "more conservative Republican rantings". Also during the interview, Rocker lambasted John Schuerholz , his former general manager with

1188-411: Was next with a 3–3 record, followed by Red Cloud 1–5 and Minden 0–4. On June 19, the "S.W. Nebraska League" published standings showed Holdrege in first place with an 8–1 record. McCook was in second place at 7–3, followed by Minden 3–4, Giltner 3–6 and Red Cloud 1–7. In standings published on July 3, 1903, the league is called the "Central Nebraska League" for the first time. On that date, Holdrege

1224-575: Was released on June 27, 2005. In a story published in the December 27, 1999, issue of Sports Illustrated , Rocker made a number of allegations stemming from his experiences in New York City and answering a question about whether he would ever play for the New York Yankees or the New York Mets : I'd retire first. It's the most hectic, nerve-wracking city. Imagine having to take the 7 Train to

1260-403: Was the third person voted out, finishing in 16th place after he became the center of negative attention. He was immediately recognized by some of the other players who were aware of his controversial statements. He was voted out of the game with an immunity idol in his pocket on Day 8. McGee made it to the merge phase of the game, but quit in 12th place after suffering an emotional breakdown, citing

1296-650: Was traded to the Cleveland Indians for right-handed relievers Steve Karsay and Steve Reed , along with cash. In Cleveland, his record that year was 3–7 with a 5.45 ERA and four saves. Rocker pitched in the ALDS against the Seattle Mariners . After the season, the Indians traded him to the Texas Rangers for pitcher David Elder . In Texas, he refused designation to the minor leagues. In 2002, he again struggled at 2–3 with

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