Macon native and former Braves star John Rocker and his girlfriend will join the cast of the next season of "Survivor."
"Survivor, San Juan del Sur" debuts Sept. 24.
The cast features six pairs of "loved ones" -- including Rocker and girlfriend Julie McGee.
Rocker, age 39, is a graduate of Macon's First Presbyterian Day School and played with the Double A Macon Braves in 1995 and 1996.
In 1999, as closer, he helped pitch the Braves to a World Series.
But his career fizzled out in his mid-20s due to arm trouble and after rants in a Sports Illustrated interview about New Yorkers, foreigners and "some queer with AIDS."
Since then, Rocker has written a book about his career and his social and political opinions. He writes columns for a conservative website and his own web site sells T-shirts labeled, "Speak English."
Their opponents include a married couple who are a policewoman and firefighter, a farmer and his daughter and two men who describe themselves as gay Christians.
Describing himself to Survivor, Rocker said, "I was raised in a professional baseball clubhouse and still carry a lot of that idiocy with me."
He said his challenges during the competition include "Overcoming the obvious stereotypes: 'The 6-foot-5 guy, ex-baseball player, he's obviously egotistical, he's obviously a jerk.'"
But his interview with "Survivor'" also pays tribute to his late father, Jake Rocker of Macon, calling him his inspiration in life: "The majority of the values, ethics and moral that have made me who I am and shape me to this today. I learned from watching how he conducted himself. My father passed in 2007 and I still find myself wanting that ability to ask his advice on certain things because his direction was so important to me for many years."
