JUST ONE OF THE GUYS
Rocker seemed to make the most of his stay in Richmond. On Monday night, he reportedly took in WCW's Monday Nitro at the Richmond Coliseum, cavorting with his pal, Goldberg, backstage afterward.
Then Rocker was spotted Tuesday afternoon working out at a gym on Richmond's West End, where he signed autographs for about a dozen people.
"People were asking him to sign T-shirts, napkins, magazines. This lady got the Southern Living magazine signed," said Eric Watkins, an employee of American Family Gym. "He was nice about it. He just walked around and said 'hi' to everyone."
Overall, Richmonders showered Rocker with Southern hospitality. There were close to 15 school-age boys waiting in the right-field stands with baseballs and Rocker trading cards, hoping he would sign after batting practice.
After stretching and playing long toss, Rocker stood around for the rest of batting practice with his arms folded across his chest, chatting with fellow reliever Ricardo Jordan. Once the R-Braves were done hitting, Rocker took the back way into the clubhouse, bypassing the fans and, more to the point, the throng of media members gathered near the home dugout.
"I think Rocker's a good guy," added Watkins. "Obviously, he doesn't like the media very much."
Because of measures taken by Richmond's front office, reporters could barely get within shouting distance of Rocker. The media was banned from the field during batting practice, and the Richmond clubhouse was closed before and after the game.
But Ingle and Richmond Braves players insisted Rocker was a real softy during his stay.
"He's said hello to everyone on the team. He's just one of the guys," said righthander Tim Pugh. "I haven't heard one negative thing come out of his mouth."
"He didn't make himself out to be some superstar," added Ebert. "He was great to everybody."
And now he's gone.
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