Rocky Night for John Rocker

By Stephen M. Silverman

07/22/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

Brian Peterson, 22, was arrested at Shea Stadium last night, allegedly for tossing a beer bottle at controversial Atlanta Braves relief pitcher John Rocker. The bottle missed the ballplayer (who made some derogatory remarks about ethnic groups, gays and city life in general to Sports Illustrated last year) by about 10 feet. If Peterson's name sounds familiar, it is because he is the same man who in 1998, along with his girlfriend Amy Grossberg, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of their newborn son in a Delaware motel room. (Peterson testified against Grossberg in exchange for a shorter sentence. He was released after 18 months of his two-year sentence.) Peterson's friend, Raymond Mancini, 22, was also arrested in last night's Shea incident, charged with trying to prevent Peterson's arrest. "I don't have anything to say," Rocker told the Associated Press after the Braves pounced the Mets 7-1 to clinch the National League's Eastern championship.