What To Remember: Rozema had a promising rookie season in 1977, winning 15 games and placing in both the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards voting. In the following seasons, "Rosey" had mediocre success, but never had a double-digit win total season again.
What Happened?: In a game against the Minnesota Twins in 1982 at Tiger Stadium, a bench clearing brawl was started after a couple of Tigers' batters were brushed backed, and hit by pitches. Rozema, who was not playing that night, ran from the dugout and tried unsuccessfully to deliver a flying karate kick at a Twins player in the middle of the melee. After the missed kick, Rozema knew his knee was damaged and was carried off the field on a stretcher. It was later found that Rosey damaged 8 ligaments in his knee, and would miss the rest of the '82 season. After his knee rehab, he came back to pitch for the Tigers for the 1983 and 1984 seasons, but was clearly not the same pitcher prior to the karate kick. He signed a free agent contract with the Texas Rangers in the 1984 offseason, and last played professionally in 1986.
Where Is He Now?: After baseball, Rozema settled back to his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan and worked as a salesman. He is still involved with the Detroit Tigers organization, and appears at Alumni Association and Tigers' charity events. Rozema's karate kick was immortalized in the form of a stadium giveaway "Bobble-Leg" figure at Tigers minor league game in 2008.
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