Controversial retired baseball star John Rocker is endorsing Donald Trump Donald John TrumpHR McMaster says president's policy to withdraw troops from Afghanistan is 'unwise' Cast of 'Parks and Rec' reunite for virtual town hall to address Wisconsin voters Biden says Trump should step down over coronavirus response MORE.

“Absolutely,” Rocker told the The Daily Caller. “I’ve always wanted to see that person who’s like, ‘Yeah, I’ve made these comments, these are my beliefs, and you know what, if you don’t like it, stick it.' ”

“Donald Trump is that guy,” the former Major League Baseball pitcher added. "I think he has really woken America up.

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"I think that is something that millions and millions of Americans have been waiting for probably a decade or two to hear something – maybe even since [former President] Reagan,” said Rocker.

Rocker called Trump a breath of fresh air for the nation's politics.

“I’m probably as disheartened as everyone else is, as Trump supporters seem to be, with the status quo and the glad-handing politicians and the sound-bite politicians always looking for the right comment to make and walking that fine line trying to make every single faction out there, who could be a possible voter, don’t make anybody mad and wear kid gloves,” he said.

Rocker shocked sports fans by after he made controversial comments about immigrants in New York City in a 1999 Sports Illustrated interview.

“I’m not a very big fan of foreigners,” he said at the time. "You can walk an entire block in Times Square and not hear anybody speaking English."

Rocker, though, had positive remarks about Trump's ties with New York City.

“[New Yorkers] are always striving for the best,” Rocker said. "It can get a little obnoxious and arrogant at times, but at the same time, it can be a good thing.

“[The] people who live there, they love it and they’re willing to work damn hard and get calluses on their hands and elbow grease on their elbows just to live there. I think that’s very commendable in a lot of areas.”

Ted Cruz, another GOP presidential contender, has repeatedly attacked Trump as embodying “New York values” that are too liberal for average Republicans.

The two candidates are locked in a close race in Iowa, which votes next Monday. Trump leads the Texas senator by only 6 points in the Hawkeye state.