Rohrmeier was released on August 10 by the Royals because, according to the club, he had a physical and verbal altercation with Johnson stemming from his argument with an umpire.

According to what The Cincinnati Post called "[o]thers in the Southern League," however, Rohrmeier was let go because he was closing in on Johnson's record.

[2] After making some calls, Rohrmeier was offered a roster spot with the Cincinnati Reds' Southern League affiliate within 24 hours of his release.

In 1998, he again played for Triple-A Tacoma and again had a strong season, batting .286 with 25 home runs and 104 RBI.

He and fellow American import Jay Davis, as well as Koreans Song Ji-man and Chang Jong-hoon, led the Eagles to the 1999 Korean Series championship; the team had a slugging percentage of .487, the highest team total in KBO League history.