Al Kaline dies at 85 - 美國職棒

https://reurl.cc/5l591M

Al Kaline, a Hall of Famer who played all 22 years of his career in Detroit,
earning the nickname "Mr. Tiger,"died Monday, a team official confirmed to ESPN.
Kaline was 85.

Al Kaline, 這位生涯22年都效力於底特律老虎，人稱「老虎先生」的大聯盟名人堂選手，
在美國時間04/06過世，享壽85歲。

Kaline, an All-Star in 15 seasons and a 10-time Gold Glove winner in right
field, retired shortly after recording his 3,000th hit in 1974 and joined the
Tigers' broadcasting team. He continued to work for the Tigers after his
retirement from the booth in 2002.

生涯於明星賽出賽15次(總共入選18次)及拿下10座右外野金手套的Al Kaline，在1974年擊
出第3000支安打後沒多久隨即就宣布退休，並加入老虎隊的轉播團隊，從那時開始就一路工
作到2002年才從轉播台退役。

He became the first Tiger to have his number retired, with the "No. 6" by
which he was known in the clubhouse going up on the walls in 1980. He was
also elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame that year, his first on the ballot.

他是老虎隊史上第一位享有背號退休榮譽的球員，他的6號背號在1980年的時候高掛在老虎
球場的牆上。他在當年也被選入名人堂。

"Baseball lost a titan today," Tigers chairman and CEO Christopher Ilitch
said in a statement. "Anyone who knew Al Kaline would describe his gentle
soul and passion for baseball as an unbelievably powerful combination, making
him one of the most respected players in Major League Baseball history."

"棒球界今天失去了一位偉大的巨人。"老虎球團主席兼CEO的 Christopher Ilitch在聲明
中說到。"任何認識Al Kaline的人都知道，他溫文儒雅的個性以及對於棒球的熱愛，使他
成為大聯盟史上最受尊敬的選手之一。"


The cause of death was not immediately known, but the Detroit News reported
that Kaline had recently suffered a stroke.

Kaline的死因尚未得知，不過底特律的新聞媒體報導近來他因中風所苦。

Born and raised in Baltimore, Kaline joined the Tigers right out of high
school, making his major league debut in 1953. By 1955, he had become the
youngest player ever to win the American League batting title and finished
second to Yogi Berra in voting for the AL MVP.

Kaline出生於巴爾的摩並在那邊長大。Kaline在高中畢業後馬上就加入了老虎隊，並在
1953年展開他的大聯盟生涯。到了1955年的時候，他當時是聯盟史上最年輕拿下美國聯盟
打擊王的選手，且在當年的美聯MVP票選當中以第二名的成績，輸給當年洋基的Yogi Berra

Like many players of his era, Kaline worked in the offseason after getting
into the majors. He was a salesman in a Baltimore sporting goods store --
even after he won the batting title in 1955.

就如同那個世代的許多球員，即便進到大聯盟，但是在球季結束後，還是必須要在外面工
作。Kaline當時候在巴爾的摩的一間體育用品店擔任銷售員－
即使他在1955年球季拿下了美聯打擊王。

"I was a terrible salesman," Kaline said. "Most of the time, I was down in
the basement practicing my swing."

"我真的是一個很糟糕的銷售員。"Kaline這麼說過。"大部分的時間，我都在地下室練習揮
棒。"

Justin Verlander, who won the American League Cy Young Award with the Tigers
in 2011, lauded Kaline on social media Monday, saying "I hope you knew how
much I enjoyed our conversations about baseball," in a post on Twitter.

Justin Verlander，在2011拿下美國聯盟賽揚獎以及MVP的前老虎球員，在社群媒體上大力
讚揚Kaline。"我希望你們知道我多麼喜歡和Kaline聊有關棒球的話題。"Verlander在他的
個人Twitter這樣說。

Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro concurred. "This one hits hard," he told
ESPN. "Al, Harmon Killebrew, Brooks Robinson, Robin Yount, I loved seeing
them in Cooperstown because they were old-school, just real gentlemen."

名人堂投手Phil Niekro也同意這樣子的說法。
"這真的令人難過，像Al、Harmon Killbrew、Brooks Robinson、Robin Yount這樣的名人
堂選手，我喜歡在Cooperstown看到他們的名字，因為他們老派的風格，就如紳士一般。"

Kaline made his lone appearance in a World Series in 1968, on the Tigers team
led by pitchers Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich. Kaline had been sidelined for
part of the season with a broken arm, and when he returned he was used mostly
as a pinch hitter or first baseman because the outfield trio of Willie
Horton, Mickey Stanley and Jim Northrup was playing well.

Kaline在1968年，跟當時由Danny McLain以及Mickey Lolich所帶領的老虎隊，一起闖進世
界大賽，但Kaline因為手臂傷勢缺席了部分球季。所以當他傷癒回歸的時候，他多半只能
擔任代打或是一壘手，因為當時候隊上的三個外野手Willie Horton、Mickey Stanley和
Jim Northrup都打得相當好。

When the Tigers clinched the pennant, Kaline went to manager Mayo Smith and
told him that he didn't deserve to start in the World Series. Smith ignored
him and played Kaline, who batted .379, hit two home runs and drove in eight
as the Tigers beat the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.

當老虎隊在1968年拿下美國聯盟冠軍的時候，Kaline跟當時候的老虎隊GM Mayo Smith說他
不應該在世界大賽先發上場。但是Smith並沒有理會他，還是讓他世界大賽先發上場。
Kaline在對紅雀隊打滿七場的世界大賽系列戰裡，繳出了0.379的打擊率、兩發全壘打以及
8分的打點，成功幫老虎隊拿下該年的世界大賽冠軍。

"The impact of his life is wide-reaching," Ilitch wrote, "and he will be
greatly missed by millions in Detroit, the state of Michigan and across the
baseball community."

"Kaline的影響力真的無遠弗屆。"Ilitch寫到。"Kaline將會被底特律數百萬市民、整個密
西根州的人們，以及整個棒球界所思念。"

Kaline finished his career with 3,007 hits, 399 home runs and a .297 career
batting average.

Kaline生涯通算3007支安打，399支全壘打及0.297的生涯打擊率。

On his 80th birthday, he said: "To this day, I can't believe the life I've had.
I wanted to be a baseball player－and do the one thing I was good at.

在Kaline 80歲生日的時候，他說過: "到今天為止，我對於擁有這般的人生仍感到不可置
信。我只想要成為一位棒球選手，這是我唯一擅長的事情。"

"Even now, I love it so much."
"即便是現在，我還熱愛著棒球。"
--