Buhner 'the glue' on great teams - 美國職棒

Buhner 'the glue' on great teams
One of Mariners' all-time stars now on Hall of Fame ballot

It's rare when a baseball trade becomes part of a sitcom, but
the swap between the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees
midway through the 1988 season sure did.


During an episode of the "Seinfield" in 1996, Frank Costanza
asks George Steinbrenner: "What the hell did you trade Jay
Buhner for?! He had 30 home runs and over 100 RBIs last year.
He's got a rocket for an arm. You don't know what the hell
you're doin'!"
在1996年的一部電視劇歡樂單身派對中的插曲
Costanza問Steinbrenner
''你拿光頭殺手換了什麼回來？他上個年度可以貢獻30隻HR，100打點，
還擁有雷射臂，你不知道你到底做了什麼事。

Then-Mariners general manager Dick Balderson certainly knew
what he was doing when he acquired Buhner from the Yankees
for left-handed hitter Ken Phelps and two Minor League
pitchers.
前GM Balderson知道他需要光頭殺手，所以他拿了左打Phelps跟兩個
小聯盟投手把光頭殺手換了回來。

Phelps spent the remainder of that season and part of the
next for the Yankees, hitting 17 home runs and driving in
51 runs in 292 at-bats. Buhner spent the remainder of that
season, and the next 13, becoming one of the Mariners' most
popular and productive players.
Phelps只幫洋基打下了17隻Hr並得了51分，但是光頭殺手卻在未來的
13年變成水手最受歡迎跟最有生產率的球員。

He hit 307 home runs and drove in 951 runs for Seattle, and
provided clubhouse leadership that helped the franchise reach
unprecedented heights from 1995, when the Mariners captured
their first American League West championship, through 2001.
殺手在水兵的時期總共貢獻了307發hr並得到951分，也在休息室扮演
領導者的角色，幫助水手在2001年拿到了美西冠軍。

The right fielder, known to his fans and teammates as "Bone,
" retired after the Mariners' record 116-win season in '01 and
is on the Baseball Writers Association of America Hall of Fame
ballot in his first year of eligibility.
防守RF的光頭殺手在01年水兵拿下最高的116勝後選擇退休，並在第一年
就獲得名人堂的被選資格。

A candidate must get 75 percent of the vote to gain election
and at least 5 percent to remain on the ballot next year.
Results will be announced on Jan. 9, and the induction ceremony
will take place on July 29 in Cooperstown.
候選人必須獲得75%的同意選票，並在隔年保有5%的選票
(這句翻的自己都看不太懂 Orz)
入選的資格在1/9號公布，名人堂儀式則在7/29日於Cooperstown舉行。

Buhner, a Texas native, was selected in the second round of the
1984 First-Year Player Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of
junior college and traded to the Yankees two years later in a
deal that included Yogi Berra's son, Dale.
Buhner是土生土長的德州人，在1984年第二輪由海盜隊選入，兩年後經
球員交換到洋基隊。

Buhner reached the big leagues in 1987, getting seven at-bats
with the Yankees. He played in 25 games the following season
before being dealt to Seattle on July 21.
1987年洋基與水手交換球員前，Buhner在大聯盟首度登上大聯盟，
但只有出賽25場而已，七次打擊機會。

But his career was stymied for two more seasons before he became
a fixture in a lineup that featured Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar
Martinez.
但是他的生涯低潮也只有兩季多，直到他與Griffey，Martinez成為不動
的三四五棒。

Buhner played in 1,472 regular-season games, collected 1,273
hits in 5,013 at-bats, slugged 310 home runs, had 562 extra-base
hits, drove in 965 runs, walked 792 times and struck out 1,406
times. almost all of those numbers came with the Mariners, and
he finished in the top five in virtually every offensive category
in club history.
Buhner總共打了1472場季賽，5013次打擊共打出了1273隻安打，310隻Hr，
965得分，792次的保送，但也吞下了1406次的三振，而這些成就大多是
在水兵期間完成的。

During a six-year stretch from 1991-97, Buhner hit 224 home runs
and drove in 690 runs, including a career-high 138 in 1996, when
he was selected for his only All-Star team and won his only Gold
Glove.
在1991-97這六季，光頭殺手共打了224隻hr，並得了690分，並在1996年
得到生涯最高的138分，該年度他參與了唯一得一次明星賽，並拿下唯一
一座金手套獎。

"He was the glue that held those teams together," Mariners coach
John McLaren said. "He never tried to be a star, although in his
own right, he was a star."
教練McLaren提到：Buhner像是球隊的黏著劑，他將球隊向心力聚在一起，
雖然他從不試著當個明星，但無庸置疑的他是個明星。

Buhner meant much more to the team than regularly hitting home
runs, driving in runs and throwing out baserunners. His
leadership qualities in the clubhouse kept young players in line
and veteran players on their toes because they never knew what
he would do next.
(這段不太懂意思，請大家指教)

When teammates needed a pat on the back, he was there with a soft
hand. When someone needed a kick in the pants, he was there with
a hard boot.
當對友需要鼓勵時，他總是會出現。當有人需要辦黑臉，他也總是相當稱職

"Jay was very productive, obviously," former Mariners manager
Lou Piniella said, "but he was a leader in the clubhouse. Having
someone like Jay around makes it easy for the manager, it really
does. When you have a bit of a problem that you don't want to
correct yourself, you just go over and whisper in his ear and he
would take care of it."
前教練Piniella也說：他是多功能的選手，但在休息室，他也扮演領袖。
如果擁有一個球員像Jay一樣，那當一個教練是很輕鬆的。

Though the Mariners never have retired a uniform number, Buhner's
No. 19 remains off-limits to any other player. As a tribute to
his impact on the franchise, the Mariners inducted him into their
Hall of Fame on Aug. 24, 2004, joining former first baseman Alvin
Davis and broadcaster Dave Niehaus in the exclusive club.
雖然水兵並沒有退休任何號碼，但他的19號球衣還是被新進球員尊重，
為了紀念13年的貢獻，水兵在2004年八月將他送入水手隊自家的名人堂，
與前明星一壘手Davis跟播報員Niehaus共享榮耀。

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