HALL OF FAME IN MANNY'S FUTURE? - 美國職棒

出處：http://atbat.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/06/02/1096842.aspx


I had a brief up close look at Manny Ramirez while covering the Red Sox in
last year’s playoffs. My having been a National League broadcaster
throughout Ramirez’s career, the views I had on him previously were few.

我在去年曾有短暫的機會在季後賽觀察米粉頭。因為我過去都在國聯擔任播報員
，所以事實上我對於米粉頭的瞭解其實有限。


What did I take away from seeing him in the postseason? Well, he’s smaller
than I thought and fitter than the baggy uniforms he wears make him appear on
television. Asking around I learned that he earns admiration from teammates
for his work ethic, often going to Fenway Park in the morning of game days
for workouts.

當我在季後賽時候遠遠看到米否頭時候有哪些想法呢？Mmmnn...他比我想像中
還要小支而且總是穿著大一號的球衣使得他在電視上看起來很像是小朋友穿著
老爸的衣服。當我問了周遭所有人有關他的事情時，我聽到了他對於工作的認
真態度使他贏得了所有對有的敬重，在芬威比賽時，他總是一大早就到球場練
習。

I also saw his ability to match the moment. Last year he had a mediocre
regular season but October uncovered a hero in Ramirez. He launched a
Francisco Rodriguez heater over the Green Monster to win Game 2 of the ALDS
and never stopped during Boston’s march to a second World Series triumph in
four years.

我也見到了他那種融入環境氣氛的能力。去年他正規賽季的成績不甚理想。
但是到了十月分他就便身成為鋼鐵人了。他在ALDS夯了K-Rod一隻飛過綠色
怪物的全壘打幫助球隊贏得第二場而且在波士頓衝衝衝的時候一點都沒有停下
腳步，最終止花了四年時間就贏得了axdxm3x3所說要再花上八十幾年才能贏得
的第二作冠軍。

So what I saw matched what I had heard: the San Francisco Giants investigated
trading for Ramirez before the 2007 season. Looking for a bat to replace
Barry Bonds after failing to sign Alfonso Soriano or Carlos Lee, Giants
management considered Ramirez. Their investigation found two things: Manny
was not the questionable clubhouse presence often believed and that he was
one of the purest right-handed hitters to play in years.

所以囉，我所看到的其實和我聽到的相一致：去年季前，舊金山老人隊本有打算把
米粉頭給交易過去。在爭取抱歉阿諾和李德瑞失敗之後，他們打算用米粉頭的大傢
伙來填補棒子爺不在以後的空缺。他們的算盤顯示出兩件事情：米粉頭並不是大家
印象中那中會傷害休息室氣氛的人，以及他是這幾年以來最為優秀的右打者之一。

And there’s the key point. Of all the numbers that wash over us after Manny’
s 500th home run, one stands out above all: his .312 career batting average,
fourth highest among the 24 players who have 500 or more home runs.

好拉，G點來了，在米粉頭打出第五百支全壘打以後，有些數據嚇到我們惹。他生涯
打擊率0.312，是所有24位打出五百支全壘打或者打出更多的打者中第四高的。

Ramirez is not just a slugger, he is a great hitter. He needed the eighth
fewest at-bats (7,263) to reach the 500 home run milestone. And he has 24
postseason home runs in 353 at-bats -- a superb ratio given the caliber of
pitching generally faced in October.

米粉頭部只是一位長打者，他還是一位打擊技巧優秀的擊球者。他到達500全壘打里
程碑所需要的打擊數(7263)是第八少的。而且他在季後賽的353個打數就敲出了24支
全壘打，這個夭獸的比例使的所有投手在十月份遇到他都必須小心翼翼。

So where does Ramirez stand in the hierarchy of the game’s hitters? Hitting
500 home runs has been devalued. That’s not the fault of Ramirez but it is
something with which he must live. We don’t know yet the degree to which
Hall-of-Fame voters truly value home runs in the BALCO era given Mark McGwire
’s paltry Hall-of-Fame vote totals.

那麼，米粉頭在所有棒球打者中所擁有的地位為何呢？打出五百支全壘打可能沒啥
用處。這也不是他的錯拉但這是他所處的年代。就名人堂的Voter而言，生處BALCO
年代對McGwire生涯打出的全壘打以及最終那難堪票數造成影響的比例有多少。

There some other things to reflect upon. Ramirez hit 437 home runs as an
outfielder. He has not used the DH, yet, to extend or save his career. He has
eight straight years in which he has finished in the American League’s top
10 MVP vote getters -- a measure of the respect he gained in his era. And at
only 36, he is looking strongly at enough years left in his playing career to
surpass 600 career home runs, enhancing his legacy.

還有些東西是我們要稍稍注意的。米粉頭以外野手身份打出了437支全壘打。
目前來說他還不需要利用DH身份來延長或保護他的球員生涯。他連續八年在
美聯MVP票選最終結果都在前十名，這也表示了他在他所處的年代贏得了該
有的尊重。而且他才36歲，他的傢伙就像吃了斑龍丸一樣還有足夠的力量去
推個幾年來達到生涯600 HR，將他的傳說更加延伸。

Baseball-reference.com is a favorite tool for studying playing careers and
their comparative values. At the bottom of each player’s stats page, the
website names 10 players most comparable at the current moment. Again, this
is objective, strictly based on numbers. So imagine my surprise when the
player listed as most comparable to Ramirez at this stage of his career is
Larry Walker.

Baseball-reference.com是大家用來研究一個球員生涯紀錄和其最相符合的價值。
在每一個打者的統計表格頁面的最底下網頁列出了十個和其最為類似的打者。必須
說明的是這是客觀且依照每位打者生涯數據所舉出來的名單。但讓我驚訝的是和米
粉頭最為相似的打者竟然是Larry Walker。

My first reaction is that Ramirez is a Hall of Famer but Walker is not. There
are some differences in their numbers, the 500-home-run milestone foremost
among them, and there is the Denver factor (unlike with the BALCO issue, the
writers who take part in the Hall-of-Fame voting have yet to render a verdict
on the impact of stars playing their home games in the Mile High City.)

我第一個反應是米粉頭是一位Hofer但是Walker並不是。他們兩個彼此之間的數據有
些差異，最重要的就是一位有500HR另一位沒有，此外還有丹佛因素（不像是BALCO
議題，一位曾是名人堂票選成員的作家日前指出，對於主場在高海拔地區的明星球員
能否進入名人堂有激烈的討論）。

The next most comparable player to Ramirez listed is Jim Thome – Ramirez’s
peer from his Cleveland playing days. While Thome has 500-plus home runs he
does not register to me as a no-brainer for the Hall of Fame.

第二個和米粉頭最為相似的打者是金湯米，米粉頭之前在印地安人的隊友之一。
雖然金湯米幹了500+發HR，可是對我而言他仍沒法LOGIN棒棒堂。

So the question of Ramirez’s legacy may be more debatable than I initially
thought. Of course, Ramirez can end the debate with three or four more solid
seasons which will push him past 600 homers and well past 2,500 hits. Now I
wonder if he is trying to separate himself from Jim Rice, another Red Sox
right-handed power hitter who was devastating in his era, but who didn’t
play long enough to earn Hall-of-Fame status. I think Ramirez is a stronger
Hall-of-Fame candidate than Rice, but does Ramirez need to pad his numbers
to make sure of his place in the Hall of Fame?

可是目前米粉頭傳說所要遇到的問題可能比我事先所想的還要多。當然，米否頭還
能夠在猛三到四個球季把他的生涯記錄推到600發以上且生涯安打數推到2500支。
現在我期望的是他要將他自己和Jim Rice(另一位曾經在肥襪強力右打者，在他
所處的年代有著極大的破壞力，但因為生涯不夠長所以無法成為Hofer)分開來，我個
人是認為他比Rice有著較大機會成為Hofer候選人，但是他是否需要更多的數據來為他
將來在棒棒堂中的位置鋪路？

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