The Art of Being Pedroia - 美國職棒

在等比賽開始之前，看到Peter Abraham的這篇文章實在很感動
感覺再過不久的未來，我們又會有一個繡著C的球衣可以買了


Fenway Park is still quiet. Batting practice is over, and fans are starting
to arrive for a game against the Colorado Rockies. Dustin Pedroia, in full
uniform, stands alone in the dugout, holding the barrel of his black Marucci
pro model bat to his ear.

芬威球場一片安靜。賽前打擊練習剛結束，球迷也正開始要進場觀賞這場對洛磯的比賽。
Pedroia穿著全套球衣，一個人站在休息區，把他黑色Marucci球棒的棒頭拿近耳朵。

He smacks it hard with the palm of his hand and listens intently. He can
gauge the soundness of the wood by what he hears, he says. “People don’t
believe me, but I can tell if something is wrong with the bat. You have to
listen close.”

他用手掌打了棒子幾下，專心地聽。他說他可以聽得出木棒的穩定度。「沒人相信我，但
我真的聽得出來棒子有沒有問題。要認真聽。」

Satisfied, Pedroia places the dirty, pine tar-encrusted bat carefully on a
metal shelf at the end of the dugout with his batting gloves. There are 15
slots for bats, and his is the only one filled this early. The bat rack is
like the park, old, a little rusty, and painted over several times. But it
serves its purpose.

聽滿意了之後，他小心翼翼地把這支塗滿松焦油的球棒和打擊手套放到休息區的球棒架。
現在還早，Pedroia的棒子是第一支放進來這個棒架的。就跟球場一樣，棒架有點年紀，
有點生鏽，上過很多次漆，但是恪遵本分。

Pedroia walks to the thinly padded bench and sits down, eyes looking straight
ahead. This is his favorite part of the day. While his teammates relax in the
air–conditioned comfort of the clubhouse, he heads to the field.

Pedroia走到坐墊薄薄的板凳，坐下，直視前方。這是他一天中最喜歡的時刻。當隊友在
開著空調舒舒服服的休息室休息的時候，他走向球場。

Most days, he’s at the park five or six hours early, before the vendors are
there, long before the crowds. Tuesday will be his fourth All-Star Game. A
year after the Sox finished in last place, he has led them back into
contention. He loves the competition and the pennant chase, but he loves this
quiet communion, too, with the ballpark that he has, with his improbable
talent and irrepressible swagger, made entirely his own.

大部分時候，他會早五六個小時到球場，比攤販都還要早，更別說球迷了。禮拜二他要打
他生涯第四次的明星賽了。去年紅襪分區墊底，今年Pedroia帶領著大家回到領先群當中。
他很喜歡競爭、喜歡追求冠軍，也熱愛交流，和屬於他的球場交流，和他那難以探測的棒
球天份交流，和他自己那獨一無二，無法抑制的驕傲交流。

In the languid hours before game time, they hang out together, the man and
the park.

It has always been his way. He was the one who got to Little League games
hours ahead of time with his father, Guy, back in California. He never could
understand those teammates who just showed up and played. Still can’t.

在這比賽之前的幾個小時，這個男人和這座球場都聚在一起。

他一直以來都是如此。他還小的時候在比賽前好幾小時就會跟著爸爸到少棒比賽的球場。
他無法理解為什麼其他隊友只是到了，然後就上場比賽。現在還是無法理解。

“It’s basically a comfortable spot for me,” Pedroia says. “It’s a place
where I’ve been all my life.”

As former Red Sox manager Terry Francona puts it, the dugout for Pedroia is “
like a second home.”

「在這裡我很舒服，」Pedroia說。「我在這裡過了一輩子了。」

如Francona所說，休息區是Pedroia的「第二個家」。

After arriving at Fenway on this late-June day, he took batting practice with
his teammates and fielded some ground balls before retreating to the trainers
’ room. He got in a hot tub, had a cold plunge, showered, and got in his
uniform. Then, after a quick round of swings in the batting cage underneath
the first base box seats, he left his teammates for the dugout.

六月下旬的這一天，他到了芬威之後，先參加了球隊的打擊練習，接幾個滾地球，然後到
防護員室。泡熱水澡，泡冷水，淋浴，穿上球衣，然後在一壘看台底下的打擊練習區揮個
幾輪之後，他離開隊友，獨自來到休息區。

He sits square in the middle and watches as Fenway comes to life. The grounds
crew rakes and waters the field, the infield dirt darkening as the spray
hits. The air has a faint popcorn aroma. The ushers guide early arrivers to
their seats. Pedroia’s feet tap to the rhythm of the music being played over
the loudspeakers.

他坐在板凳中間，看著芬威球場盎然起來。場地人員開始整理場地，水柱撒過後，內野的
紅土顏色更深了。空氣中開始瀰漫著爆米花的香味，早到的球迷找到了座位。Pedroia的
雙腳跟著球場音響的音樂打著節奏。

“I think it’s a thing that kind of calms me down before a game,” Pedroia
says. You wouldn’t know it; he doesn’t look very relaxed. He paces the
length of the dugout like a caged predator. It’s a night game, but he wears
eyeblack and his spikes are laced up and tied tight.

「我想這是比賽前讓我冷靜下來的方式。」Pedroia說。但其實他看起來並不是很放鬆。
他像是一頭困在籠中的猛獸，在休息區裡走著。這天是夜間的比賽，不過他還是塗上防
炫光的眼下膏，釘鞋也穿好了。

“Look at him,” says third base coach Brian Butterfield. “You just don’t
see that very often. He can’t wait to play.”

三壘教練Butterfield說，「看看他。其他球員身上不常看得到喔。他等不及要上場了。」

It’s not like it’s a compulsion, the way pregame routines are for some
players. Earlier this season, Pedroia arrived at the park just 90 minutes
before a game when his wife, Kelli, had emergency appendix surgery. He took a
few swings off a tee and ran out on the field.

“I don’t need to do all the stuff I do. It’s just that I like it,” he
says.

這些不像有些球員在賽前一定要強迫自己做一遍的那些事一樣。本季有一次，Pedroia
的老婆Kelli緊急動了闌尾手術，那次他賽前一個半小時才到，在tee座揮了幾棒就上場
比賽。

「我沒有非得做那些事情不可。我只是喜歡。」他這麼說。

He often brings his oldest son, 3-year-old Dylan, with him. They walk around
the field, play catch, and hit balls off the Green Monster.

他常帶著他的大兒子Dylan，在球場走走，傳傳球，然後對著綠色怪物打擊。

“He’s a high-energy guy, too. So when he comes to the field — and this is
hard to explain to Kelli because he’s always going nuts at home — but he’s
actually calmer at the field,” Pedroia says. “It’s weird. I don’t know if
he has just grown up around it or what. But I’m kind of the same way. When I
get to the field, I’m more calm than anything else. Our DNA matches for sure.
”
「他也是超有活力的。他來球場的時候會冷靜一點，這點Kelli很難了解，因為他在家跟
瘋子一樣。這蠻奇怪的。我不知道是不是他從小開始就常來這邊的原因還是怎樣，不過
我也是這樣啊，在球場是我最冷靜的時候。這一點真的有遺傳到我。」

Pedroia feels a certain kinship with anybody who shares that feeling, family
or not. Fans who make their way close to the dugout before the game often are
successful when they implore Pedroia for an autograph.

不管是不是家人，Pedroia和每一個同樣熱愛球場的人都有特別的連結。賽前來和他要簽
名的球迷大多會如願以償。

Today he walks to the right side of the dugout and signs for two kids wearing
blue T-shirts with his number on the back.

Pedroia thinks that if he were on the other side of that wall, he’d want a
big leaguer to sign for him.

這天他來到休息室的右側，幫兩個穿著他的背號T的小球迷簽名。

Pedroia覺得如果他是個小球迷的話，他也會希望有個大聯盟球員幫他簽名的。

“Have a good game, Dustin,” says one of the kids.

“You know it,” he shoots back.

「Dustin加油！」其中一個孩子說。

「沒問題。」他回答。

In time, the dugout gets crowded as teammates filter down from the clubhouse.
The fans get louder as first pitch draws closer. In a few seconds, Pedroia
will hit the top step of the dugout and run out to second base.

賽前，隊友漸漸地從休息室出來，球迷的聲音也越來越熱烈。在過幾秒鐘，Pedroia就要
離開休息區，跑向二壘。

Ballparks can be majestic, but there is nothing glamorous about the inside of
a dugout, especially at ancient Fenway. It’s hot in the summer, cold in the
spring, and the floor is stained with tobacco juice and littered with
discarded wads of gum. There are puddles of water and dust everywhere. It’s
the kind of place that makes you want to wash your hands.

棒球場是如此的莊嚴，但休息區卻總是毫無可觀之處，尤其是在古老的芬威。休息區裡面
冬冷夏熱，地板上遍布菸草汁的汙漬和口香糖的殘渣，到處都有水坑和灰塵。是個讓人想
洗手的地方。

Or, if your name is Dustin Pedroia, to pause, to get ready, to take it in.

“That’s what I’ll remember when I retire,” he says, “that feeling.”

對Pedroia來說，卻是一個暫停，準備，再吸收領悟的地方。

「我退休後會記住的就是這個了，」他說。「這種感覺。」

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