Tricks of the trade - 美國職棒

這是The Olympian上的一篇文章
談的是AAA Tacoma Rainiers的manager Dan Rohn
內容很好笑
來分享給大家

Tricks of the trade
Rainiers manager has his own way of giving players good news

BY KIRBY ARNOLD

FOR THE OLYMPIAN

Dan Rohn loves a complete game like any other manager. A six-run rally makes
his job a whole lot easier. And there's nothing like a victory.

Dan Rohn和其他的棒球隊總教練一樣喜歡參與一整場比賽。一個6分的大局會讓他的工作
容易些。但是沒有什麼比比賽勝利更有趣的。

Well, there is one thing.
恩，除了一件事以外。

The greatest joy in Rohn's job as manager of the Tacoma Rainiers, the
Mariners' Class AAA minor league team, is to tell a young ballplayer he's
going to the major leagues.
身為塔庫瑪雨人隊，西雅圖水兵3A小聯盟球隊的總教練，Rohn工作上的最大樂趣，是告
訴那些年輕球員他們要升上大聯盟了。

"They're all like your sons," Rohn said. "The hardest thing is to release
somebody, but the most gratifying part is to send somebody up."
「他們就像我的兒子們，」Rohn說。「最困難的是要火掉某個球員，但最讓人滿足部分
是送那些球員上去的時候。」

Rohn, 49, is managing the Rainiers for the fifth year and, besides another
good season by the team, he has felt the joy of telling a young prospect to
pack his bags for Seattle.
49歲的Rohn，是第五年擔任雨人的總教練，除了帶領球隊打出又一個出色的球季以外，
告訴一個年輕新秀整理包袱去西雅圖是他最感到樂趣的。

Already this year he has given the good news to outfielder Shin-Soo Choo,
infielder Mike Morse and pitchers George Sherrill and Jorge Campillo.
而今年他已經把這個好消息告訴外野手信守‧秋，內野手麥克摩斯和投手喬治雪瑞爾、
呼黑坎普利歐。

"He really, really enjoys being able to tell guys who've worked so hard about
their first callup," said Mariners pitcher Matt Thornton, who went from
Tacoma to the Mariners last year. "He's pulling for you to make it because he
wants you to live the dream."
「他真的、真的對於能告知這些非常努力打球的球員他們要上去了這件事感到愉快，」
去年同樣從塔庫馬來到西雅圖的水手投手麥特索頓說。「他對你能上去感同身受，因為
他希望你能實現你的夢想。」

Before living the dream, however, Rohn likes to put his players through a
little nightmare.
然而，在實現夢想前，Rohn喜歡先讓他的球員們享受一點小小的惡夢。

"I like to play with them a little bit, especially if it's their first time,"
he said.
「我喜歡對他們開一點小玩笑，特別如果這是他們的第一次，」他說。

A little bit?
小小的玩笑？

Campillo, the 27-year-old Mexican League veteran who has dreamed of pitching
in the majors, got the full Dan Rohn Treatment last month and wasn't sure
what to make of it.
27歲的坎普利歐，來自墨西哥聯盟的投手，夢想有一天能在大聯盟投球，上個月接受了
Rohn全套的「招待」，而且還搞不清楚發生了什麼事。

Rohn concocted a story, then called Campillo into his office after a game
late one night.
Rohn準備好了一個故事，然後在晚上一場比賽後叫坎普利歐到他的辦公室。

"We've sold your contract," Rohn told him.
「我們已經把你的合約賣掉了，」Rohn告訴她。

Campillo, who understands little English, looked puzzled. Rohn repeated his
words.
英文很爛的的坎普利歐看起來不懂Rohn的意思。Rohn又重複了一次。

"We've sold your contract. To Japan."
「我們已經把你的合約賣掉了。賣到日本去。」

Campillo didn't understand the "Japan" part.
坎普利歐還是不了解「日本」是什麼意思。

"He thought he was going back to Mexico, and he was really down about it,"
Rohn said.
「他以為他要回墨西哥了，而他真的因此心情低落，」Rohn說。

It took awhile, but Rohn convinced Campillo that he would be suiting up with
the Mariners the next day.
用了一點時間，Rohn才說服坎普利歐相信他明天要和水手會合去比賽。

"When the club tells you they're going to call someone up, I think about it
for a while and plan how I'm going to mess with the guys, especially if it's
their first time," Rohn said. "It's always fun to see the look in their eyes."
「當球隊告訴我說他們要叫某個人上去時，我會思考一下，然後計畫好如何趁此機會
玩一下球員，特別是針對那些第一次被叫上去的，」Rohn說。「看他們被耍時的眼光
總是能帶來樂趣。」

Pitcher J.J. Putz remembers getting a 1 a.m. phone call from Rohn, who is
renowned for calling players after they're already in bed. This time, he
dialed up Putz about 2 1/2 hours before the team had a 3:30 wakeup call in
Edmonton.
投手姐姐普茲還記得半夜一點接到Rohn的電話，而Rohn喜歡在球員上床睡覺以後才打
電話給他們是眾所周知的。情形是Rohn帶隊在艾德蒙頓打客場比賽，球隊的早安Call
是三點半，這通電話早了2個半小時打。

"J.J, I'm in Room 904. Get your butt over here right now!" Rohn screamed to a
half-awake Putz.
「姐姐，我在904號房。馬上讓你的屁屁離開床！」Rohn嚇著半夢半醒的普茲。

"I knocked on the door and he said, 'It's open! Get in here and sit your butt
down!'" Putz said. "I was wondering what I did. Did I say something stupid or
do something?
「我去敲門然後Rohn說，『門沒鎖！進來然後坐下！』」普茲說。「我回想我做過哪些
。我有做錯什麼或做了什麼嗎？」

"Then he said, 'You're going back to the big leagues tomorrow.
Congratulations,' " Putz said. "I said, 'Man, why do you have to do this
stuff?' "
「然後Rohn說，『你明天要回大聯盟了。恭喜，』」普茲說。「我說，『老大，你搞這
麼多飛機只為了要告訴我這件事？』」

Rohn finally smiled. "Because it's fun."
Rohn笑了。「因為這樣很有趣阿。」

One of Rohn's favorites was the day in 1999 he told former pitcher Jordan
Zimmerman that he was going to the majors. Zimmerman had just come up from
Double-A and never imagined being called up to the Mariners.
這麼多有趣的反應中Rohn最喜歡的是1999年他告訴前投手喬登齊默曼他要上大聯盟那天。
齊默曼剛從2A被升上來，而且從沒想過會被水手升上去。

"It was right at the trade deadline and I told him we'd made a trade with
Detroit," Rohn said. "He put his head down and looked like he was going to
cry.
「那時候離交易大限沒幾天了，而我告訴他我們剛和底特律做了交易要送他過去。」
Rohn說。「他低下頭，而且看起來要哭了。」

"Then I told him, 'OK, you didn't get traded. You're going to the big
leagues.' "
「然後我跟他說，『OK，你沒被交易，你要上大聯盟了。』」

And Zimmerman cried some more. Almost all of them cry, Rohn said, especially
the first-timers.
然後齊默曼哭的更兇了。Rohn說幾乎所有的球員都會哭，特別是那些第一次被升上去的。

Infielder Mickey Lopez, who was finishing his 10th minor league season and
thinking last September that it might be his last, was the subject of Rohn's
most elaborate scheme.
內野手米奇羅培茲，去年度過他第10年的小聯盟球季，而且認為去年九月應該是他的
最後機會，他的例子被Rohn選為他最花心思的傑作。

The Rainiers were finishing their season, and the Mariners had decided to
call up Jeremy Reed, Greg Dobbs and Lopez.
雨人結束了他們的球季，而水手決定把傑瑞米瑞德，格瑞格都巴斯和羅培茲升上去。

Most of the players had already left the Rainiers' clubhouse after a game
when Rohn called Reed and Dobbs into his office while Lopez lingered in the
clubhouse. Because it was the time of year when players typically are called
up to the majors, it was obvious what Rohn was telling those two.
在比賽後，大部分球員都已經離開雨人的球員休息室，當Rohn叫瑞德和都巴斯進他的
辦公室時，羅培茲還留在休息室裡。因為每年當上面要叫人上去時，都選在這個時候
很明顯的Rohn就是在告知這兩個人。

Lopez then decided to go home. Rohn had another player grab him in the
parking lot, saying the skipper needed to talk with him. Lopez went back to
the manager's office, and Rohn looked somber.
羅培茲決定要回家。Rohn早就叫另一個球員先準備好把他擋在停車場，告訴他老大要
跟他談談。羅培茲回到總教練的辦公室，而Rohn看起來很憂鬱。

"I told him, 'Sometimes, Mick, we try everything we can to get you up, but
timing is everything in this game,'" Rohn said. "I could see him drop his
head."
「我告訴他，『很多次，米克，我們試著盡一切努力想讓你升上去，但是時機往往是
這項運動裡的一切，』」Rohn說。「我看到他的頭垂下來了。」

Then Rohn told Lopez that the timing was perfect this time, that he was
becoming a big-leaguer.
然後Rohn告訴羅培茲這次時機成熟了，而他已經是個大聯盟球員。

"He started bawling," Rohn said.
「然後他開始大哭，」Rohn說。

Meanwhile, the rest of the team reappeared in the clubhouse, another act
orchestrated by Rohn. He'd asked them to drive around for awhile, then come
back when they saw Lopez go back inside.
同時，其他隊友們也出現在休息室，這是Rohn的另一項精心策劃。他要求他們先離開
一下子，然後等看到羅培茲回頭進辦公室時再回到休息室。

"The whole team was waiting outside the door, and when he walked out, they
were all giving him high fives," Rohn said.
「全隊都等在辦公室門外，而當他走出去時，他們搶著和他擊掌慶賀，」Rohn說。

Sometimes, Rohn doesn't act alone.
有時候，Rohn並不只唱獨角戲。

When the Mariners called up pitcher Brian Sweeney in 2003, he included Tacoma
pitching coach Jim Slaton, who had become close with Sweeney over their years
in the minor leagues.
當2003年水手要升投手布萊恩史威尼上去時，Rohn找來塔庫瑪的投手教練吉姆史拉頓和
他搭配，史拉頓在史威尼5年小聯盟生涯中和他非常親近。

"Rohnie told Sweeney something had happened and that he should call me," said
Slaton, now the Mariners' bullpen coach. "Sweeney asked me, 'What's wrong?
Are you OK?'"
「Rohnie告知Sweeney有些事要發生了，而他必須叫我一起來聽。」現在是水手牛棚教練
的史拉頓說。「史威尼問我，『發生什麼了？你還好吧？』」

Slaton then spun a sad tale.
史拉頓用難過的語氣說。

"Brian, you and I have been together a long time, since A-ball, and I wanted
you to be the first to know about this," Slaton told him.
「布萊恩，你和我一起共事很久了，從A開始，而我希望你是第一個知道這件事的人，」
史拉頓告訴史威尼。

"What's going on?" Sweeney asked.
「到底是發生什麼了？」史威尼再問。

"They just fired me," Slaton said.
「他們剛剛火了我，」史拉頓說。

"What? How can they fire you? What have you done? There's no way they can do
that," Sweeney said, getting angry as he talked.
「什麼？他們怎麼能火掉你？你做了什麼？他們不能這麼做，」史威尼用氣炸的語氣說。

Then Slaton came clean.
然後史拉頓語氣一轉。

"Sweeney, that's not it," he said. "You're getting called up to the big
leagues."
「史威尼，事情不是這樣的，」他說。「你要上大聯盟了。」

Sweeney didn't cry.
史威尼沒哭。

"You'd better not be lying to me this time," Sweeney said. "If you're lying,
I'm going to punch you right in the face when I see you."
「你最好不要在這時候騙我，」史威尼說。「如果你騙了我，以後每次我看到你時，
我會衝上來把拳頭放到你臉上。」

Ah, the joy of messing with a kid during his proudest moment. Slaton, like
Rohn, said it's the best part of the job.
恩，這些是在這些孩子最光榮的時刻愚弄一下他們的樂趣。史拉頓和Rohn有一樣的看法
，說這是這項工作最有意思的地方。

"When you have guys you've been around a long time, who are over-achievers
make it because they worked hard, it really makes you happy," Slaton said.
"It's one of the perks."
「當你跟這些傢伙相處很長時間，知道他們很努力並因此達成他們的夢想，這會讓你
快樂，」史拉頓說。「這是額外的小費。」

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