你所不知道的Bryce Harper(下) - 美國職棒

對原譯者說聲抱歉, 第一段翻的怪怪的, 在這篇裡我試著重譯.

另外, 在 MLB.com 上, 專欄作者 Anthony Castrovince (就是原譯文中篇裡提到的
那個作者) 也寫了一篇專文, "Bryce Harper's Move Under Review"
(Bryce Harper 的一舉一動都被置於放大鏡下檢視)

該文所提供的訊息和本文差不多, 都是說 Harper 那 arrogant prick
(自大傲慢的小混蛋, 到目前為止個人看過最常被拿來形容 Harper 的詞) 的形象,
大都是媒體片面報導所製造出來的,
或者是他本身充滿求勝心的言行造成大家對他的誤解.
真正的十八歲小夥子 Harper 其實很不同於媒體想要形塑的選秀狀元.
Castrovince 文章裡引用的話與本文一樣, 多半來自球團高層及小聯盟教練,
沒有其他隊友或球探的說法.

不過有一點與本文不同, 該文指出, Harper 不輕易接受媒體採訪,
其實是國民隊官方的保護政策.
兩篇文章對照, 讀者可以對[拒絕接受記者採訪]是否顯示 Harper 本身謙遜,
不把自己放在球隊之上這一點, 自己下判斷.

在本po後半段, 我會節譯 Castrovince 的文章.

※ 引述《iamoyp (黑)》之銘言：
: I also love the way he plays, running hard up the line on routine groundouts.
: Looking for entitlement? You won't find it in his body language. What you
: will find is ridiculous talent. In the three games I saw, Harper played twice
: and had the two hardest-hit balls of the series -- laser singles, like he's
: swinging an aluminum bat -- and added two outfield assists. One was a rising
: fastball he threw from medium left to the plate, the ball getting there
: without a bounce, the runner out by three steps. The other was a one-hopper
: from the corner in left, where Harper tracked down what looked like a routine
: double, played it off the wall and rifled a throw to second for the out. Both
: throws had me stifling a scream.

我也喜歡 Harper 比賽的態度, 即便打出平凡的滾地球出局, 他也奮力地向一壘衝刺.
想看看他是否有那種自認天之驕子, 應該享受高人一等權利的心態嗎?
從他的肢體語言裡, 你完全找不到那種感覺. 你只會發現他好到誇張的天賦.
在我現場看的三場比賽裡, Harper 出賽兩場,
擊出了整個系列戰裡被打得最強勁的兩球 -- 雷射般的平飛一壘打,
感覺像他是用鋁棒打出來的 -- 而且演出兩次外野助殺.
其中一次, 他從左外野中等深度的位置傳了一顆沒怎麼下墜的快速球,
球沒落地直達本壘時, 跑者離本壘還有三步.
另一次, Harper 在左外野角落趕上一個看起來就是常見二壘安打的長打球,
等球擊中全壘打牆反彈, 接球, 轉身, 飆出一個一彈跳直達二壘的長傳,
把打者刺殺在二壘前.
兩次長傳都讓我差點忍不住大聲叫好.

: Beasley looked at me for a second, probably pondering whether he should say
: what he was thinking. Screw it, he must have thought, I'm going to say it.
: Beasley看了我一會兒，大概是在思考該怎麼說出他的想法。"不管了，我要說了，"
該不該說出他的想法

: Beasley肯定是這樣想的。

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Harper's every move under review

Scrutiny will continue to follow Nats' high-profile prospect

By Anthony Castrovince | MLB.com Columnist

08/19/11 10:00 AM ET

原文: http://ppt.cc/4TLL

節譯:

In a Major League clubhouse a few weeks back, two players sat in a corner
-- one reading up on Harper online, the other perusing a recent Sports
Illustrated feature on him.
"He says he models his game after Mickey Mantle," the first player chirped.
"What a ridiculous comment," the other replied.
"This guy's going to get eaten alive up here."

幾個星期前, 在大聯盟某隊的球員休息室一角, 坐著兩名球員 --
一位在網路上瀏覽著關於 Harper 的訊息,
另一位細讀著近來一期以 Harper 為主題之一的運動畫刊.
"他說他是以 Mickey Mantle 為範本在打棒球," 第一位球員嘖嘖說道.
"有夠荒謬的說法," 另一位球員如此回答.
"這傢伙在大聯盟這裡會被生吞活剝."

So it is with the most-hyped, most-hounded and, yes, most-hated prospect in
the game. Harper, who turns 19 in October, is the only player I've ever
seen booed at the All-Star Futures Game, and he's given similar treatment
in virtually every city the Senators visit.

這就是棒球裡被炒得最熱, 被媒體追得最勤,
而且, 沒錯, 最被憎恨的新秀, 所面臨的處境.
十月將滿十九歲的 Harper, 是我所看過唯一在未來之星賽被噓的球員,
而幾乎在每個參議員隊造訪的城市裡, 他得到的觀眾反應也都差不多.

"Everywhere except Bowie," says Harrisburg manager Tony Beasley, "because
it's closer to D.C., and we have a lot of Nats fans there. But yeah, he
catches it on the road."

"可以說除了 Bowie 外的每個地方都如此," 參議員隊總教練 Tony Beasley 說道,
"因為那裡離 D.C. 比較近, 而且有很多國民隊球迷. 但沒錯, 他在客場被噓很大."

This is what happens to a modern-day sporting "messiah." Harper was
allegedly hitting 500-foot home runs at 15, was on the SI cover at 16, and
signed his first professional contract, worth $9.9 million, with the
Nationals at 17. He's already achieved a greater level of fame and amassed
a bigger bank account than many Major Leaguers, so he is bound to face his
fair share of jealousy, resentment or some combination of the two.

這就是會發生在現代運動界"彌賽亞"身上的事情.
Harper 十五歲時就可以打出據傳飛五百英呎遠的全壘打, 十六歲時登上運動畫刊封面,
十七歲時, 他與國民隊簽下人生第一份職業棒球合約, 總值九百九十萬美元.
相較於許多大聯盟球員, 他已經累積了更高的名氣, 且賺進了更多的財富,
所以他也註定要面對相當程度來自群眾的嫉妒, 怨恨, 或是兩者混雜的情緒.

It doesn't help that Harper's confidence is often, fair or not, construed
as cockiness.

另外, 不論對他公平與否, Harper 的自信心經常被解讀為自大傲慢,
這點也對改善他的境遇毫無幫助.

"He doesn't want to be good," Beasley says. "He wants to be great.
Sometimes guys that want to be great have a different mindset and their
level of confidence is different than everyone else's. And sometimes that
can be misleading as far as who they are as an individual."

"他不想只當個好球員," Beasley 說, "他想成為偉大的球員.
有時候想成為偉大球員的人有種不一樣的心態, 他們的自信程度也與常人不同.
而在人們想知道他到底是個什麼樣的人時, 那種心態有時候可能會造成誤解."

Most of us don't know much about Harper as an individual. But plenty of us
have formed an opinion about him through social media snippets. And if
Harper's experience in his first Minor League season has taught us
anything, it's that a phenom of his stature is not eased gently into his
professional existence.

我們之中大部分人對 Harper 是個什麼樣的人所知不多,
但許多人已經憑著社群網路的點滴資訊, 在心中有了對他的既定觀感.
如果 Harper 第一年小聯盟球季的經驗教了我們什麼,
那就是像他這般高度的新秀大物沒有被平順地慢慢帶入他的職業角色中.

(中略, 中間幾段講的是飛吻事件與原委, 對主審發飆事件的脈絡)

But the Nats, for what it's worth, don't seem to believe Harper is in need
of an attitude overhaul. They downplay the temper tantrums that have become
YouTube material.

然而國民隊似乎不認為 Harper 需要態度方面的再教育.
對於已成為 YouTube 人氣題材的場上情緒失控發飆事件, 球團方面淡化處理.

Basically, they remember that he is 18 years old and learning how best to
channel his aggressive instincts. How many of us are finished products in
our teens? How many of us are finished products ever?

基本上, 國民隊並沒忘記他才十八歲,
還在學習如何才是將他本身那種侵略性強的直覺引導到比賽裡的最佳方式.
我們有多少人在十來歲時行為舉止就已經很成熟了? 我們有多少人是成熟的?

"What we try to do is keep things in context," player development director
Doug Harris says. "We're not going to ride highs and lows. It's all part of
the learning curve that most people don't endure under a microscope."

"我們試著做的是把事件與前因後果放在一起考量,"
球員養成部門主管 Doug Harris 表示, "我們的作為不會隨著事件的大好大壞搖擺.
這都是學習過程的某部份, 而大部分人是不必在顯微鏡下忍受這樣的學習過程的."

In the aforementioned SI story, Harris attempted to sum up this scrutiny by
comparing it to what Jackie Robinson once endured. It was an over-the-top
effort to put Harper's experience in perspective, and Harris rightly
apologized for it later. Yet the point he was trying to make was clear,
even if the means were messy. By nature, Minor Leaguers simply aren't
subjected to the kind of attention Harper receives.

在前述運動畫刊的報導裡, Harris 試圖拿 Jackie Robinson 曾經遭受的待遇為對照,
來分析 Harper 被用放大鏡檢視的現象.
就算是為了提出足以解釋 Harper 被獵巫經驗的觀點, 這種嘗試還是太過頭了,
且後來 Harris 也正確地為這種說法道了歉.

(譯註: Jackie Robinson 在種族隔離年代, vs
Harper (aka 國民隊下一個救世主) 在一片追星風潮的現代? Come on.)

然而即便說明的方式很糟糕, 他想表達的重點很清楚;
一般情況下, 小聯盟球員根本不會受到像 Harper 所吸引到的關注.

"The statements that were made were probably a bit overstated," Harris
says. "But he really has handled himself extremely well through a lot of
scrutiny, and we're really proud of him."

"之前我的那些說法也許有些誇大了," Harris 說,
"但他的確在強烈檢視獵巫的氣氛下有著極好的舉止與應對, 我們相當以他為榮."

The Nats have also gone to extraordinary lengths to protect Harper from the
poking and prodding. Media members are strictly forbidden from talking to
Harper before games. After games, they are at the mercy of whether or not
Harper feels like talking, and all questions are expected to be related
only to the game itself.

在保護 Harper 免於遭記者騷擾惹怒這件事情上, 國民隊也採用了程度少見的干預政策.
媒體人員被嚴格禁止在賽前與 Harper 交談.
比賽結束後, 媒體只能依 Harper 爽或不爽談話看著辦,
且所有訪問的問題只能與比賽本身有關.

This, naturally, has the short-term effect of shielding Harper from
distractions, but one has to wonder about the long-term implications of
getting the kid accustomed to a cocoon that doesn't exist at the big league
level.

這種做法, 短期內自然有將 Harper 與會令他分心的事物隔離開的效果,
但我們不免得想想, 長此以往, 這樣會不會讓這年輕人習慣被個繭保護得好好的,
而在大聯盟這種繭根本不存在.

And the James comparison calls to mind another concern. Treat an athlete
like an idol at a young age, give him the magazine covers and endorsement
deals and billboard treatment, and it could obviously have the effect of
aggrandizing the ego. "The Decision" remains an epic example of the
absurdity of self-importance.

另外, 那些拿 Bryce Harper 與 LeBron James 相提並論的說法,
也提醒了我們另一個值得擔憂的問題.
給一個相當年輕的運動員偶像般的待遇, 讓他登上雜誌封面, 提供他代言合約,
讓他出現在廣告板上, 這一切的一切明顯會讓此年輕人自我膨脹.
"The Decision" 至今為止仍是妄自尊大之荒謬的經典範例.

That said, in my admittedly limited dealings with Harper, he doesn't appear
to have a head circumference larger than his batting average, so that's
certainly a good start. And even that embarrassing attempt at a
mullet-and-moustache combo he sported in the kiss video has, thankfully,
gone the way of the warrior eye black and been tossed from the Harper
visage.

話雖如此, 在我和 Harper 非常有限的相處過程裡,
他看起來不像有個頭圍高過他打擊率的大頭, 所以這當然是個好的開始.
甚至他在那段飛吻影片裡所留的短髭/絡腮鬍組合也, 謝天謝地,
與用黑棒球油彩所畫的戰士紋面一般, 從他的造型裡消失了.

Rather than coming across as a privileged punk, Harper strikes me as a
cutthroat competitor who genuinely lives to win. But as Beasley noted,
sometimes that can rub people the wrong way.

Harper 給我的感覺, 並非像個享有特權的混帳小子,
而是一個無懼於割喉的競爭者, 真真正正地為勝利而生存.
但就像 Beasley 提到的, 有時候這種態度會惹毛其他人.

"I just try to go out there and play the game I know how to play," Harper
said recently. "If it's not fun, you shouldn't be out there. As long as
we're winning and playing hard, that's the biggest thing."

"我只是試著上場用我所知道的方式去打比賽," Harper 最近表示,
"如果棒球對你來說沒有樂趣, 那你根本不該上場比賽.
只要我們持續贏球而且盡力表現, 那就是最重要的."

(下略)
(太累了所以原文其他的部份就不翻了)


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