你所不知道的Bryce Harper(中) - 美國職棒

Understand -- Beasley is a baseball lifer. He rode the buses for nine years
in the minor leagues, hanging around so long that he ended his career as a
player-coach in Double-A. He never got to The Show as a player but made it as
a third-base coach with the Pirates. He has managed six years in the minor
leagues, all in bus leagues. He knows baseball. He knows the vernacular. He
knows you don't "show up" an opposing pitcher.

Beasley終身以棒球為業，曾經在小聯盟打拼了9年，最終，在2A以球員兼教練的情況下結
束了職業生涯。雖然他從未以球員身分升上大聯盟，但他卻曾以海盜隊三壘指導教練的身
分在大聯盟出賽。他在小聯盟擔任過6年的總教練，他懂棒球，他理解棒球文化，他知道你
們不"拆穿"投手。(這邊的show up真的不知道要怎麼翻比較好，有請高手賜教。)


And he says Bryce Harper wasn't the villain on June 6 -- but has been a
victim in the aftermath.

Beasley認為Bryce Harper並不是這次事件中錯的一方，反而是整個事件的受害者。


"That's the sad part about him," Beasley said. "It's disappointing to me that
the media takes bits and pieces of what happens and uses that to make him
look bad. He's a good kid -- I mean it, he's a good kid. It's sad to be 18
years old and have to fight those types of demons."

"這就是Harper可憐的地方，" Beasley說道。"我很失望媒體對整件事斷章取義，並使
Harper難堪。他是個好孩子--我說真的，他真的是個好孩子，才18歲就要面對這有的沒
的真的很可憐。"


Harper fights them with silence. It's his best weapon, because there's
nothing to gain from opening his mouth. He once told Sports Illustrated that
he tried to pattern his game after Mickey Mantle -- what was he supposed to
say, that he patterned his game after Kurt Bevacqua? -- and for that, he has
been roasted. According to an MLB.com reporter who also was in Akron recently
to watch Harper, that issue of SI was floating around a major-league
clubhouse, where a big leaguer said, "What a ridiculous comment. This guy's
going to get eaten alive up here."

Harper總是以沉默來對抗他們。那是他最好的武器，開口並不會有什麼幫助。他曾經對運
動畫刊說他試著打出Mickey Mantle所打出的比賽--不然他該怎麼說，難不成要他仿效Kurt
Bevacqua打球?根據一位也常就近觀察Bryce Harper的MLB.com記者所述，運動畫刊事件也
曾在大聯盟球團之間廣為流傳，就有名大聯盟球員說，"有沒有搞錯阿，這傢伙上來這肯定會
被生吞活剝!"


Like he's not getting eaten alive down on the farm? Minor leaguers don't get
booed on the road, but Harper does. He's famous, for one. Rich, for two. And
everyone says he's cocky and arrogant -- did you know he once hit a home run
and blew a kiss at the poor pitcher? -- so that's it. Three strikes and
you're out, Bryce Harper.

講的好像他在小聯盟就不會被攻擊似的，一般小聯盟球員在客場是不會被噓的，但Harper
會。理由一，他有名，理由二，他有高額簽約金。人們總是說他驕傲自大又自滿--你知道
他曾經對被他轟出全壘打的可憐投手做出飛吻這種挑釁動作嗎?--就是這樣。Bryce
Harper，你玩完了!


"Boooooo," yelled a guy in Akron, every time Harper came to the plate. It was
only one guy, not the whole crowd. Akron is not a mean place, but this was a
mean guy. In the third game of that series, when Harper injured his hamstring
on the bases Thursday night and was carried off the field -- his first
professional season possibly over -- that same guy sneered, "Walk it off,
Harper!"

每當Harper站上打擊區，總有個傢伙大聲的噓他，"Boooooooooo，"就那麼一個人，而不
是所有觀眾，Akron不是個邪惡的地方，但卻有個邪惡的人。在這系列戰的第三戰，
當Harper在壘間拉傷他的腳，而被抬下場--他可能因此整季報銷--時，同樣那個傢伙發
出輕蔑的冷笑，"滾吧! Harper!"


Before the first game of the series, Beasley had told me that would happen.

在系列賽的首戰之前，Beasley就告訴我這會發生了。


"I find it disheartening that 50-year-old men show up to boo him," said
Beasley, who has a teenage son of his own. "He's 18 years old. Come on."

"一個50歲的傢伙為了噓他而出現在球場真讓我感到心灰意冷，" 同樣有個青少年兒子的
Beasley這麼說，"幹嘛這樣，他才18歲而已!"


Notice how I'm quoting Beasley, but not Harper? That's the silence I told you
about. That's how he defends himself -- by sitting it out. He didn't talk to
the media in three days in Akron, which is fine. Beasley says Harper doesn't
want to set himself apart from his teammates, who also are scratching and
clawing to get noticed, to get promoted, to get to the big leagues. What kind
of message would it send to the rest of the clubhouse if, on a daily basis,
the media walked right past Eastern League home-run leader Tyler Moore just
to have a few words with Bryce Harper, who's hitting .256?

注意到我為什麼都引用Beasley所說的話而不是Harper了嗎? 這就是我所謂的沉默!他就是
這樣保護自己--一副事不關己的模樣。他在Akron整整三天都沒有跟媒體說上話，Beasley
說Harper是為了不想在隊友之中顯得有什麼與眾不同--那些拼了老命想被注意，想往上爬
，想站上大聯盟的隊友，想想看，若媒體們每天(注意，是每天喔!)對Eastern League的全
壘打王Tyler Moore視若無睹，只為了跟打擊率只有2成56的Bryce Harper說上幾句話，會
傳達出什麼訊息?


Harper won't let it happen. He told Harrisburg's media relations folks that
he would talk only after games in which he had played a pivotal role. That
has happened exactly once since Harper was promoted to Double-A on July 4,
and the bar was set high. Harper hit a walk-off home run, a blast estimated
at 500 feet, over the 30-foot batter's eye in center field. He spoke to the
media that night, but after all others he has politely declined. And I'm
supposed to dislike him for that? Hell, I love him for that.

Harper絕不會讓這種事發生，他告訴Harrisburg的媒體，他只會在打出關鍵一擊的賽後
接受訪問，這在Bryce Harper7月4號升上2A之後只發生過一次，這標準訂得可高了。
Harper那天打了支直擊中外野，大約有500英呎遠的超大號再見全壘打，這下他總算肯和
媒體聊聊了，除此之外，他通通禮貌的拒絕了媒體的賽後訪問。想想，我該因此而討厭他
嗎? 噢不! 我超愛他這點的!




(待續...)



休息一下...



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