‘I used to be mad about it’ — How the Angels’ Jared Walsh channeled his 39th-round draft selection and became a big-leaguer 原文连结: https://reurl.cc/DvRyRO By Fabian Ardaya May 29, 2019 For much of his cross-country drive from Georgia to Arizona right around New Year’s Day, Jared Walsh tried as hard as he could not to think about baseball. He tried not to think about the reasons he’d slipped in the 2015 draft, or the fact that, just a few weeks earlier, despite the best season of his minor-league career, the Angels had left him off their 40-man roster and thus open to selection by any club in the Rule 5 draft. No one called. 在新年前後，他从乔治亚开往亚利桑那跨州之旅的大部分时间里，Jared Walsh尽可能不 去想关於棒球的事。 他试着不去思考为何他在2015年选秀会滑到那麽後面的种种原因， 或者事实上，就在几周之前，尽管他打出小联盟生涯的最佳球季，天使队仍然把他放在40 人名单之外，让他有机会在规则五选秀被任何球队挑走。 没人选他。 He’d been invited to his first big-league spring training camp anyway, and as he drove hundreds of miles through hills and desert, he didn’t want his thoughts overwhelmed by the possibilities. He definitely didn’t want to think about the challenge of trying to be both a hitter and a pitcher in the major leagues, and what it would mean to be yet another guinea pig for an organization at the forefront of repopularizing two-way players in baseball. 无论如何，总算他被邀请参加个人的首次大联盟春训，而他开车驶过数百英里，穿越山丘 和沙漠，他却不想让自己的思绪被各种可能性给淹没。 他当然不想去想在大联盟投打二 刀流可能会遇到的挑战，以及被当作另一只小白老鼠-代表球团作为让二刀流选手在棒球 界重拾人气的先锋。 “You have a lot of thoughts,” Walsh told The Athletic. “Probably too many thoughts.” 『你会有一堆想法』，Walsh告诉 The Athletic。 『也许太多想法了。』 He quieted his mind by playing as much music as he could, wearing out his playlists of ’70s and ’80s classics and eventually succumbing to belting out pop hits at full volume. He sustained himself primarily on gas station coffee and Red Bull. His mouth watered at the meal awaiting him after his first full day of driving — after all, he hadn’t tasted Whataburger in months. By the time he reached his Dallas-area hotel, he noticed the closest Whataburger was 12 miles away. So, despite a torrential downpour, Walsh kept driving until he got it. 他尽可能播放最多的音乐让心思安定下来，消磨掉70和80年代老歌歌单，最後屈服於音量 全开的流行乐。 他主要靠加油站的咖啡和Red Bull来维持清醒。 他口水直流的等待在整 整一天长途驾驶後的正餐 - 毕竟，他已经好几个月没有尝过 Whataburger的味道了。 当 他抵达达拉斯附近的旅馆之时，他注意到最近的 Whataburger还要开12英里。 所以，尽 管外面下着滂沱大雨，Walsh就是要开过去直到他吃到为止。 On his second day of driving, he couldn’t block the thoughts out anymore. He had to scratch the itch. So he stopped at the first central Texas gas station he could find. 在他第二天的长途驾驶中，他无法再阻挡任何想法。 他要搔搔痒处。 因此他停在第一个 他能找到的德州的加油站。 “I feel like crap if I take like four days off from swinging or throwing,” Walsh explained. 『如果我四天没有挥棒或丢球，我就会觉得自己像屎一样。』Walsh解释。 He pulled in, parked, and dug into the trunk of his mother’s Jeep Grand Cherokee to find a couple of stray baseballs and his glove. He couldn’t help but notice the stares from a small crowd of truckers in the parking lot, but he didn’t care. Hey, if you see someone stopped at a Love’s gas station in Nowhere, Texas, chucking baseballs at full speed at the bathroom wall, you’d stop and watch, too. 他停好车，然後从他妈妈的Jeep Grand Cherokee後车箱挖出几颗零星的棒球和手套。 他 无法不注意到停车场里，一小群卡车驾驶正凝视着他，但他不在乎。 嘿，如果你在德州 某个鸟不生蛋的地方的Love’s加油站，看到有人在对着洗手间外墙全力催下去丢球，你 也会停下来看的啦。 The next day, he did it again. 隔天，他又做了一次一样的事。 Walsh was convinced that the spring of 2014 would change his life forever. Walsh确信2014年的春天永远的改变了他的一生。 He entered his junior year at Georgia fully believing that, with a great season, he’d hear his name called in the draft. He had reasons for optimism — he put together a solid sophomore campaign as a hitter, but he’d really separated himself as a left-handed relief option for the Bulldogs in a competitive SEC. In his quest to accelerate his rise, he pushed himself during early spring practices, upping his workouts and throwing progression to be in midseason form from the get-go. Such efforts proved detrimental. 进入在Georgia大学的第三年，他满怀希望相信这个超棒的球季会让他在选秀会上听到自 己的名字被选走。 他是有理由乐观的 - 他在大二年有很坚实的打击数据，但他也真的区 分开来，将自己视为斗牛犬队在充满竞争的东南组的一个左投後援人选。 在他寻求加速 提升自己的过程中，他驱策自己在春天提早训练，加重重训菜单还有丢球的训练，好让自 己在球季一开始就可以有季中的好状态。但这些努力事後证明是有害的。 A back injury from the previous fall lingered, the pain worsening to the point where it became nearly unplayable shortly before the beginning of the season. The result was a stress fracture in his lower back, all but crippling his junior season before it even began. 从去年秋天开始的背伤挥之不去，疼痛甚至加剧让开季後Walsh有短暂一段时间几乎无法 出赛。 结果是他的下背部出现疲劳性骨折，让他的大三球季在开始前就几乎报废。 “It was just kind of the perfect storm,” Walsh said. “I really wanted to do extra because I wanted to play pro baseball really bad. But I was just not really managing my body the way that I should have been.” 『这简直就是场完美风暴，烂事接连发生』，Walsh说。 『我真的很想多做一点，因为我超想打职棒。但我也真的没有好好的管理我的身体。』 Limited to 69 at-bats as a junior, Walsh hit just .188 with a .562 OPS. On the mound, he was limited to nine ineffective innings. His ability to generate force as a hitter and a pitcher was zapped. So too, were his odds of being drafted. 受限於大三的69打数，Walsh只打出.188打率和.562的OPS。 在投手丘上，他只缴出九局 不太有压制力的局数。 他作为打者和投手，影响比赛的能力可以说完全破灭。 所以咧， 也就影响到他在选秀会上被选的机会。 But despite all appearances, that season was not an abject failure. Sitting in the stands at Foley Field was Todd Hogan, an area scout for the Angels. When Walsh did play, Hogan saw tools he felt could be molded. As a hitter, Walsh hit monstrous home runs to right and center field in batting practice, although he’d hit just seven during his college career. At first base, he showed nimble feet and an ability to pick a ball cleanly. As a pitcher, he showed a firm fastball that touched 92 mph with a potential plus curve and a changeup. 但尽管这一切看起来很糟，本季倒也不是彻底失败。 坐在Foley Field观众席上的Todd Hogan，是天使队在此的区域球探。 在Walsh上场的时候，Hogan看见了感觉可以被形塑打 磨的一些技能。 作为打者，Walsh在打练的时候能敲出中右外野吓人的全垒打，虽然他整 个大学生涯只打了七支啦。 在一垒防守端，他展现灵巧的脚步和把球接得乾净的才能。 作为投手，他则有坚实的速球可达92麦，以及有潜力成为plus球种的曲球、以及一颗 变速球。 Several of the scouts tracking Walsh focused in on the latter, seeing a pitching prospect who someday could become a left-handed bullpen weapon, even with a Tommy John surgery in high school hinting at a future injury risk. Hogan saw more in Walsh as a hitter, with pitching as a fallback plan. His submitted draft comp was to Mitch Moreland, who like Walsh was a first baseman and hitter at Mississippi State and has since produced an All-Star caliber career as a slugging first baseman. 在几个球探的追踪报告里，把Walsh视为後者，预见一个投手新秀，某天也许可以成为左 投的牛棚利器，即便他在高中动过Tommy John暗示着未来可能有伤病风险。 Hogan则把 Walsh视为打者更多一些，而将投球作为备案。 他缴出的选秀模板球员是Mitch Moreland ，和Walsh一样是一垒手和打者，在Mississippi State打球，从此之後作为强打一垒手并 打出了全明星级的生涯表现。 So Walsh returned for his senior season in 2015, a last chance at continuing his career. That year, Hogan saw Walsh’s approach — he posted an .827 OPS in 173 at-bats — and felt his untapped power could elevate him as a future big-leaguer. 所以Walsh在2015回去打他的大四球季，他延续运动生涯的最後一次机会。 在那年， Hogan看见了Walsh面对这一切的方法 - 他在173打数中打出.827OPS – 让他感觉到他未 开发的力量可以改进并在未来成为大联盟球员。 “He was never a power guy in college,” Hogan said. “But you could see that he had the frame and (imagine what he would do) once he gets his man strength. ” 『他在大学从来不是力量型球员』，Hogan说。 『但你看得出来他有那样的体型以及(可 以想像他能做得到) 只要他练出成熟男人应有的力量。』 In the lead-up to the draft Walsh heard from more than 20 clubs, each promising him that he would be under consideration, primarily as a pitcher, between the seventh and 12th rounds — a spot typically slotted for “senior signs,” or seniors that clubs could still dream on. Hogan asked Walsh if he’ d prefer to hit or pitch. Walsh said hit, and Hogan agreed, leaving both sides encouraged. 就在选秀前Walsh听到至少超过20支球队，每支都向他保证会将他纳入考量，主要作为投 手。 大约落在7-12轮 –一个通常『大四老人』会出现的位置，或者球队们还对大四生怀 抱希望的落点。 Hogan问了Walsh倾向打击还是投球。 Walsh说打击，Hogan也同意了，让 双方都觉得受到鼓舞。 But the first day of the 2015 draft came and went. So, too, did the second day, which spanned through the 10th round. Anticipating some of the nerves of the draft process, Walsh’s mother, Lisa, asked her son which of the major-league parks he’d like to visit for the first time. So on the third day of the draft, Walsh sat in the stands at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, watching the Orioles take on the Red Sox while tracking the draft on his phone. 但2015选秀会首日很快就登场以及结束。 所以咧，第二天也就这样结束了，此时已经过 了第十轮。 预期到选秀过程带来的压力和紧张，Walsh的母亲，Lisa，问她儿子是否有想 要去哪个没有造访过的MLB球场走走。 因此在选秀会第三天，Walsh跑到巴尔的摩，坐在 金莺主场Camden Yards的观众席上欣赏金莺战红袜，顺便用手机看选秀。 During the 35th round, Walsh got a phone call from Hogan. He asked to confirm that Walsh would be willing to take $3,000 as a signing bonus (seniors, because of a lack of leverage, often have little wiggle room for negotiation). Then Hogan stressed that he was pushing for Walsh to get picked. 在第35轮的时候，Walsh接到了Hogan的电话。 他打来确认Walsh会愿意接受3000镁的签约 金 (大四老人，因为影响力小，通常谈判空间也小)。 然後Hogan强调他正在努力让Walsh 获选。 Four rounds later, with the final pick of the 39th round — the 1,185th overall selection — the Angels chose Walsh. Fighting through tears, Walsh spoke with Hogan. His confidence was undeterred. 四轮後，在39轮的最後一个顺位–总共是第1185顺位 – 天使队选走Walsh。 强忍着泪水，Walsh和Hogan讲电话。 但他的信心并没有受到打击。 “How quick can you get me signed and have me getting out to an affiliate?” Walsh asked Hogan. “Because that’s one hour quicker for me getting to the big leagues.” 『你可以多快把我签下来然後分发到小联盟任何一个层级?』 Walsh问Hogan。 『因为那可以让我快一个小时上到大联盟。』 --

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