http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/columns/story?id=4983116 （文章很长，只翻译大意而非逐字翻） Saturday night, Taipei 台北，星期六晚上 Hong-Chih Kuo had known something wasn't wrong for a few days now. Something in his elbow wasn't right. Not necessarily wrong, but not right either. Which is normal this time of year, but always something to worry about when you make your living throwing 97 mph fastballs with an elbow that's been under the knife four times already. 几天前郭就知道状况没什麽不对。他的手肘怪怪的，不是受伤，但也不是没事 这在这个时节（春训）很正常， 但如果你是靠拿开过四次刀的手投97英里的球吃饭的，就得要担心些 Still, Kuo was hoping the soreness would just go away after a few days, so he kept it to himself at first. No way he was going to stay back in Arizona and miss the Dodgers' trip to his homeland over a little spring training soreness. 但郭原本还是希望过个几天就会没事，所以一开始什麽都没说 他可不想因为一点春训的小小酸痛，就错过回家乡的机会，留在亚利桑那 But the elbow didn't feel better after the long flight on Wednesday. Or Thursday. Or Friday after he did a throwing session during the opener of the Dodgers three-game series here against an all-star team of professional Taiwanese players. 但星期三长途飞行之後，手肘没有比较好；星期四也没有 到了星期五牛棚练投之後，依然没有比较好 Saturday morning he finally had to speak up and tell the training staff. Later that afternoon he had a chat with Dodgers manager Joe Torre. 星期六早上，他不得不告诉防护员，下午和Torre来了个面对面谈话 Torre wouldn't budge. Kuo was not going to pitch on Sunday. Torre just could not take the chance of his dynamic left-handed relief pitcher risking further injury by starting Sunday's game. Torre绝不让步，郭星期天不准投球，Torre不要他的牛棚大将冒受伤的危险 It was a pretty clear-cut decision. But that didn't make it any easier for Kuo to inform the Taiwanese press of the situation after Saturday's game. Already they were disappointed the second-game of the series had been rained out, now this. 决定很清楚明了，但，这不会让郭在星期六赛後告知台湾记者的任务变简单 他们已经因为第二场比赛被取消而感到很失望了，现在还要加上这件事 There were no fewer than 60 reporters, camera crews and photographers in the hallway of Taipei's Tien Mu Stadium when Dodgers public relations man Josh Rawitch had to break the news to them. A few minutes later Kuo came around the corner and tried to explain the situation himself. 道奇公关Rawitch发表消息时，有超过六十个记者集合在天母球场的走道 稍後，郭出来亲自向大家说明 I don't speak Mandarin, but the expression on Kuo's face said it all. He was sullen and emotionally drained. This clearly was a huge disappointment. Not just for him personally, because he was planning to leave over 100 tickets for family and friends to Sunday's game, but for his country, which had so thoroughly embraced him, the Dodgers and baseball during this trip. 我听不懂中文，但郭的表情很明白－－非常郁闷无力 很显然，这不只让他个人失望（有超过百人的亲友团要来看球） 也让全心拥抱道奇、棒球、以及他的国人失望 Later, when he came over to address the small contingent of American media covering the series, he admitted that he nearly broke down in tears when he was explaining the situation. 之後，当他过来和美国媒体谈话时，承认他那时都快哭了 I'm not sure I fully appreciated what Kuo and his countryman Chin-lung Hu mean to their fans back home until this moment. Until then, their rock-star status in Taiwan was somewhat of a curiosity. Teammates would tease Kuo about his amusing Subway commercials, or ask Hu about the sheer number of camera crews that had been assigned to follow the two local stars every move during this trip. 在此之前，我还不完全明白郭和胡对家乡同胞的意义是什麽 他们在台湾的明星身份比较像是新鲜有趣的事情 队友会拿郭的Subway广告开玩笑，或者问胡大批追着他跑的摄影记者的事 (Seriously, how many television stations are there in Taiwan? Every time we leave the ballpark there are dozens of crews stationed at the exits. Then every time we arrive back at the Sherwood Hotel there are dozens more. They can't be the same people, right?) （台湾到底有多少电视台？我们每次离开和到达一个地方时都有几十部摄影机等着） （不可能在两个地点都是同样一群人吧？） But all that stuff is superficial. Fluffy novelty that could be true in any country, for any foreign-born major league player. This moment with Kuo in the hallway near tears was something else entirely. 但这些都是表面的而已，郭在走廊上几乎泪目却是完全不同的等级 This came from the heart and hurt in his gut. 这是来自内心的 "I hope they understand,'' Kuo said. "They have to I guess. [But] It's very sad, very tough. I wanted to pitch for my family. ... I will sign a lot of autographs [instead].'' 郭说：我希望他们能理解，我猜他们也非理解不可 但真的很难，我想在家人面前投球...我会签很多名（代替） As Kuo explained his feelings, I thought back on a conversation I'd had with Hu the day before we'd left. Baseball, Hu explained, was the national pastime in Taiwan. Not soccer like everywhere else in the world but America. Baseball. 就在郭解释他的感受时，我想起之前和胡的对话，他说，棒球是台湾的国球 As we travelled around this island nation once known as Formosa, which has been passed back and forth between Japan and China over the centuries, it was clear why baseball, with its reverence for history, detail and discipline is so beloved here. 走过这个曾经名为福尔摩沙、在日本和中国间来去的岛屿，才理解棒球为何受到热爱 Taiwan is one of the most modern nations in Asia. Parts of downtown Taipei rival the poshest sections of the grand European capitals of London or Paris or Berlin. Business is conducted at light speed. Engineering marvels, like the world's fastest elevator which ascends the Taipei 101 tower at 1010 meters/minute are celebrated as national treasures. 台湾是亚洲最现代化的国家之一，台北某些地方就像欧洲城市般 商业发达、各种工程奇蹟被视为国家宝藏 Baseball players who've mastered the unique skill set of the game, players like Kuo and Hu who have brought honor to their nation by reaching the pinnacle of the sport in America, are reverential figures. 像郭、胡一样球技杰出、到达棒球最高殿堂为国争光的球员备受尊崇 "They never boos the players here,'' Kuo told me, when I asked why fans had cheered the success of the Dodger players during the games. "Never the players. The players are very respected. If they ever boo, it's the umpires.'' 当我问郭，为什麽（台湾）球迷会帮道奇球员加油时，郭说： 他们从来不会嘘球员，球员很受尊重；如果会嘘也是嘘裁判 It was this weight of expectation and responsibility that Kuo and Hu carried with onboard for this trip home. I can't even imagine how difficult it must've been for Kuo to disclose his injury to the Dodgers staff, knowing that it might jeopardize his ability to pitch on his home soil. 郭与胡踏上归乡旅程时，就是肩负着期盼与责任的重担 我没有办法想像，郭要告知教练他的状况时有多困难 明知这样会影响到他在家乡投球的机会 All he could do was hope they understood. 他能做的，只有希望他们能理解 Taipei to Kaohsiung to Phoenix, Sunday （Shelburne战南北） Yes, all of that was "Sunday.'' I use the term loosely because we crossed the international dateline on the way home, meaning that we actually landed in Phoenix Sunday night three hours before we took off from the Southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung (pronounced, Cow-shUNG). And you thought Daylight Saving Time messed with your body clock. 台北、高雄、凤凰城全都在同一天内－－因为我们跨过国际换日线 比夏季日光节约时间还扰乱身体时钟 As grueling as the day was -- starting with a 6:30 a.m. wake-up call, a 90-minute high-speed train ride from Taipei to Kaohsiung, a baseball game in weather that would make Houston in July feel balmy, a mad dash to the airport and a 12-hour flight home to Phoenix -- something about this day felt refreshing. 即使从清早6:30离开台北、搭乘90分钟高铁到高雄、在大热天中比赛、又飞了12小时 这一天、棒球、还有（台湾）这地方与她的人民，让人依然感到神采奕奕 About the day, about the baseball game, about the place and the people. Maybe it was simply that what had been accomplished in this whirlwind trip was finally sinking in. At the start of it I had felt like there wasn't enough time for anything lasting to take hold. A few days of front-page headlines, a flurry of attention, a couple of games that may or may not be memorable. All of which could be forgotten in a few days or weeks time. 也许是因为，现在终於能体会这趟旋风似旅程所达成的一切 一开始，我以为没有足够的时间可以留下长久的影响 几天的头版新闻、注目、几场比赛，也许没什麽让人难忘的 过个几天或几星期，就没有人记得了 Baseball was already Taiwan's national pastime. It had been sullied of late by a gambling scandal. But the sport still had a place in the bones and blood of this nation. 棒球已经是台湾的国民休闲，也许一时受赌沾污，但依然在这个国家的血肉里 A three-game exhibition tour would do little more than spike the blood pressure here. 三场表演赛，也不过就是让棒球血稍微热点而已 （译注：原文说血压，但这样翻译可能比较合中文用法） But everything that happened on Sunday made me realize how wrong that assumption was. 但星期天所发生的一切，让我了解到，原本的想法是错的 It started with the sendoff from Taipei, where a hundred or so fans gathered at the entrance to the Sherwood Hotel to see the team off despite the early-morning departure. 一切从数百名球迷大清早集结在饭店外欢送我们开始 Another group of fans was waiting at the train station, holding baseballs and hats and hoping for one last autograph or picture. Because of the hurry to catch the train, the players could only smile and wave, but you got the sense that even that was special for the people on the receiving end. 车站里，另一群球迷等着我们，手拿棒球或球帽，希望有最後机会要到签名或照片 因为赶着搭车，球员只能挥手微笑，但感觉得出来，这对球迷已经很特别了 In Kaohsiung the reception at the train station and the ballpark was much of the same. 在高雄车站与球场得到的欢迎也差不多 "The people have been terrific,'' Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "The people couldn't have been more enthusiastic or more cooperative. The security has been great and it's been necessary. But it's been necessary because of the enthusiasm of the people.'' Torre说：这里的人很棒，极热情合作 保全非常好，也非常必须，因为大家太热情了 Though the quick train ride had made the distance feel short, it was quickly apparent this part of Taiwan was quite different from the north. It was warm and humid here, without being sticky. Everything was greener and more lush. 虽然高铁让两地的距离感觉很短 但我很快就发现南台湾与北台湾大不相同 温暖、湿度高但不至於黏腻，所有东西都更绿更丰美 The soft breeze coming in from the South China Sea always seemed to blow at just the right time. 微微的海风也总能适时吹来 Earlier in the trip, Chin-Lung Hu had told me that this part of Taiwan was baseball country. He and Hong-Chih Kuo had grown up about an hour north of here, in the coastal city of Tainan. But the feel there was much the same as in Kaohsiung. 旅程之初，胡金龙告诉我，这里才是台湾的棒球之乡 他和郭泓志成长於离此北边一小时左右的台南，但高雄的气氛也很像 Baseball may be the national pastime in all of Taiwan, but it is an obsession in the south. 棒球或许是全台湾的休闲，但在南部，它是执迷 The stadium here held four times as many fans as Tien Mu Stadium in Taipei and it filled up early. About an hour before the game, the drums started to beat. 这里的球场容量有天母的四倍，而且早早就坐满 离比赛还有一个小时，鼓声就开始了 A baseball game here feels like a ritual. Drums beating before every at-bat, chants and cheers echoing down from the stands. 此地的棒球赛有如祭典仪式，每次打击前，都从观众席传来鼓声、歌声、欢呼 Outside the stadium life seemed to stop. Those who'd missed out on tickets gathered outside the stadium gates to watch on big screens. 球场外一切似乎都暂停了，没买到票的人聚集在外面看大萤幕转播 "I was tapping my foot by the end of the game,'' Torre said "The fans really made the trip for me, not only at the ballpark but in and around Taipei and Kaohsiung. Torre说：「球赛到後来我都跟着打拍子了 台北、高雄球场里外的球迷让我这趟旅行很成功尽兴 "Just to come this far and to realize how small our world is in regard to baseball is wonderful. Baseball has been my life and this was a great experience for me.'' 「光是来到这麽远的地方，了解到棒球让世界变小了，感觉就很美好 棒球是我的人生，这一趟对我而言是很棒的经验。」 Torre's done about a half a dozen of these goodwill trips in his career, starting in 1974 as a player for the Mets when he went to Japan. His experiences, from Japan in 1974 with the Mets and 2004 with the Yankees, to China in 2008 with the Dodgers and now Taiwan in 2010 serve as a de facto time-lapse photographic essay on the growth of baseball in Asia and around the world. Torre已经去过许多次推广棒球的旅行， 从他走过的地方就可以看出棒球在亚洲和全球的成长 It's when you ask why he keeps wanting to make these grueling trips that you realize how important they are. 当你问起他为何愿意踏上这些累人的旅行时，才知道它们有多重要 "I just love the game,'' he says simply. "It's a great game.'' 他说：「我就是爱棒球。它很棒。」 It's that love that connects men like Torre and the players who volunteered for the trip to the fans waving from the street corners Kaohsiung as the bus drove away and the trip came to a close. 正是对棒球的爱，连结了Torre、自愿来的球员、以及在高雄街角对巴士挥手的球迷 It's why, occasionally, I'd even see major-leaguers like Angel Berroa, James Loney and even Manny Ramirez waiving back. 也正是因为如此，连大联盟球员如Berroa、Loney、甚至Manny都挥手回礼 We touched down in Phoenix around 6 p.m. "Sunday'' night, everyone still a bit weary from the long day and plane flight home across the Pacific Ocean. The crew aboard the EVA Airlines charter flight had offered one last thanks before the flight landed, expressing how much the Dodgers visit had meant to the people of Taiwan. 我们在星期天晚上回到凤凰城，下机前，长荣机组人员再度向我致谢 After that, life went back to what it had been. Four players who'd made the trip had learned after Sunday's game they'd been sent down to minor league camp. 之後，一切回到常轨，四名参与台湾旅的球员在星期天赛後得知他们将被下放 Torre was due back in the office Monday morning. 星期天早上Torre会回到办公室 The team's excellent clubhouse manager Mitch Poole gave instructions on what should be done with all the gear everyone had taken on the trip. Travel manager Scott Akasaki made sure everyone filled out their customs declarations forms correctly. 球团人员提醒大家怎麽处理他们带去台湾的球衣球具、确认所有人正确填报申报单 There were no crowds waiting at the gate. 没有大批人马欢迎我们 An hour and a half later, the team buses pulled back into the empty parking lots at Camelback Ranch. Eleven hours later, players would begin arriving for another routine day of spring training. The game goes on. 一个半小时後，球队巴士来到Camelback Ranch空旷的停车场 十一个小时後，球员即将报到，开始另一天的春训 比赛继续 --

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