What Good is an 83-MPH Fastball? By Al Doyle The middle-aged man stated the obvious. 有人说 "An 83 MPH fastball won't even get you a Division I college scholarship today," he declared. "丢那种软趴趴13X公里时速的直球连NCAA一级的棒球奖学金都拿不到" That remark was made on the nationally syndicated Sports Spectrum radio program May 5. The source of the quote knows a thing or two about junkballing. Despite a heater on the lowest depths of the scale, 36-year old Indians starter Paul Byrd is now in his 13th major league season and has an 88-75 career record to go with his 83 MPH (sort of) hard stuff. 五月五号有人在电台上如是说～说这话的人跟本是在黑白讲。 虽然是个软投派，不过36岁的 Paul Byrd 在大联盟已经撑了13季。 他"强硬"的时速83英里直球一路相挺他拿下88胜77负的战绩 Byrd also admitted to another alleged shortcoming when he mentioned being 5'11" instead of the 6'1" height that is usually listed on his stat line. With the obsessive quest for big, hard-throwing young pitchers, right-handers who fail to hit the 6'0" mark seldom get a professional contract out of high school or college. That's why "official" heights are often stretched a bit for short hurlers and position players alike when prospects are signed. 还有，Byrd自己承认他在填基本资料的身高栏时多报了一寸 因为六英尺以上的人比较容易找到头路 所以很多棒球人为了讨生活都会报自己的身高时灌水 The few soft-tossing righties with average-sized bodies who manage to get a shot in the minors often have no margin for error. A poor appearance or two frequently leads to getting released, which makes the cliche of "don't sign short right-handed pitchers" something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. 那些少数身材跟球速都没啥看头却能撑到上大联盟的家伙们没什麽犯错的机会。 搞砸一两次通常就会被踢出球队， 普遍的观念是 "别签那些没啥看头的右投" So how do Byrd and his fellow finesse types survive in a time when radar guns and numbers like 98 have a slavish, cult-like following? The desperate need for even semi-competent pitching and depth in the rotation means teams have to tame their one-track quest for power arms and settle for other options. 所以，在这个测速枪上那种9X英里的球速受到大家崇拜的时代， Byrd这种技巧派的投手是如何存活的呢？ 考量到投手轮值深度表， 大部分球队得忍着不去一味的找强力投手， 而容忍一些例外存在。 With change-ups and breaking stuff that sometimes drops as low as 68 MPH, how does Byrd survive as the number 4 starter for one of the best teams in the majors? If you can't blow it by 'em, then fool the opposition. 有着那慢到销魂的变化球的Byrd究竟是怎麽在印地安人这只 一流球队搞到第四号先发的工作呢？ 他没办法用球速压倒对手，所以他只好想办法整他们。 Byrd recently changed to a more elaborate 1950s-style windup in an effort to hide the ball longer. His ability to seamlessly change speeds and hit just about any part of the strike zone from different arm angles gives big league hitters something they seldom see. Byrd最近为了把球藏的更好，把投球动作改成了颇扯的50年代风投球动作。 他那不管用任何出手角度皆能任意转换球速档位跟准确的把球塞到好球带 的技巧，在大联盟中很少见。 The maestro of slow was on the mound during the May 25 Indians-Tigers game at Comerica Park in Detroit. With the exception of patient Gary Sheffield, the Tigers are a free-swinging bunch. Byrd's ability to throw strikes meant the Tigers took even fewer pitches than normal. 这位软趴趴大师在5月25号，在汽车城的Comerica Park对上了老虎队。 基本上，除了雨刷先生之外， 老虎队的球员都相当喜欢自由挥击。 Byrd把球控到好球带的卓越能力意味着老虎队的打者会更积极的出棒。 Since it was a sellout, I had to settle for a seat high in the right field mezzanine section. That didn't give me the best view of Byrd's work, but I still saw a clinic on smart pitching. 因为票卖光了所以我只能坐在外野的一角 虽然view很鸟但是我仍然看到了用脑袋投球的最佳示范 It was much more than moving the ball inside and outside. Byrd also went up and down in the strike zone with ease, and 30 of his first 35 pitches were strikes. Contact hitter supreme Placido Polanco and Sheffield struck out swinging in the first inning, with Sheffield whiffing on an 83 MPH "heater" that was up and in. Considering Sheffield's tremendous bat speed, it shows how Byrd can play with the minds of hitters when he is on top of his game. 除了内外角跑之外，Byrd也轻松的让球进到好球带的高低处。 他的头35球中有30个好球。 技巧派之王Polanco跟雨刷都在第一局挥棒落空吞K。 雨刷先生挥了一颗不太fast的内角high fast ball， 你看，Byrd在他顺的时候可以成功恶搞打者，连雨刷这种挥棒速度 都会挥空。 The Tigers were fooled by numerous sub-80 MPH strikes that drifted and darted across the plate. The slop and breaking stuff made Byrd's 82 to 86 MPH fastballs look pretty quick by comparison. On the negative side, control types like Byrd work with a thin margin for error, and pitches that catch too much of the plate or lack movement often go for hits. 那飘忽的8x英里速球让老虎队的打者相当混乱。 更软趴趴的是Byrd的变化球，不过那些变化球让Byrd的速球相对之下看起来 比实际上快的多了。 不过技巧派投手没什麽犯错的空间， 太甜或是没什麽变化的球通常都会被痛击。 A second inning leadoff double by Magglio Ordonez followed by a Carlos Guillen triple led to a Tigers run, but Byrd settled down and (with help from a leaping catch at the fence by Jason Michaels) held Detroit scoreless until a two-run sixth. After surrendering a solo homer to Craig Monroe in the seventh, Byrd gave way to the bullpen. Rafael Betancourt and closer Joe Borowski held the lead for a 7-4 Indians victory. Ordonez在第二局时一上场就尻了一发二垒安打。 然後Guilen又来了一发三垒安打扫进了一分。 不过在jason Michaels精彩的爬墙接杀帮助下， Byrd稳住了局面直到第六局，第六局时老虎队得了两分。 七局时，在被Monroe来了爱的一发之後印地安人队牛棚放就牛出来 接Byrd的棒了。 Betancourt跟Borowski守住了胜利。 Byrd threw 73 pitches - 60 strikes and just 13 balls - in 6.1 innings. His nine hits were high, but he struck out four without a walk. Byrd's pounding the strike zone may have set the pace for Betancourt, who threw just one ball in 16 pitches. Borowski efficiently took care of the Tigers in the ninth for his 15th save. Byrd投了73球-60个好球，只有13个坏球，撑了6.1局。 被打九支安打可能多了点，不过他三振四次只BB了一个。 Byrd轰炸了好球带，让接下来的家伙们投的也更顺 Betancourt只投了十六球，其中只有1颗坏球，然後 Borowski很有效率的结束了比赛。 If control pitchers get little respect and fewer opportunities than they deserve, what about hard throwers who can barely hit the broad side of a barn? In many cases, lightning-armed types are pampered and given endless second chances despite a complete lack of results. The story of Jason Neighborgall is a 接下来的部分跟byrd没直接关系 基本上是关於响尾蛇队的球探只看测速枪上显示的球速所以在 2005年用了第三轮的选秀权跟50万美钞签了个超级BB枪 Be entranced by radar guns all you want, but 103 walks, 54 wild pitches and a 17.18 ERA in 36.2 low minor league innings renders the word "potential" meaningless. Maybe it's time for pitching-poor teams to give the Paul Byrds of baseball a chance to prove themselves and not be totally enthralled with MPH readings alone. 所以 偶而也要看看除了测速枪测出球速之外的东西 （完） 我觉得原文连结底下讨论的东西有的还不赖 ※ 引述《RJJ (传说中的小米)》之铭言： : What Good is an 83-MPH Fastball? : By Al Doyle : http://0rz.tw/522Lf : 在讲 Paul Byrd 的，瞄了一下，好像还不错 :P --

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