VERO BEACH, Fla. — No. 62 leaned forward on the makeshift aluminum bench, hands folded on his knees, and gazed east toward center field. If only his eyes were better, he could see over the trees, beyond the Atlantic Ocean and all the way to his homeland, France. 维洛海滩，佛罗里达 - 背号62号的选手斜靠在铝制的板凳上，双手交叉放在膝盖之间， 面向中外野凝视着东方。只要他的视力够好，他就能越过树木，与大西洋看到他的家乡， 法国。 The player, Joris Bert, is one of more than 100 men in the Dodgers’ minor league system, but the only one who started playing baseball only because he missed a soccer game in Louviers. A dozen years later, Bert has found himself in the United States happily nicknamed Frenchie, with his eyes fixed on the more immediate horizon of the major leagues. 虽然Joris Bert只是道奇小联盟系统中超过一百名球员的其中之一，但是他却是唯一一位 由於错过了一场在Louviers举行的足球赛而开始打棒球的人。数年之後，被称作法国佬的 Bert很开心的专注於他在大联盟的未来。 “I’m not very good, but I know I have good potential,” said Bert, a center fielder who last June became the first Frenchman selected in the major league draft. “I don’t have enough experience in baseball to be good.” Bert去年六月成为第一位在大联盟选秀会上被选中的法国人，这位中外野手说:"我表现的 不是很好，但是我知道我有绝佳的潜能，我只是缺乏经验而已。" The Dodgers want to give it to him, and also disagree with that “not very good” assessment. They consider Bert potentially a Brett Butler-type of leadoff man, a slap hitter who forces action with his speed. Although draft picks are occasionally fanciful — spent on Heisman Trophy winners and once a general manager’s daughter — the Dodgers chose Bert in the quite legitimate 19th round. 道奇队希望能给他多点上场机会，而且不同意表现不是很好的说法。道奇队认为Bert将来 应该会成为像Brett Butler这类型有速度且善於击出安打的第一棒打者。道奇队在第19轮 这个相当合理的位置挑选了Bert。 “This guy has tools — he was not a token selection,” said De Jon Watson, the Dodgers’ assistant general manager in charge of player development. “He has a chance to do some quality things for us.” 负责培育选手的道奇队助理总经理Jon Watson说到:"这个小夥子是有实力的，我们挑选他 不是象徵性的，他有机会向我们证明他的能力。" Bert, 20, is the crown jewel of the European academy run by Major League Baseball in Italy. Growing up in Louviers, about 90 minutes outside Paris, Bert said he had never heard of baseball when, at age 10, he showed up late to a soccer game and saw other children playing on the next field. He gave the game a try, immediately enjoyed it and later played on a local club team in a makeshift league. 20岁的Bert是大联盟在义大利成立的棒球学校中的瑰宝。他成长於离巴黎大约90分钟车程 的Louviers。Bert表示他十岁时，在一场足球赛迟到，并且看到隔壁的场地有一群孩子正 在打棒球，在这之前他从未听过棒球这项运动。当时Bert试着玩了一下，很快的就爱上了 棒球，之後更加入了一个业余联盟的地方球队。 “We only had 9 or 10, not many people,” Bert said. “It was just for fun.” Bert说:"整支球队大概只有9或10个人，人数不多，打球只是娱乐而已。" As a teenager, Bert tried out for the major leagues’ academy and was accepted. He spent the Augusts of 2004 and 2005 in Tirrenia, Italy, with about 60 players from Denmark to Kenya learning baseball’s finer skills from instructors like Rod Carew and Barry Larkin. He improved so much that the coach of the French national team arranged for him to attend Frank Phillips College in perhaps the least French part of the United States — tiny Borger, Tex., wedged between Oklahoma and New Mexico. 当Bert十几岁时，他申请进入大联盟的棒球学校，并且被录取了。2004年与2005年的八月 ，他都待在义大利的Tierrenia向教练，如Rod Carew与Barry Larkin学习更细腻的棒球技 巧，在那里还有其他60位来自丹麦，甚至肯亚的选手。他进步神速，使得法国国家队的教 练安排他前往也许是美国最後一个法属地，位於奥克拉荷马州与新墨西哥州之间的德州伯 格市的Frank Phillips College就读。 In between a full slate of English language classes, Bert led the Plainsmen last spring with a .395 batting average and 42 stolen bases. The Dodgers focused on him for the June draft. Although about two dozen European academy graduates have signed pro contracts, Bert, a solid 5 feet 10 inches and 170 pounds, was the first to be considered worthy of a draft pick. 虽然得上很多英文课，去年春季Bert仍然打出了领先原野人队的.395打击率与42次盗垒成 功。道奇队在6月的选秀会上注意到他。虽然有大约两打从欧洲棒球学校毕业的选手签下 了职业合约，但是5尺10寸，170棒，拥有结实体格的Bert被认为是选秀会上第一位值得的 投资。 Visa issues cost him almost all of last year’s Gulf Coast League season, but Bert, who speaks fluent Spanish, mixed well with his international teammates. Asked if anything about Bert’s game might be distinctively European, Parker Dalton, an infielder and quick friend of Bert’s, said: “He plays like a kid. He plays and hustles and smiles. You never see him frustrated about a slump — he just plays. It’s not a job to him yet.” 签证的问题几乎使他浪费了去年湾岸联盟的整个球季，但是说着流利西班牙话的Bert很顺 利的融入来自世界各地的队友。被问到Bert打球时有什麽特殊的地方，同样来自欧洲，并 且很快就和Bert成为朋友的Parker Dalton说:"他很有拼劲，并且总是带着微笑。你不会 见到他因为低潮而感到挫折，他就是继续打球，棒球对他而言不是一份工作。" Eight major leaguers have been born in France, but most, like Bruce Bochy, the Giants’ manager, belonged to military families stationed there. Only two have names that would suggest French roots: Ed Gagnier, an infielder in the old Federal League from 1914 to 1915, and Claude Gouzzie, who had one at-bat for the 1903 St. Louis Browns. 有八位大联盟球员出生在法国，但是大多数都像巨人队的总教练 Bruce Bochy一样，属於 驻紮在当地的军人家庭。只有两位的名字可以算是法国人，1914年至1915年的旧联邦联盟 内野手Ed Gagnier与1903年曾经在圣路易布朗队留下一个打数纪录的Claude Gouzzie。 Although Bert has become well known in French sports circles, he said that baseball would not become popular there overnight. The only way he could follow the major leagues, for example, was by watching Yankees games on the Internet. 虽然Bert已经成为法国体坛的名人了，但是他表示棒球在法国不会一夕之间就变得热门。 他唯一能接触大联盟的方法就是在网路上看洋基队的比赛。 “French people, they don’t like it — they think it’s boring,” Bert said. “I think baseball is fun — you come to eat, talk, and I think French people don’t like that. They want a lot of action.” "法国人不喜欢棒球，因为他们觉得棒球很无趣"，Bert说:"我认为棒球运动是很有趣的， 你可以到球场吃吃喝喝，聊天，但是我想法国人不喜欢这样子，他们偏好较多的活动。" The Dodgers are expecting action from Bert. Besides his outstanding raw speed from the left side of the plate, they see him learning the finer points of hitting every week in camp, and gaining insight into proper routes to fly balls. Reading pitchers is becoming easier. Hitting breaking balls less so. 在训练营的每个星期，道奇队见到Bert抓到更好的击球点，增加对飞球的判断能力。更容 易解读投手，以及对变化球的挥击能力...等等。 “I’m not smart enough playing the game,” Bert said. “I make mistakes — little things I should do I don’t do.” Bert说:"我在比赛中犯错，有些小地方，我没有做好，这使我在比赛时感觉起来不够聪明 。" Bert is focused on making the major leagues in three or four years, but he still misses France. He does not have a driver’s license, so he tends to spend most of his time in hotel rooms. His parents have never come to see him play in the United States. “They don’t understand,” he said. Bert被认为大约三至四年能上到大联盟，但是他仍然很想念法国。由於他没有驾照，所以 大部分的时间他都得待在旅馆的房间里。他的父母未曾来美国看他比赛。Bert说:"他们是 不会了解的。" But as he looked out on Field 6 at Dodgertown recently, Bert’s thin smile returned, and his Dodger blue eyes began to fix back on center field. 当Bert从位於道奇镇的Field 6向外看去，他的蓝眼睛注视着中外野，浅浅的微笑又重新 出现在他脸上。 “Different culture, different language, different people,” he said. “But same game.” 他说:"不同的文化，不同的语言，不同的人，但是比赛是一样的。" http://0rz.tw/d540X ----------------------------- Sorry~~觉得翻得很烂... 还有slap hitter是指哪一型的打者呢?? -- Gary says... http://www.gary711.net http://gary711.idv.st --

※ 发信站: 批踢踢实业坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 118.171.162.178 ※ 编辑: supergary 来自: 118.171.162.178 (04/28 21:21)