(续上篇，趁周末赶快翻完 orz...) --- Wrigley field has seen plenty of one-day wonders over the years. Most famously, Cubs centerfielder Karl (Tuffy) Rhodes hit three home runs off Mets starting pitcher Dwight Gooden on Opening Day 1994, only to hit just five more during the rest of his major league career. (Coincidentally, Rhodes ended up in Japan, where he's hit more homers -- 412 -- than any other foreign-born player.) But Fukudome's staying power has nothing to do with the long ball. He will never hit as many home runs as Matsui. He won't steal as many bases as Ichiro. What separates Fukudome is his eye. Wrigley 球场过去几年出现过太多位昙花一现的球星，其中最有名的就是小熊的中外野手 Karl (Tuffy) Rhodes，他在 1994 年开幕战从大都会先发投手 Dwight Gooden 手中轰出 三发全垒打，但是自此之後，他的大联盟生涯却只有再多添五支而已。(无巧不巧，Rhodes 後来跑到日本打球，他在那里轰出的全垒打比较多－－共 412 支 －－居外籍球员之冠。) 但是福留的打击不在於长打，他没有打出媲美松井那样多发的全垒打，也不像铃木一朗那 麽会盗垒。福留的优点，在於他的选球能力。 From the beginning of spring training Cubs pitchers noticed something odd about Fukudome when they threw him batting practice. He took an inordinate amount of pitches. When games began, his approach was not much different. Most major league hitters, if behind in the count, will swing at any pitch they believe is a strike. Fukudome will only swing at a pitch he believes he can hit. The difference is subtle but significant. "I just try to focus on the pitches I can handle," Fukudome says. "If it's an outside strike that I can't reach, I won't swing at it. I'll just say, 'I'm sorry,' and walk away." 从春训一开始，小熊队的投手们就注意到福留在打击练习时有点跟别人不同，他所消耗的 球数异常的多。到了比赛开始，他的选球也没有改变，大部分的大联盟打者在球数落後的 情况下，会极力去挥击任何他们觉得是好球的球路，福留却是只会挥击他认为他可以击出 安打的球，虽然只是这点小小的不同，但却是关键所在。「我只是试着把注意力集中在我 可以挥击的球路，」福留说：「如果是我挥不到的外角好球，我就不会挥击，我只会说： 『斯咪马甚』然後走回休息区。」 Even in Japan, where hitters are well-known for their plate discipline, Fukudome was unusually selective. His on-base percentage over the last three years was .443, .438 and .430, tops in the Central League each season. This spring he tied for the Cactus League lead with 15 walks in 23 games. And this season he has drawn 19 walks in 24 games, seeing 4.5 pitches per plate appearance, second most in the majors. 即使是在球员们普遍选球能力良好的日本，福留的选球能力还是非常出众，他过去三年的 OBP 分别是.443、.438、.430，每个球季都名列央联第一，今年春天他追平 Cactus 联盟 的纪录，在 23 场比赛选到 15 次保送。而这个球季他已经在 24 场比赛选到 19 次保 送，每次打击都会消耗 4.5 个球数，联盟排名第二。 Fukudome's stance looks a lot like Matsui's, his bat pointed straight up to the sky, but his swing is more like Ichiro's. As the pitch approaches, he inches forward in the batter's box, sliding both feet forward and often swinging on the move. When he misses, he can look silly, doing a full pirouette. Some managers might be tempted to tinker with Fukudome's form. But Piniella managed Ichiro in Seattle and knows not to mess. 福留的打击站姿跟松井秀喜的很像，球棒棒头会直指天空，但是挥击姿势却跟铃木一朗的 比较像，当投手投球进来时，他会在打击区往前移几寸，双脚往前滑，然後在移动过程中 挥击，一旦挥空，全身移转的福留可能会显得相当愚蠢。有些教练可能会想要改变福留的 打击方式，但是Piniella在西雅图带过铃木一朗，他知道最好不要出手干扰。 Cubs hitting coach Gerald Perry, who had the same role under Piniella in Seattle, recalls having more concerns about Ichiro in his rookie season than he does about Fukudome. Ichiro, after all, swung at pitches outside the strike zone. Fukudome does not. 小熊的打击教练 Gerald Perry 在西雅图时也是跟在 Piniella 手下担任同样的职位，他 回想那时对於一朗的菜鸟球季可比对福留还要担心，毕竟一朗可是连没有跑进好球带的球 都会挥击，福留可不会这麽做。 In an April 16 game against the Cincinnati Reds, Fukudome showed major league pitchers just how serious he is about working counts. He came to the plate in the sixth inning, with the Cubs ahead 10-1, a situation in which hitters generally swing freely. Reds reliever David Weathers threw Fukudome four pitches -- two just off the outside corner, two just below the knees. Fukudome took all four, another walk. Afterward Weathers sat at his locker, shaking his head. "That fish ain't bitin'," he said. 在 4 月 16 号对上红人的比赛，福留让大联盟的投手见识到他对於选球这回事可是非常 认真的，他在第六局上来打击时，小熊已经取得 10 比 1 的领先，这种情况下打者通常 都会自由挥击，但是红人救援投手 David Weathers 投给福留四球，有两球太过外角， 两球在膝盖高度以下，福留都没挥击，选到了个保送。Weathers事後坐在他的置物柜前， 摇摇头说：「小鱼就是不上钩。」 Fukudome does not drive only pitchers crazy. Gary Hughes has spent 42 years scouting ballplayers, and none tested his patience as much as Fukudome. When Hughes went to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens to scout for the Cubs, he had never heard of Fukudome. But as he watched the Japanese team, he found himself drawn to their gap-toothed rightfielder. Hughes checked off all the tools that Fukudome possessed -- run, field, hit and hit for power. The only skill that remained a mystery was his arm. 因为福留而抓狂的不仅是投手而已：Gary Hughes 有 42 年的球探经历，但却没有人像 福留一样如此考验他的耐心。当 Hughes 在 2004 年前往雅典夏季奥运替小熊寻找球员 时，他从未听过福留这个人，但是当他观看日本队比赛时，他发现他被日本队这名门牙 开开的右外野手吸引住了。Hughes发现福留是个全方位的球员，能跑能守能打而且也可 以敲出长打，唯一不确定的是不知道他的手臂传球力量怎样。 It wasn't until the seventh game Hughes watched Fukudome play in the Olympics that he finally got to see him throw. Fukudome had to track down a base hit into the rightfield corner. He gloved the ball, came up firing and in one furious motion threw out the runner trying to sneak into second base. "Holy smokes, he can do it all!" Hughes exclaimed. "At that point I fell in love." 直到福留在奥运中的第七场出赛，Hughes才见识到福留的传球臂力。当时福留在追赶一支 落到右外野的一垒安打，他接到球後，马上将球快速回传，刺杀了想要偷上二垒的跑者。 Hughes大叫：「我的妈压，他什麽都会耶！」「在那时候我就爱上这名球员了」。 As Hughes walked the streets of Athens, he noticed a display of baseball cards in a hotel lobby featuring many of the Olympians. Hughes grabbed a Fukudome card and brought it back to the United States, where it has sat in his desk ever since. As a special assistant to Cubs general manager Jim Hendry, Hughes immediately recommended that Hendry sign Fukudome. But Fukudome was not a free agent, and the Dragons did not want to post him, which would have allowed major league teams to bid for the right to negotiate with him. In 2005 Hughes flew to Japan to watch Fukudome. The following year he did the same. After the '07 season Fukudome finally became a free agent, and he signed with the Cubs in December for four years and $48 million. "I've never waited so long to get a player I wanted," Hughes says. "I kept that baseball card in my desk for three years. Now, I'm trying to get him to autograph it." 当 Hughes 走在雅典的街道，他发现有间旅馆大厅正在展示棒球卡，卡片上有许多球员 是奥运选手，Hughes抓了一张福留的棒球卡，然後带回美国，从此一直放在他的桌上。 身为小熊队总经理 Jim Hendry 的特助，他立刻向 Hendry 推荐签下福留，但是福留还 不是自由球员的身分，中日龙也还不想要把他卖掉，让大联盟的球队竞标跟他的谈判权。 Hughes在 2005 年飞到日本看福留打球，隔年也是如此。在 07 年球季结束後，福留终 於成为自由球员，与小熊队在 12 月签下四年 48 M 的合约。「我从来没有等这麽久才 签下我要的球员，」Hughes说：「我的桌上摆着那张棒球卡已经三年了，现在，我正试 着要拿去给他签名呢。」 It's two hours before game time, and Fukudome is weighing his bats in the Cubs' clubhouse. Fukudome is not as fanatical about his pregame routine as Ichiro is, but he is meticulous about his bats. He keeps a portable scale in his locker to make sure all of the bats weigh precisely 920 grams. Some of them, he fears, got a little light in spring training because of the dry Arizona air. These will not be used during games. 在比赛开始的两个小时前，福留会先在小熊休息室里替他的球棒秤重，他不像一朗那样 热衷於赛前的例行练习，但是他对於球棒却很要求，他在置物柜摆放一个可携式磅秤， 确保所有的球棒重量是不多不少的 920 克。他担心有些球棒会因为春训在亚利桑纳乾燥 的空气中而变比较轻，像这样的球棒他就不会带上场。 Japanese players are often viewed as curiosities by their American teammates. But the Cubs have embraced Fukudome as thoroughly as their fans have. Theriot carries a Japanese-English dictionary. Ace starter Carlos Zambrano wrote his own name in Japanese characters on the back of his cleats. Shortstop Ronny Cedeno choreographed a handshake with Fukudome that includes a bow at the end. Though the Cubs have never had a Japanese player before, several are well acquainted with Japanese baseball. Outfielder Alfonso Soriano began his professional career in Japan. Lee's father, Leon, played 10 years in Japan before becoming the first black manager there. 美国队友常常会觉得日本球员举止稀奇古怪，但是小熊球员们却跟球迷一样欢迎福留的到 来，Theriot 随身携带日英辞典，王牌投手冉柏牛把他的名字用日文写在他的鞋底後面， 游击手 Ronny Cedeno 跟福留编了一套以鞠躬作结的握手动作。虽然小熊队中从未有过日 本球员，但是许多队员却对日职非常熟悉，外野手Alfonso Soriano 是在日本展开他的职 业生涯，Lee 的爸爸 Leon 在日本打了十年球，之後成为那里第一位黑人教练。 The Cubs also appreciate that Fukudome makes an effort. During a bus ride from Phoenix to Tucson in spring training, Theriot sat in the back row of the bus with Mark DeRosa and Daryle Ward, having a private conversation. Fukudome sat one row in front of them. After about 45 minutes Theriot noticed Fukudome typing feverishly into a small keyboard. "I looked closer, and I saw that it was his little electronic translator," Theriot says. "He was keeping track of every word we were saying." 小熊队也很感谢福留努力要融入队中所做的努力。在春训从Phoenix到Tucson的车程中， Theriot跟Mark DeRosa还有Daryle Ward一同坐在公车後排进行私人的交谈，福留坐在 他们的前一排。大概经过45分钟後，Theriot注意到福留一直忙着在小小的键盘上打字。 「我靠近一看，发现那是他的小型电子翻译机，」Theriot 说：「他在忙着跟上我们所 说的每个字。」 Fukudome has a blue notebook in which he jots all of his observations, usually about opposing pitchers and teams. But with the Cubs there is so much to learn. On April 16 Cincinnati's Adam Dunn hit a home run onto Waveland Avenue, and 15 balls came flying out of the bleachers and back onto the field, one of which nearly hit Fukudome in the head. Fukudome was aware of the Wrigley tradition that home runs hit by opposing players are to be thrown back. He was not aware, however, that many fans carry their own baseballs, so if they catch a home run from an opposing player, they can throw a different one back onto the field. Afterward Fukudome sounded confused. "I didn't know we gave up that many home runs tonight," he cracked. 福留有本蓝色记事本，用来记下他所观察到的一切，通常都是对方的投手跟队伍，但是 对於自己的球队，也有好多东西还要学习。 4 月 16 日红人的 Adam Dunn 把一支全垒 打打到 Waveland Avenue，结果却有 15 颗球从看台飞回来，其中一颗差点砸到福留的 头，福留知道Wrigley 球场的传统就是要把敌对球员所打的全垒打丢回场中，然而他却 不晓得很多球迷都会随身携带几颗球，如果他们接到敌对球员打过来的全垒打，就可以 丢自己的球回场中。福留在赛後似乎有点困惑，「我不知道我们今晚被打了那麽多发的 全垒打。」他开玩笑的表示。 A sense of humor is crucial when playing for the Cubs. There will be more misunderstandings and mispronunciations as the year unfolds. But so far, it tastes good. 替小熊队打球，拥有幽默感是很重要的。随着球季的进行，将会出现更多误解以及语言 不通的情况出现。但是到现在为止，一切感觉都还不错。 --Fin-- --

※ 发信站: 批踢踢实业坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 61.230.86.91 感谢 (虽说还是觉得这样的举动怪怪的 XD) ※ 编辑: niceta 来自: 61.230.86.91 (05/17 20:37)