BriSox pitcher making no ordinary sacrifice 布里斯托袜队投手没有白白牺牲 BY Bucky Dent BRISTOL HERALD COURIER He could be any 20-year-old in any minor league ball park in Organized Baseball, talking about his hopes and dreams of making the Major Leagues. “It was tough to leave my parents, my sister and my friends,” he said. “It was emotional … but my goal is to reach the major leagues, so if I have to sacrifice a little to reach my goal, that’s what I have to do.” Except Po-Yu Lin isn’t any 20-year-old in any minor league ball park in Organized Baseball. And the sacrifice of which is speaks is no mere bunt or fly. 任何小联盟中20岁的投手，都能够谈论着他对大联盟的希望与梦想。离开家人与朋友在情 感上是很痛苦的，但是如果我能实现上到大联盟的梦想，我必须要这麽做。林柏佑也是其 中之一，而且他所做的牺牲不仅仅於此。 When Lin left Taipei, Taiwan, in late February for the Chicago White Sox’s spring training camp, it was more than a journey of thousands of miles for the 6-foot-0, 221-pound pitcher. It was a leap of faith – a leap he never thought an organization believed he could attempt. 当二月离开台北前往芝加哥白袜队春训营时，这对身高六尺体重221磅的林来说不仅是一 趟千里的旅程，这一百八十度的转变更是林过去不曾想过能够挑战的。 “At first, I was a little shocked because I didn’t think I’d have the chance to come to America to play for the White Sox or any other team,” Lin said. “But after the shock, I felt it would be a new journey for me. I’m ready for it and I’m trying to take it to the next level.” 林说：一开始我很惊讶，因为我从不曾想过我能够到美国为芝加哥白袜或任何其他球队效 力，但在惊讶之後，我觉得这对我来说会是全新的体验，我已经准备好了，而且我会努力 更上层楼！ An increasing number of Taiwanese players are reaching the next level of which Lin speaks. The baseball-crazy nation, which dominated the Little League World Series in the 1970s and ’80s, boasts 24 players in Organized Baseball – 21 in the minors. The most famous is New York Yankees righthander Chien Ming-Wang, a sinkerballer whose 95-mile per hour fastball has the feel of a bowling ball on a hitter’s bat. Wang won 19 games last year and is considered the team’s ace. 愈来愈多的台湾球员在美国有很好的表现，有着棒球狂热的台湾在70和80年代是三级棒球 的常胜军，而现在在美国效力的球员则一股气增加到24个人（21人在小联盟），其中最有 名的是洋基的右投手 - 王建民，有着95mph快速球的伸卡球投手，让打者在挥棒时好像打 到保龄球一样，王去年拿下19胜而且被当成洋基的ACE。 Lin knows Wang and also knows that the Los Angeles Dodgers employ two countrymen – lefty starter Hong Chih-Kuo and reliever Chin Hui-Tsao, who’s currently battling back from injuries. “We talk through the Internet,” Lin said. “We talk three to four times a week, and we encourage each other and want to see each other in the big leagues one day.” 林认识王，也认识洛杉矶道奇队的同胞 - 左投郭泓志及後援投手曹锦辉。林说：我们在 网路上一周聊个三四次，我们也会互相鼓励，期待在大联盟场上看见对方。 By numbers alone, Lin’s big league dream is a long shot. By the $300,000 the White Sox shelled out last November to get his name on a contract, his dream is better than a long shot. The results of his first start with Bristol – a six-inning, four-hit, no-walk, seven-strikeout masterpiece in Johnson City Friday night for his team ’s only win in eight games – suggest the six-figure investment might yield its fair share of returns. 如果只看帐面数字，林的大联盟之路似乎是没希望的，但白袜队在去年十一月跟林签的三 十万美元合约，却又推翻了这个说法。星期五在强森市为布里斯托队出赛的第一次先发， 投六局被击出四支安打、零保送、送出七次三振的代表作，为布里司托队拿下近八场唯一 一场胜利，说明了这六位数字的签约金是合理的。 “You can’t base everything on one game,” BriSox manager Bobby Thigpen said, “but he threw the ball extremely well and kept them off-balance. “There’s not much you can ask for besides six shutout innings … except to do it again.” And that is why Lin is halfway across the world – to prove he can do it again and again and again and again. 布里斯托袜队总教练说：你不能单凭一场比赛就下结论，但他在那场比赛真的投的很好， 并且扰乱对手的节奏，你不能对一场投六局无失分的比赛要求更多，除非要求再来一场。 而这也是为什麽林要跨过半个地球到美国来，因为他要证明他能够一次又一次的做到。 Because of the obvious links in heritage between he and Wang, as well as the fact that both are righthanders, the inevitable comparisons have surfaced, including one from FutureSox.com. Lin is honored but realistic. “I know that I’m not as good as [Wang],” Lin said. “I hope that one day, maybe I’ll get to that level. Right now, the goal is to take one step at a time, better myself as a pitcher and a baseball player.” Those steps seem to have come routinely on the field. Lin has easily adjusted to American practices, which he says are “short and to the point.” 因为林跟王都来自於台湾，加上他们都是右投手，不可避免的会把他们两人做比较，而这 也包括了FutureSox.com。林感到骄傲但也很实际，他说：我没有像王那麽好，但我希望 有一天我能像他一样，身为一个投手，我希望一步一步来。这在球场上似乎是惯例。林轻 易的适应了美国式简洁扼要的训练方式。 His arm certainly appreciates it. Lin said bullpen sessions with the White Sox last between 30-to-45 pitches, well below the 80-to-100 pitchers are asked to throw in Asia. “Even though I throw less, I feel like I’m stronger and can control the ball better than I used to,” he said. 林的手臂很喜欢这种训练方式，因为在白袜队两次先发中间牛棚练投时只需要投30到45球 ，但在台湾则需要投到80到100球。林说：虽然我投的比较少，但我觉得我变强壮了，而 且控球比以前更好了！ As for off the field? When your home is halfway across the world and you’re going somewhere where the language isn’t yours, the next level must seem like Mount Everest. For Lin, the first month at White Sox camp in the Arizona desert might as well have been like climbing a mountain without any gear. “At first, it was really tough because there was nobody to talk to me,” he said. 那没有比赛时呢？当你的家在半个地球远的地方，而且要去的地方都语言不通的时候，一 定会觉得像是爬圣母峰一样的艰难。对林来说，第一个月在亚利桑那沙漠的白袜训练营可 能就像徒手爬圣母峰一样吧！林说：一开始真的很难，因为没有人要跟我讲话。 Then the White Sox sensed he needed help. An interpreter, Steve Xiu, was provided. Now Lin had a go-between to communicate his needs. And occasionally, a chauffeur to a slice of home. “I’ll take him out for Chinese food every once in a while,” Xiu said, “ and even though it tastes a little different, it’s the same basic way of cooking, so it’s good to have some sense of home for him.” At this, Lin breaks into a big smile – just like any 20-year old about to slip into a comfort zone. “I’m excited to go eat Chinese food,” he said. 之後白袜队感觉到林需要帮忙，所以提供了翻译 - Steve，让林能够表达他所想要的，偶 尔也有了司机能够载他回美国的家。Steve说：我有时会带他去吃中国菜，虽然吃起来跟 台湾菜不太一样，但因为料理方式相同，多少让林有家的感觉。林用感到幸福的笑容打断 了这对话，他说：我很兴奋可以吃到中国菜呢！ [email protected] | (276) 669-2181 文章来源：http://myurl.com.tw/t93d --

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