No stigma attached to wild card By PETER ABRAHAM THE JOURNAL NEWS (Original publication: October 2, 2007) 重点: 外卡资格的争议性 1. 就像任何一位有棒球洁癖的一般, 当Joe Torre1990年代初期首次听到大联盟提议增 加外卡资格时，他并不喜欢这个构想。那时Torre是圣路易红雀队的总教练。对他而 言给排名第二的球队另一个进到季後赛的机会，将让棒球季後赛的制度变得太像篮 球或曲棍球的比赛。Torre表示: "你会认为打了162场比赛的球季後，应该是最好的 球队才可以进到季後赛。因此我一开始反对这种新制度，但是增加外卡资格让你九月 看到很多精采有意义的比赛後，我想很多人开始改变当初的立场。" 2. 在当洋基的总教练後，Torre在1997年也因外卡制度而获利，那年洋基在美联东区虽 然赢了96场但仍落後巴尔地摩金莺队而排名第二。洋基取得外卡资格後却在五场分区 竞赛输给了印地安人队。之後洋基则连续九年拿到美国东区冠军，这记录也在今年球 季终止，但外卡仍然给了洋基今年可以安然进到季後赛的机会。 3. 以外卡资格进到季後赛有点不光采? 是怎麽的不光采? 最近五次世界大赛冠军的得 主有三队就是经由外卡进到季後赛。2002年世界大赛由天使打败巨人时，更是由两 个外卡球队进行的争战。2003年取得外卡资格的马林鱼队虽然只赢了91场且落後分 第一名的勇士队十场，但马林鱼队却在世界大赛中打败了洋基队。最好的例子则是 2004年赢了98场取得外卡资格的红袜队，红袜队在让令人回味不已的七场美联冠军 系列赛打败了赢得101场取得分区冠军的洋基队，之後红袜队在世界大赛以四连胜 横扫红雀队取得冠军。 4. 2004年是红袜队球员现在则在金莺队打球的Kevin Millar表示: "拿到外卡的球队并 不是一只打得不好偷偷溜进季後赛的球队，即便他们没有比一些取得分区冠军的球 队打得好，但拿到外卡的球队仍是值得进到季後赛的球队。外卡是个很好的制度， 这样的制度可以让红袜和洋基这两个强队同时进到季後赛。" 5. 假如没有外卡增加进到季後赛的可能性，洋基一开始打出21胜29败他们的球季大概 差不多结束了。但是Torre几乎每天提醒洋基的球员尽可能拿到更多的胜利，再看 看与前面球队的差距。队长Jeter表示: "我们从来没有提过外卡，我们只是设法追 上红袜队。但我们知道至少在胜差上追近红袜时，我们在外卡也会很有机会。" 这 真的就这样发生了，洋基队从来都没有追上红袜队，即便他们在九月曾两度追到剩 下一场半的胜差，但最终还是没法追到。但在那之後，洋基却稳稳地掌握外卡竞赛 领先的地位。Bobby Abreu表示: "外卡给了你希望，因为一当你们进到了季後赛， 一切都不重要了。每一队的纪录都将归零立场都是一样，大家都有赢球的机会。" 6. 由於外卡球队近年在季後赛实在打得太成功，很多棒球的人士相信应该让外卡球队 在取得世界大赛冠军上增加更多的难度。其中一个提议是每个联盟应该先有两个外 卡球队，这两支球队必须先竞赛後才能进到分区竞赛，比赛的方法是一场决胜负， 或三场系列赛决胜负(岂不季後赛变四轮)。另外的想法则是只给外卡球队一场主场， 就像现在球队极力争取的，外卡球队不该有主场优势，那就改变一下只给外卡球队 一场主场(这提议去年大联盟人员似乎就在考虑了)。Torre说: "我可以确定假如大 联盟提议再增加另一个外卡的球队，每一个人会说他讨厌这个构想，但五年内他们 就会承认他们喜爱这个新制度。外卡制度已经对棒球竞赛产生好的影响，这是无庸 置疑的。" Like any baseball purist, Joe Torre did not like the idea of the wild card when he first heard it proposed in the early 1990s. Torre was managing the St. Louis Cardinals at the time. To him, the idea of adding a second-place team to the postseason made baseball too much like basketball or hockey. "You would like to think that over a 162-game season, the best teams will emerge," Torre said. "I was against it at first. But when you started to see so many games in September that counted for something, I think a lot of people came around to the idea." As manager of the Yankees, Torre benefited from the wild card in 1997 when the Yankees finished second to Baltimore in the American League East despite winning 96 games. They lost a five-game series against Cleveland. The Yankees went on to win nine consecutive American League East titles. That run ended this season. But the wild card was there to provide a comfortable landing. Stigma? What stigma? Three of the last five World Series champions entered the postseason via the wild card. The run started with the Angels in 2002, who beat the Giants in a World Series matching two wild-card teams. The Florida Marlins beat the Yankees in the 2003 World Series despite winning 91 games and finishing 10 games behind the Atlanta Braves. The best example came in 2004 when the Red Sox were the wild card despite winning 98 games. They beat the 101-win Yankees in a memorable seven-game American League Championship Series, then swept the Cardinals in the World Series. "It's not like we were a bad team that snuck into the playoffs," said Kevin Millar, who played for the Red Sox that season and now plays for the Orioles. "Most of the wild-card teams are deserving teams, if not better than some teams that did win divisions. It's a good system if both the Red Sox and Yankees can get in because they are both good teams." Without the wild card as a possibility, the season might have been over for the Yankees after their 21-29 start. But Torre reminded his players on nearly a daily basis to try and finish with as many wins as possible and see where that left them. "We never talked about the wild card, only trying to catch Boston," team captain Derek Jeter said. "But we knew that if we at least got close to Boston, we'd have a shot at the wild card." That's exactly what happened. The Yankees never caught Boston but twice crawled to within 1 1/2 games back in September. By then, they were in firm control of the wild-card race. "It gives you hope," Bobby Abreu said. "Because once you are in the playoffs, it doesn't matter. Everybody is 0-0 and the same. Anybody can win." Because of the success the wild-card teams have had in recent seasons, many in baseball believe their path to the World Series should be made more difficult. One proposal is that each league should have two wild-card teams. They would then play for the right to advance to the division series. Some formulas have a one-game showdown, others a best-of-three series. Another idea is to give the wild-card teams only one home game. As is stands now, all they are denied is home-field advantage, and that can turn in one game. "I'm sure if they added another wild-card team, everybody would say they hated the idea, then in five years they would admit they loved it," Torre said. "It has been good for baseball, there is no denying that." Reach Peter Abraham at [email protected] and read his Yankees blog at yankees.lohudblogs.com. --

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