Yankees’Wang Finds His Place on the Mound and in the World By TYLER KEPNER Published: August 13, 2006 http://0rz.net/a01Ik ← New York Times 奇怪，標題怎麼改了。冏rz He pitches with a sense of purpose and responsibility. For the Yankees’ Chien-Ming Wang, celebrity and earning potential grow with every ground ball. The better he pitches, the better he can take care of his family in Taiwan. 他投球時，背負著目標與責任感。 對洋基隊的王建民來說，每一次的滾地球為他帶來名聲與財富。 他在投手丘上的表現越好，就能夠讓他在台灣的家人過上越好的生活。 Wang, who is scheduled to start at Yankee Stadium today against the Los Angeles Angels, has become more than the best ground-ball pitcher in the American League. At 26, he is a national hero in his home country, where he endorses computers and potato chips. 今天將於洋基主場出戰天使的小王，已經變成了美聯最佳的滾地球投手。 ２６歲的他，在他的家鄉被人們視為國民英雄，並且代言了電腦及洋芋片(?!)。 “When I used to go back to Taiwan, there weren’t that many events to go to,” Wang said through a translator before a game in Chicago last week. “ Starting last year, there have been more events, and going out is not as convenient.” 『就之前回台灣的時候，就是沒有那麼多……像要做什麼活動之類的。』 上禮拜在芝加哥的一場比賽之前，小王透過翻譯說道： 『就從去年開始，就蠻多一些活動的。出門也不太方便。』 The kinds of events he attends are telling. “Going to orphanages,” Wang said, “and events for premature babies.” 他參加的是『一些像孤兒院、』小王說：『還有為早產兒舉辦的活動之類的。』 Wang started playing baseball in fourth grade, as a pitcher, first baseman and outfielder. He attended high school in Taipei, on the north side of the island of Taiwan. His home, Tainan, is in the south. It was through baseball that he learned an important part of his personal story. 小王在小學四年級的時候開始接觸棒球，擔任過投手、一壘手，還有外野手。 他家住在台灣南部的台南，不過他到北部的台北去就讀高中。 而透過打棒球，讓他學習到人生重要的一課。 “We were going out to a competition and needed our personal documents,” Wang said, explaining that meant the names, relationships and birthdates of family members. “When I got my documents, I learned who my biological parents were. My parents didn’t tell me.” 『那一天好像是、好像要出去比賽，需要那戶籍謄本、戶口名簿那種……』 『那時候拿到的時候才看到，因為他們沒有跟我講。』 Wang found out then that his biological father was the man he knew as his uncle, Ping-Yin Wang. Wang’s parents had no children of their own and offered to raise him. They later had a daughter, Hsiu-Wen Wang, who is two years younger. 小王這才發現他的親生父親原來是自己的三叔王炳穎。 由於弟弟看哥哥沒有兒子，才將王建民過繼給哥哥當養子。 後來他們生下了一個女兒，比王建民小兩歲。 It must have been a startling revelation, but Wang betrayed no emotion when talking about it. 這一定是一項令人震驚的發現，不過當小王提到此事時，並未流露出太多的情緒反應。 “I didn’t feel anything in particular,” he said. “I felt it was all right, like I had two fathers.” If anything, Wang said, he became even more serious about succeeding as a pitcher. “I felt I had to work even harder in order to help two sets of parents,” he said, adding later, “Most of my money I send home to let my parents manage. The rest I use for living expenses in America.” 『那時候就想說也不錯，』他說：『有兩個爸爸。對啊，也不會感覺到什麼。』 如果要說有什麼的話，那就是讓小王更認真地想成為一個成功的投手。 『就想要以後更努力啊，就要幫助兩個爸爸媽媽。』稍後，他補充道： 『除了在美國的生活費之外，其他的錢都寄回家交給爸媽處理。』 Wang and his wife, Chia-Ling, live in the off-season with the parents who raised him. He loves his mother’s cooking, he said, but the overriding reason is cultural. 在球季以外的時間，小王和他的妻子吳嘉姈會回到台灣和父母住在一起。 他說他喜歡老媽的廚藝，不過真正的原因其實是在於文化上面。 His parents, who manufactured metal products like spoons and lunch boxes, have been retired for about 10 years. In Taiwan, Wang explained, it is customary for sons to stay at home and take care of their parents. Long after learning his personal background, Wang remains very close with the parents who raised him. 他的父母已經退休將近十年了，之前是從事製造金屬製品的工作。 小王解釋說，在台灣，作兒子的供養雙親是天經地義的事。 他與養父母的感情一直都非常親近。 “In Taiwan there’s a saying: ‘Raising a child is more important than giving birth. Raising a child is greater,’ ” Wang said. 『台灣人講：就養你的就比較偉大啊，對啊。』 No Taiwanese player had played in the major leagues until outfielder Chin-Feng Chen joined the Dodgers in 2002, and Wang’s childhood idol was Roger Clemens. 在陳金鋒於2002年加入道奇之前，沒有任何台灣的球員能站上大聯盟的舞台。 王建民小時候的偶像是火箭人Roger Clemens。 He attended a sports college, Taipei Ti Wu University, and was signed with the Yankees for about $2 million in 2000, with a hard, straight fastball as his primary weapon. Shoulder injuries sidelined him for all of 2001 and part of 2003, but by 2004 he was a star for the Chinese Taipei Olympic team and, by late August, the top starter for Class AAA Columbus. 2000年的時候，就讀台北體院的小王，與洋基簽下一紙將近兩百萬美金的合約。 當時他以快速直球作為主要的武器。 然而因為肩傷，使得他在2001年整年以及2003年部份時候無法上場。 2004年奧運，小王成為中華隊中一員球星。然後到了八月，他成了３Ａ球隊的王牌先發。 The timing of his surge was significant. Had Wang blossomed in the spring of 2004, rather than the late summer, he might have attracted the attention of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who aggressively scouted the Yankees’ farm system before the July 31 nonwaiver trading deadline. 小王崛起的時間點極具意義。 如果他大放異彩的時間不是在2004夏末，而是提前到了春天， 那麼當時他很可能會引起亞利桑那響尾蛇隊的注意。 在７３１大限到來之前，響尾蛇正虎視眈眈地盯著洋基農場。 The Yankees wanted badly to trade for Randy Johnson and made all of their prospects available to the Diamondbacks. Arizona assigned the scout Bryan Lambe to evaluate several players, including Robinson Cano', Melky Cabrera and Dioner Navarro. 當時，洋基極度渴望得到 Randy Johnson，所有的資源都可以當成交易籌碼。 響尾蛇隊派出了球探 Bryan Lambe 評估包括 Cano 等球員的價值。 They never mentioned Wang to Lambe, and the teams did not make a deal until after the season. Wang was not in the trade. 洋基從來沒有對球探提到過小王，而兩隊直到球季結束才完成交易， 小王並沒有被列入交易名單。 “I’d like to say I never saw him, but I did, maybe for a game or at least a part of a game,” said Lambe, who now scouts for the Mets. “He pitched well, but not like now. He didn’t have that velocity or that kind of sink. Natural maturity took care of the velocity, but somebody fine-tuned him, because that sinker is as good as anybody’s. 『我實在很想說我從未見過小王，但是，我有。也許是在一場或幾局的球賽裡面。』 現在是大都會隊球探的 Bryan Lambe 說道： 『他投得很好，但不像現在那麼好。當時他沒有那麼好的球速和那麼變態的下沉尾勁。 球速也許來自天賦，但某人對他的改造，使得他的伸卡不輸給任何人。』 “He’s winning because of that hard sinker. You can hit it on the screws, and if it’s sinking, you’ve hit a nice, hard ground ball. It takes a lot of ground balls to win.” 『能夠投出極品伸卡是他致勝的關鍵。只要他的球開始往下沉，就算你打的到它， 結果也只能造成又好又硬(三小XD)的滾地球而已。製造許許多多的滾地球帶給他勝利。』 To throw the sinker, Wang holds the ball with his index and middle fingers along the seams framing the ball’s sweet spot. There is a dark callus to the right of the nail on his index finger, which he places just off the left seam. When he releases the ball, Wang pushes off the seam with his index finger, creating diving, downward movement toward the shins of a right-handed hitter. 小王投出伸卡球的方法是，以食指及中指扣著球的縫線握住球。 為了扣住左側的縫線，他的右手食指因此長出了老繭。 當他把球投出的剎那，小王的食指出力，以此製造出往右打者脛部下沉的軌跡。 The pitch may end up out of the strike zone, but hitters find it hard to resist before it shifts course. 球最終的落點可能會偏離好球帶，但打者就是很難忍住不出棒。 “All you can do is hit the top of the ball,” said the Yankees’ Nick Green, who faced Wang eight times when he played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. “ Every time it comes in, it looks like a strike. It’s easy to tell yourself to lay off it from watching it on TV, but it’s hard to do.” 『你所能做的，就是打到球的上緣。』小綠如是說， 他在魔鬼魚隊的時候，有過８次面對小王的經驗。 『每次球進來時，看起來都像好球。 你從電視上看很容易就能說服自己放過這一球，不過事實上很難。』 Wang, who has not lost since July 3, has produced 3.36 ground outs for every fly out this season, the best ratio in the league. Because he induces contact so regularly, he has only 49 strikeouts, tied for the fewest in the majors among pitchers who qualify for the earned-run-average title. 小王自從七月三號之後還沒有輸過任何一場比賽，他的滾飛比達到了聯盟第一的 3.36 。 不過他銷魂的４９次三振，在ＥＲＡ排行榜上則是最少的。 Wang credits his sinker to Neil Allen, his pitching coach at Columbus in 2004, and Sal Fasano, who caught him then. 小王的伸卡球要歸功於３Ａ時期的投手教練 Neil Allen ， 以及當時跟他搭配的捕手 Sal Fasano 。 “He’s got that unique ability that whatever you teach him, he can throw with almost immediate success,” said Fasano, now the Yankees’ backup catcher. “But that’s why you have to be careful.” 『他擁有獨一無二的能力，幾乎是一教就會。不過這也是你必須要小心的地方。』 Fasano 說道。他現在是洋基陣中的替補捕手。 In Columbus, Wang threw six pitches, which Fasano said he considered too many. Wang took to the sinker so quickly, Fasano said, that it made sense to master that pitch and throw it roughly 90 percent of the time. 在３Ａ時期，小王投六種球路，而 Fasano 認為這太多了。 因此當小王對伸卡球的掌握得心應手之後，他在比賽中有九成都是使用這個球路。 The trick was not to throw it too hard. Wang can throw a four-seam fastball around 96 miles an hour. The sinker — or two-seamer — comes in two or three miles an hour slower, but has more movement. 訣竅在別過度用力。小王可以投出９６ｍｐｈ的四縫線快速球。 他的伸卡 — 或說二縫線 — 會慢上個２～３英哩，但擁有更佳的movement。 When Wang threw 103 pitches in beating the Devil Rays on July 8, catcher Jorge Posada said he called only sinkers. But Ron Guidry, the pitching coach, said Wang also throws a changeup, slider and four-seam fastball. 七月八號，當小王以１０３球完封魔鬼魚隊的時候，Posada 說他只有配伸卡一種球路。 不過投手教練說小王也有使用變速球、滑球和四縫線快速球。 When right-handers protect against the sinker, Guidry said, Wang can throw a slider or four-seamer to the outside corner, where they cannot reach. But mostly, Guidry conceded, Wang gets outs with the sinker. 投手教練表示，當右打者在提防小王的伸卡球時， 他其實可以嘗試以外角速球或滑球來解決打者。 不過投教承認，小王還是多半用伸卡球來讓打者出局。 “It’s like hitting a shot put,” Guidry said. “It’s harder than most sinkers, and it’s got late movement.” 『就好像在打鉛球一樣，這比大部份的伸卡球難打多了，而且它進壘後較晚產生變化。』 Wang leads the team with 161 innings pitched, and he is 13-4 with a 3.69 earned run average. Beyond his ability, Wang’s personality has endeared him to teammates. 小王的投球局數是洋基最多的１６１局，１３勝４敗，3.69 的自責分率。 除了他的能力之外，小王的個性也使他受到隊友喜愛。 Reliever Mike Myers, who sometimes runs with Wang before batting practice around the concourse level of road ballparks, said Wang’s smile drew people in, and the language barrier fell later. 練習的時候，Myers 有時會和小王一起跑步。 他說小王的笑容很吸引人，語言的障礙不算什麼。 “Once you get him to open up, he’s fine,” Myers said. “But you’ve got to get him to open up.” 『一旦他敞開心胸了，就會很好。當然你必須先讓他放開心胸。』這不是廢話嗎… The Yankees provided Wang with a personal interpreter when he first came to the United States in 2000, but the interpreter was soon fired. Wang said he would rather not worry about losing another interpreter, so he has not asked for one since. 2000年，當小王剛到洋基的時候，球團為他僱了一個翻譯，不過後來掰掰了。 小王說他不想去擔心何時會失去另一個翻譯，所以後來乾脆不再請翻譯了。 “This year is better than last year,” Wang said. “Last year the other players didn’t talk to me very much. They figured I couldn’t speak English. In my second year, more people are talking to me, chatting with me.” 『就比去年好啊，就是去年剛上來的時候，大家不會怎麼跟我講話。』王說。 『他們想說我不會講英文，可是第二年的時候，他們就比較多人跟我講話聊天這樣子。』 Wang’s English is improving, and he speaks well enough to convey basic points to the news media after games. Rick Cerrone, the Yankees’ media relations director, has suggested that Wang group three distinct ideas in each answer, and Wang has been quoted more often lately. 小王的英文一直在進步中，他的英文能力已經足夠在賽後訪問時表達出重點。 洋基的公關部主任Rick Cerrone建議小王將答案整理成三個要點， 而他的回答在最近也比較常被媒體引述了。 Predictably, teammates ply Wang with amusing phrases. On a recent flight, he greeted Larry Bowa, the boisterous third-base coach, by saying, “What’s up, Meat?” 可以想見的是，隊友們也會教小王一些垃圾話。 在飛機上，他跟三壘指導教練Bowa打招呼：『呷飽ㄚ沒，大胖呆？』 “They're teaching him new stuff, and he’s testing it on me,” Bowa said. “He does have a good sense of humor.” 『他們教了他幾句，他就在我身上作實驗。』Bowa：『very funny,Peter.』 That was the first thing Andy Phillips mentioned when asked to explain Wang’ s personality. Wang parrots phrases, for sure, but he usually knows when he is being set up, and he has keen comic timing. 這是當Andy Phillips談論小王的個性時，所提到的第一件事。 小王會模仿隊友的遣詞用字，知道自己是不是被整了，而且還會耍寶。 “He’s very, very funny,” Phillips said. “He’s pretty quiet, and then all of a sudden he’ll say something or ask a question at a random time, and it’ s just hilarious.” 『他非常非常的有趣。』Phillips說： 『他平時都裝惦惦，不過有時候會突然間冒出幾句話或是一個問題，而且很爆笑。』 Phillips and Wang were teammates in the minors, and they eat together on the road sometimes. On one of their first trips in the majors, they had rooms on the same floor. When they got there, Wang sheepishly asked Phillips, “Where’ s my luggage?” 他們在小聯盟時期就是隊友，有時會一起出去吃飯。 有一次他們的房間被分配在同一個樓層。 當他們抵達那兒時，小王羞怯地問他：『我的行李呢？』 Phillips explained that a bellman would bring the bags. Any rookie could have asked the same question, but it reminded Phillips of the adjustments Wang still has to make. Phillips告訴他，門房會馬上把行李送來。 所有的菜鳥們都可能問同樣的問題，但這提醒了Phillips小王必須要做的調整。 “When you think about all the little things we do every day just to be able to get to the field and do our work, that can be quite a challenge,” Phillips said. “But his personality is so laid back that he doesn’t let those challenges affect him.” 『當你去思索我們每天要做的一切瑣事，都是為了能夠在球場上做好我們的工作， 那其實是一項挑戰。』Phillips說： 『不過小王的個性就是那麼地樸實，這使得那些挑戰根本沒辦法影響到他。』 From absorbing the true story of his own beginning to mastering opposing lineups, Wang has handled it all. 從瞭解自己的身世，到主宰對手的打線，小王就是這樣面對一切。 --

※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 219.84.4.170 ※ 編輯: Maiar 來自: 219.84.4.170 (08/13 16:21)