翻譯若有誤，敬請告知，謝謝！ <(_ _)> ※ 引述《leddy (耿秋)》之銘言： : Spring training: Dodgers' Kuo can't be hit harder than he has on road to : majors 春訓報導：歷經通往大聯盟之路後，已經沒有什麼事能打擊道奇隊投手郭泓志了 : 11:45 PM PST on Monday, March 5, 2007 : from www.pe.com : By DIAMOND LEUNG : The Press-Enterprise : V ERO BEACH, Fla. : Arms crossed, Hong-Chih Kuo glares at the words: Impossible is nothing. : Story continues below : It's only a catchy adidas slogan, isn't it? Just an Asian ad campaign : celebrating the 25-year-old, whose three-time surgically repaired left arm : has finally allowed him to pitch effectively at the big-league level and : challenge to begin this season as the Dodgers' fifth starter. : But what means everything to Kuo is not his image as an emerging Taiwanese : hero -- a cell phone pitchman in TV commercials who had his biography : published last month. It's a seven-year-old videotape of him throwing in his : first professional game. 手臂交叉在胸前，郭泓志凝視著前方「Impossible is nothing」這行字。 這不是讓人朗朗上口的愛迪達廣告詞嗎？嗯，這是一場在亞洲舉行的廣告活動，慶祝一位 25 歲就在左手動過 3 次手術的年輕人，最終能站在大聯盟球場上投球，而這個球季他又 將爭取成為道奇隊第五號先發投手。 但對於郭泓志而言，這一切代表的意義，並非他是一位竄起的台灣英雄—成為電視手機 廣告的代言人，並在一個月前出版了他的自傳；而是一卷塵封七年的錄影帶，紀錄著他投 出職業生涯的第一場比賽的畫面... : The scene, from a California League game in San Bernardino, should have been : a proud moment. Months earlier, Kuo became the first player from the island : nation to sign with a major league team out of high school. : Before the 17-year-old accepted a $1.2 million bonus and attention from the : cameras at his press conference in Taiwan, he received his cancer-stricken : father's blessing to leave for the land of opportunity. : "He told me I gotta try to make it to the major leagues," Kuo said. : In his debut, Kuo struck out seven of the 10 batters he faced without : allowing a hit. It was a performance so dominating, even for Class A, that : one youthful Dodgers executive in attendance imagined this was what his : father must have seen from Sandy Koufax. 時間拉回到七年前，地點則是在 San Bernardino 進行的一場加州聯盟的比賽，這是一 個令人感到驕傲的時刻。在幾個月前，郭泓志成為了台灣有史以來第一位與大聯盟球團 簽約的高中畢業生。這位十七歲的年輕人一夕間賺進了 120 萬美金，在記者會上成為鎂 光燈競逐的焦點，他並帶著罹患癌症父親的祝福離開台灣島。「他告訴我，我必須盡全 力拼上大聯盟」，郭泓志回憶道。 在職業生涯處女秀，郭泓志面對10 位打者並三振其中 7 位，沒有任何人能從他手中擊 出安打。這樣的表現實在太驚人了！即便這只是一場 1A 球賽，當時現場一位道奇球團 的經理（executive）也不禁驚嘆：這就是我老爸當初看 Sandy Koufax 投球的感覺吧！ : But on the second to last pitch he threw, Kuo heard a horrific pop in his : elbow. Then, on what would be his final pitch for the next 14 months, he : struck out the batter -- on a curveball, no less. : Suddenly on LA's Radar Gun : It wasn't supposed to happen like this. Then again, was it any more : improbable than Kuo getting noticed by an American scout at a time when few : Taiwanese prospects were on the radar, and Chin-Feng Chen was more than three : years away from becoming the first of his countrymen to reach the majors, : also with the Dodgers? 但，在郭泓志第二次登板投完最後一球後，他聽到手肘爆出一聲可怕的聲響。然後這一 球，也是接下來 14 個月郭泓志所投出的最後一球，仍然讓打者三振出局，這是一顆不 偏不倚的曲球。 沒有人預期會發生這種事。事實上，當時台灣球員被球探盯上的少之又少，而陳金鋒 到美國打拼也已經三年，郭泓志能在台灣島上吸引到眾多美國球探的目光，這已經是件 不可思議的事。然而出乎大家意料之外的事情，又再發生了。 : Acey Kohrogi, the Dodgers' director of Asian operations, happened to be : watching a tournament in Japan when he spied a skinny high school left-hander : lighting up a stadium radar gun that clocked pitches in kilometers. : "What's 157?" he wondered. : Ninety-seven mph was the answer. Even in Asia, where off-speed pitches : dominate, the boy was unafraid of challenging hitters with his fastball. : Kuo is fearless, a Taiwanese baseball official told Kohrogi. He had grown up : playing with future Yankees star Chien-Ming Wang and in high school nearly : outdueled a Japanese pitcher named Daisuke Matsuzaka. 道奇球團亞洲區事務長 Acey Kohrogi，剛好在日本舉辦的亞洲盃少棒錦標賽中，看到 一位身材纖瘦的高中左投，讓球場的測速看板成為眾人矚目的焦點。「157是多快？」 Acey Kohrogi 心裡算著，答案是 97 mile。一般亞洲投手習慣用速差迷惑打者，但眼前 這個孩子竟毫不畏懼用他的快速球挑戰打者。一位台灣棒球界人士告訴 Kohrogi，郭泓 志從不怕挑戰，他從小和現在洋基隊的明日之星王建民一起打球，在高中的時候和松板 大輔對陣也毫不遜色。 : And Kuo made an attractive signing because it was thought his arm had not yet : been exposed to a heavy workload. : But shortly after Kuo arrived in America, speaking only Mandarin, he was left : shaking his head at the injury that forced him to undergo an operation that : he had never heard of to salvage his career. 郭泓志隨後簽了一個簽約金豐厚的合約，因為他的手臂被認為尚未被過度使用。 但是郭泓志到美國後不久，甚至還完全不會說英文的時候，就因左手的傷勢被送進手術房 ；在此之前，他壓根沒想過挽救投手生涯這回事。 : Hit Hard on Way to Majors : Tommy John surgery to replace the ligament in his elbow cost him the rest of : his 2000 season. Later that year he returned home to visit his father shortly : before he died. : The hard knocks kept coming. Kuo didn't heal properly even after an operation : to clear scar tissue and needed a second Tommy John surgery that sidelined : him for all of 2003. : "He's not a real show-emotion kind of guy, but you could tell facial-wise : that he was disturbed watching guys that he came into the system with go to : the big leagues," said Ken Howell, Kuo's minor league pitching coach. "You : could see the frustration." 湯米約翰手術目的在於更換手肘韌帶，這使得郭泓志 2000 年球季完全泡湯。過完年後 郭泓志即短暫返家探望他的父親，不久之後他的父親去世了。 沈痛的打擊接踵而至。郭泓志動完傷疤清除手術後，仍沒有完全復原，而需要動第二次 湯米約翰手術。這使得整個 2003 球季又只能坐在場邊看球。 「其實他並不是一個會把情緒表露於外的人，但你仍可從他臉上表情知道，當他看到那 些升上大聯盟的球員時，心中充滿著複雜的情緒」，郭泓志小聯盟的投手教練 Ken Howell 提到：「你可以看的出來，這孩子非常的沮喪」。 : But officials thought enough of Kuo to have him rehab at Dodger Stadium, : where he received emotional support from Tommy John veterans Eric Gagne and : Darren Dreifort. : After five pro seasons, Kuo had thrown a grand total of 42 1/3 innings in 18 : games, most of his time spent testing his arm with doses of fastballs, : change-ups and sliders. He'd also bulked up to a solid 6-foot-1, 235 pounds. : Finally, in September 2005, Kuo made his major league debut. Kohrogi : presented his prized prospect with some mementos -- the Dodgers cap he wore : on signing day and footage of that dramatic first start in San Bernardino, : shot from the dugout by his translator. 但道奇球團並沒有放棄郭泓志，球團把他安排在道奇球場復健，在那邊有動過湯米約翰 手術的老大哥 Eric Gagne 和 Darren Dreifort，他們也成為郭泓志最佳的心靈輔導員。 在這 5 個球季中，郭泓志總計只投了 18 場比賽，共 42 又 1/3 局，大部分的時間他一 次又一次地練習投直球、變速球、滑球，測試他的手臂。而他的身材也膨脹到 6 呎 1 吋 、235 磅。最終，在 2005 年 9 月，郭泓志站上了大聯盟球場的投手丘。Kohrogi 也為 這位他一手帶進道奇的新秀送上了紀念品—郭泓志在簽約日所戴的道奇球帽，以及郭泓志 在 San Bernardino 那次傳奇性初登板的錄影帶（由郭泓志的翻譯於球員休息室拍攝）。 : "I hoped they would give him strength," said Kohrogi, who was later told Kuo : had tears in his eyes while breaking down the tape. : Kuo was twice demoted to Class AAA Las Vegas and converted to a starter after : going 0-4 with a 5.34 ERA as a reliever. Last year, in the heat of the : pennant race, he was handed the ball for his first career start, as an : emergency replacement. : On what was coincidentally Taiwan Heritage Night at Shea Stadium, Kuo no-hit : the Mets for four innings and shut them out for six to earn win No. 1. : "I've seen this kid pitch when the lights were the brightest, and he showed : up," Howell said. "And that's what you can't teach. Players either have that : or they don't, and he has it." 「我希望這些東西能夠帶給他力量」，Kohrogi 說道。他稍後並透露，當這些帶子之前 弄壞的時候，郭泓志還流了一些眼淚。 郭泓志被道奇定位為後援投手，繳出 0 勝 4 敗，防禦率 5.34 的成績後，便被下放至 3A 重新擔任先發投手。上個球季末，在外卡爭奪戰如火如荼展開時，郭泓志被緊急拉上 大聯盟替補原本的先發投手上場。當天碰巧是大都會主場 Shea Stadium 的「Taiwan Heritage Night」，郭泓志在前四局完全封鎖大都會的攻勢，沒有讓打者擊出任何安打， 讓大都會打者在他六局的投球一籌莫展，郭泓志贏得大聯盟生涯首勝。 「我在這孩子最風光的時候看他投過球，而他現在已經熬出頭了」 Howell 說道：「這 種事是你沒辦法教的。有些球員有這種天分，有些沒有，我確定這孩子有天分」。 : Kuo was handed a phone after the game, and on the other end was Kohrogi, who : compared the feelings of that evening with the joy of watching one of his own : children succeed. : "Thank you," Kuo said. "I made it." 郭泓志在賽後手拿著電話，電話另一頭是 Kohrogi，在這個看著他一手拉拔的孩子成功的 夜晚，兩人互相交換喜悅的心情。 郭泓志對著電話說：「謝謝你，我做到了。」 : Reach Diamond Leung : at [email protected] --

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