[翻譯]Yaz Sir, Goose was Yank Hero

Yaz Sir, Goose was Yank Hero



By KEVIN KERNAN

Published : January 10, 2008 / New York Post



As Goose Gossage, the newest member of the Hall of Fame, talked yesterday, 30 years melted away.

Suddenly, we were all back in Fenway Park on Oct. 2, 1978. Gossage is on the mound and it's the ninth inning. 

當棒球名人堂的最新成員Goose Gossage正面對媒體侃侃而談時, 我的思緒突然被帶回到30年前、1978年10月2日的芬威球場, 當時比賽正進行到九局下半, 而場上投球的正是身穿洋基球衣的Gossage。



The shadows cover all but right field. 

除了右外野之外, 整個球場都正籠罩在陰影中。



There is one out; the Yankees are clinging to a 5-4 lead. 

一人出局, 而洋基僅僅以5:4一分領先紅襪。



Gossage walks Rick Burleson. Jerry Remy singles to right as Lou Piniella makes a great stop of the ball to keep Burleson from going to third. 

Gossage保送了Rick Burleson, 而接下來上場打擊的Jerry Remy擊出了一支滾向右外野的一壘安打, 洋基右外野手Lou Piniella一次避免傷害擴大的漂亮守備將準備繼續往三壘推進的Burleson留在了二壘上。



Jim Rice flies deep to right, which would have scored Burleson if not for Piniella's play. Burleson moves to third, bringing up Carl Yastrzemski. 

下一棒的Jim Rice將球擊成了右外野方向的深遠飛球, 多虧了Piniella前一次的精采守備演出, 被留在二壘上的Burleson只能推進到三壘而無法得分。

接下來Gossage將要面對的是可怕的Carl Yastrzemski。



The night before, Gossage went to bed thinking he would be facing Yaz for the final out. 

就在前一晚, 進入夢鄉前的Ｇossage還因為想像Ｙaz將是自己在比賽中面對的最後一位打者而輾轉難眠。



Now it is all happening, and for the first time in his career Gossage is a nervous wreck. So much so that he starts talking to himself. 

夢靨竟然成真, Gossage在他球員生涯中第一次感到如此緊張, 緊張到他甚至不自覺地自言自語了起來。



"I'm asking questions and answering them," he said. "I said, 'Well, here's what you went to bed last night thinking. Here's Yaz.' 

"我不斷地自問自答," Ｇossage回憶道, "我告訴自己' 你看吧, 這就是你昨晚不斷擔心會發生的事情, 果真對上Yaz了。' "



"I said, 'Why are you so nervous? You always played the game for the love and the fun of it. What's the worst thing that could happen to you?" 

"我問自己, ' 你為什麼這麼緊張? 棒球一直是你的最愛並且帶給你如此多的樂趣, 就算真的失敗了, 最糟的結果會是什麼?' "



"I said, 'Well, I'll be back in Colorado tomorrow hunting elk.' " 

"我自己答道, ' 大不了就是明天就回到科羅拉多去獵麋鹿罷了。' "



That was the perfect answer. 

我無法想出更完美的回答了。



"It was the first time all day that I'd been able to even breathe," he said. His arm came back to life. 

"從那之後, 我在當天那場比賽中第一次覺得自己可以正常地呼吸," Gossage說道。他的手臂又再度充滿了力量。



Gossage's first pitch to Yaz was down. 

他對Yaz所投出的第一球是個偏低的壞球。



"The next pitch," he said, "was pretty much down the middle of the plate, but tailed into him and he popped it up to [Graig] Nettles." 

"我所投出的第二球," Gossage說道, "一開始幾乎可說是直直往好球帶正中間飛去, 不過球的尾勁最終讓球轉向內側並迫使他打成一顆飛向Nettles (洋基三壘手Graig Nettles) 的小飛球。"



After the Yankee celebration, Gossage is sitting alone in the training room, gathering his thoughts when Thurman Munson comes in and asks, "Where did you get that?" 

在洋基的慶祝活動結束後, Gossage一個人坐在訓練室中, 試著整理自己的思緒, 而就在此時, Thurman Munson走過來向他提出了一個問題, 

"你到底是怎麼辦到的? "



"What are you talking about?" 

"你指的是...? "



"Those last two pitches had another foot on anything else you threw all day," Munson said. 

"最後兩球完全不同於你比賽中所投出的其他球," Munson回答道。



"I finally relaxed," answers Gossage to which Munson, always the agitator, adds, "What took you so long?" 

"那是因為我終於放鬆了," Gossage這麼對Munson說, 這時一向很善於激勵人的Munson補了一句話,

"究竟是什麼原因讓你花了這麼久時間才終於想通? "



If not for that pop-out, history could have changed in many ways. The Curse of the Bambino may have been reversed much earlier, Bucky Dent's home run might have come in a losing cause and Reggie Jackson's add-on eighth-inning blast that gave the Yankees a 5-2 lead might have been forgotten. 

要不是那個內野飛球, 歷史可能就此被改寫, 貝比魯斯魔咒可能也早個幾年被打破, Bucky Dent的全壘打也不會是勝利打點, 而Reggie Jackson在八局所擊出、將比分差距擴大成5:2的全壘打也可能早被遺忘。



Jackson was a surprise visitor to the press conference yesterday to congratulate his old teammate. On the way out the door Reggie offered this about the Roger Clemens situation: "I'm watching it as a friend and I don't like what I see. I'm rooting for him but he certainly has an uphill battle." 

Jackson出乎意料地出現在昨天的記者會上, 想要對他的前隊友表達恭賀之意, 在離開會場時, Reggie表達了他對Roger Clemens事件的看法 : "我以一個朋友的身分關注整個事件的發展, 我實在對我所看到的相當不滿, 我仍然會為加油, 但是我得說, 這對他來說肯定不是一場好打的仗。"



Gossage is going into Cooperstown this summer with a Yankees cap on his head. He said he might not have remained in The Bronx, if not for getting Yaz to pop up. 

Gossage將在今年夏天以洋基球員的身分進入名人堂, 他認為要不是那顆內野飛球, 他或許早就離開洋基了。



"They may have traded me," Gossage explained. "Because people would have hated me. The fans would have hated me. I started the year [badly] and would have ended up [badly]. That why I say there is such a fine line to a career." 

"他們有可能會把我交易出去," Gossage這麼解釋, "因為球團和球迷可能都會對我感到不滿, 那一年球季我在季初的表現差強人意, 而且也極有可能有個悲慘的句點, 這也就是為什麼我會說, 任何一顆球就有可能成為你球員生涯的轉捩點。"



Gossage said his low point came earlier that 1978 season in a game in Toronto. 

Gossage認為自己球員生涯的最低潮發生在同年球季中一場在客場面對藍鳥隊的比賽。



"I picked up a bunt and threw it about 40 rows up, game over," Gossage recalled. "I just collapsed in my locker and cried." 

"我下丘處理一顆觸擊短打球, 但是卻把球傳到了觀眾席中, 比賽也因此結束," Gossage回憶道, "賽後我在休息室中完全崩潰, 只是不停的哭。"



It's OK for Hall of Fame closers and presidential candidates to cry. 

對於名人堂選手以及總統候選人(暗指幾天前才在民主黨初選前流淚的Hillary Clinton) 來說, 哭並沒有什麼大不了的。



Gossage never hit it off with Billy Martin and really didn't come out of his funk until Bob Lemon replaced Martin. "That really helped me," Gossage said. "I felt this real dislike from Billy all the time." 

Gossage和Billy Martin一直都處不來, 而這樣的情形一直到Martin將兵符交給Bob Lemon前都沒有改善。

"這 (更換教練) 真的幫了我一個大忙, " Gossage說道, "我真的認為Billy看我很不爽。"



That dislike stemmed from an incident when Martin instructed Gossage to hit Billy Sample for no apparent reason during a spring training game. 

存在他們兩人心中的芥蒂起源於一個事件, Martin在某個球季的春訓中要求Gossage在沒有任何理由的狀況下對Billy Sample投出觸身球。



"I told him no, I wasn't going to hit him," Gossage said. "That was his way of testing my loyalty. When Billy was gone it was like night and day for me." 

"我拒絕了他的要求, 我拒絕投出觸身球, " Gossage說道, "這是他 (Billy Martin) 用來測試球員忠誠度的方法。當他終於離開時, 我可說是鬆了一大口氣。"



As for his trademark fu-manchu mustache, Gossage said, "I grew it to tick Steinbrenner off." 

至於他那可說是個人商標的Fu Manchu式鬍, Gossage這麼解釋,

"我會蓄鬍的原因就只是為了激怒Steinbrenner (George Steimbrenner) 罷了。"



Did it work? 

有效嗎?



Gossage smiled and said, "He wasn't hard to tick off." 

Gossage笑著答道, "要激怒他並不難。"



The Hall of Fame just became a lot more fun.

看來名人堂將會因為Gossage的加入而充滿歡笑。