It can happen in a hurry.
事情可能發生的很迅速。
Growing up in Seattle, one of few stars I watched on the Mariners during the
1980s (when the team had a losing record every season) was a first baseman
named Alvin Davis, the American League's rookie of the year in 1984. In 1989,
Davis was second in the AL in OPS. He fell off some in 1990 and by 1991 he
hit .221. In two seasons, he had gone from one of the best hitters in
baseball to a guy who couldn't get around on a big league fastball. After a
cameo with the Angels in 1992, he was finished, done at age 31.
我生長於西雅圖，一壘手Alvin Davis是我在1980年代注意的少數西雅圖水手隊(當時每季
戰績敗多勝少)的明星球員之一，他是1984年美國聯盟的新人王。在1989年時 Davis在美
聯的OPS項目上排名第二。1990年成績稍微下滑，1991年更只打出.211的打擊率。僅僅兩
個球季，Davis就從聯盟最佳打者之一退步到無法應付大聯盟投手的快速球。1992年球季
在天使隊擔任替補球員，球季結束後以31歲的年齡退休。
Jim Edmonds' fall was more traditional and predictable. He'll turn 38 years
old in June. He's battled nagging injuries throughout his career. He's been
in slow decline since his monster 2004 season, when he hit .301 with 42 home
runs and helped the Cardinals reach the World Series. Last season, he was a
below-average hitter for the first time since his rookie season (other than
an injury-plagued 1999). The Padres gambled that he had something left in the
tank, acquiring the four-time All-Star for a minor leaguer, but after hitting
.178 with 24 strikeouts and only three extra-base hits in 90 at-bats, they
decided Edmonds had met Father Time and released him over the weekend.
Jim Edmonds的衰退較為有跡可循，他在六月將滿38歲。他的職業生涯都在對抗不斷的傷
痛。大爆發的2004年球季，Edmonds打出了.301打擊率與42支全壘打，並且幫助紅雀打進
世界大賽冠軍，自此之後，成績逐年下滑。上個球季，是Edmonds自新人球季以來首度打
擊率低於聯盟平均(不包含受傷勢困擾的1999年)。教士隊壓寶Edmonds的身手還在，於是
以一名小聯盟球員將這位四度入選明星賽的球員交易過來，但是當Edmonds在90個打數中
只打出三支長打，打擊率.178，並吞下24次三振後，教士隊認為他已經到了生涯末期，並
在週末將他釋出了。
The Cubs are reportedly interesting in signing Edmonds, to see if he has a
last gasp remaining. I hope he does; the Cubs could use some punch in center
field with Felix Pie disappointing and I've always enjoyed watching Edmonds,
even if his trademark diving catches in center field did often appear a bit,
umm, overdramatic.
據報導，小熊隊有興趣簽下Edmonds，看看他的狀況是否有機會好轉。我希望如此;小熊隊
可藉此刺激一下表現令人感到失望的Felix Pie，儘管Edmonds的招牌撲接有時顯的有些
...嗯，太戲劇化了，但是我仍然很享受觀賞Edmonds打球。
Edmonds has been one of the most underrated players of his generation. While
known for his eight Gold Gloves he was also a terrific hitter, reaching a
.385 or better on-base percentage six straight seasons with St. Louis and
hitting 30 or more homers five times (twice hitting 42).
Edmonds一直是最被低估的球員之一。除了八屆金手套獎以外，他也是一名可怕的打者，
在聖路易紅雀隊時，連續六個球季上壘率超過.385，並且曾五度打出超過30支全壘打(兩
度42支)。
Edmonds had been a very good player for the Angels from 1995 through 1998,
hitting at least .290 with 25 home runs each season. But shoulder problems
limited him to 55 games and a .250 average in 1999 and with Edmonds facing
free agency after the 2000 season, the Cardinals acquired him in spring
training for Kent Bottenfield and Adam Kennedy.
1995至1998年球季，待在天使隊的Edmonds是位很棒的選手，每個球季皆打出至少.290打
擊率與25支全壘打。但是肩膀的傷勢使他在 1999年球季只出賽了55場，打擊率.250，並
將於2000年球季後成為自由球員，紅雀隊在春訓時以Kent Bottenfield與Adam Kennedy將
他交易過來。
The Cardinals knew they were acquiring a talented player, albeit one whose
effort had been questioned at times by teammates. "He can definitely play the
game when he wants to," Angels pitcher Chuck Finley once said. "Jimmy's
biggest problem is Jimmy." The Cardinals definitely didn't expect that
Edmonds would begin one of the great stretches of play by any center fielder
in major league history.
紅雀隊知道他是一名有天份的球員，儘管他的成就數度被隊友質疑。"他一定有辦法上場
比賽，如果他想的話"，天使隊投手Chuck Finley曾表示:"Jimmy最大的問題就是他自己"
。紅雀隊當然沒料到Edmonds將開始大聯盟史上中外野手最佳表現的時期之一。
Check out this list of five-year peaks for some Hall of Fame center fielders,
plus a few others. RC is runs created over that five-year span and RCAP is
runs created above position (compared to an average center fielder for that
time period, taken from Lee Sinins' baseball-encyclopedia.com).
看看這份包含了一些名人堂球員中外野手的連五年生涯高峰的名單。RC是指五年內創造的
得分，RCAP則是高於相同位置球員所創造的得分(與同時期中外野手平均相比，節錄自
Lee Sinins的baseball-encyclopedia.com網站)。
HR RBI RUNS AVG OBP SLG RC RCAP
Mickey Mantle, 1954-1958 192 522 630 .325 .451 .618 777 453
Ty Cobb, 1910-1914 29 425 511 .397 .462 .567 716 353
Joe DiMaggio, 1937-1941 169 691 603 .350 .420 .638 759 351
Hack Wilson, 1926-1930 177 708 586 .331 .419 .612 712 295
Willie Mays, 1961-1965 226 690 613 .308 .387 .606 682 287
JIM EDMONDS, 2000-2004 181 501 511 .298 .410 .593 614 279
Tris Speaker, 1912-1916 19 399 541 .359 .443 .504 665 276
Ken Griffey Jr., 1996-2000 249 685 593 .290 .382 .604 686 253
Duke Snider, 1953-1957 207 585 581 .311 .407 .618 693 245
Bernie Williams, 1996-2000 131 535 540 .324 .410 .551 604 235
Larry Doby, 1950-1954 138 503 484 .286 .399 .513 560 213
Dale Murphy, 1982-1986 174 524 545 .288 .376 .522 598 176
Earl Averill, 1930-1934 125 591 569 .320 .395 .546 668 163
Kirby Puckett, 1986-1990 77 481 481 .331 .370 .507 561 146
Cesar Cedeno, 1972-1976 104 400 466 .298 .365 .485 499 146
Andre Dawson, 1979-1983 121 439 468 .296 .341 .507 491 131
Richie Ashburn, 1951-55 11 245 497 .321 .407 .403 534 100
Andruw Jones, 2002-2006 192 558 479 .266 .352 .524 523 96
Gold Gloves aren't listed, but Edmonds was voted one all five seasons. The
Cardinals made the playoffs four of those five seasons. With Edmonds' combo
of power, batting average, on-base ability and defense, I'm comfortable
saying it was one of the 10 best five-year stretches any center fielder has
put together.
金手套沒有列出來，但是Edmonds在五個球季中皆獲得金手套，紅雀隊在其中的四個球季
打進季後賽。綜合Edmonds的火力，打擊率，上壘能力與防守，我可以說這是所有中外野
手中，十個最佳的五年生涯高峰之一。
Now, I am not suggesting lining up Edmonds against the likes of Mays, Griffey
and Snider makes him a Hall of Famer. He got a late start to his career