這篇文是去年九月的，不過Guerrero正式退休，分享一下。以後大概看不太到這種打者了
(正文)
http://0rz.tw/fOz9Z
By Joe Posnanski (NBC名作家)
Appreciating the free-swinging excellence of Vlad Guerrero
回顧Vladimir Guerrero他自由奔放的打擊
Not too long ago, I was working on a project that (sadly) never quite got off
the ground — it was a project to explore why we still love sports. Here we are
surrounded by the horror of concussions and NCAA hypocrisy and PED use and
countless other unsavory things … but we still love the games. In a weird way,
we love the games now more than we ever did.
不久以前，我原本要寫一本書，雖然一直沒有真的動手。內容探討為什麼人們還愛看運
動比賽。雖然現在有一堆恐怖的腦震盪新聞、大學球賽的黑暗面、禁藥議題等等，但我
們還是愛看。某種程度上來說，人們比以前還更關注運動。
In the book, I was going to write an entire chapter about a Vladimir Guerrero
at-bat.
在那本書中，我原本打算用一整章描寫Guerrero的一個打席
In my lifetime, there have been certain athletes who were just FUN to watch.
Now, I’m not referring to how good they were or how valuable they were …
simply how much joy they gave us. Some of the all-time greats were great fun,
of course: Magic Johnson was fun, Barry Sanders of course, Muhammad Ali.
Pistol Pete Maravich.
我活到現在，有些選手就是讓人想看。我不是說他們多厲害，或多有價值…單純是他們
讓我們多開心。當然，有些名人也是這樣：魔術強森很好看、Barry Sanders、拳王阿里
，Pistol Pete Maravich。
But there are some others too who weren’t all-time greats. The Cleveland
Browns used to have this amazing kick returner named Eric Metcalf (son of the
great Terry Metcalf) — he was widely viewed as a massive disappointment
because he could never quite translate his punt returning genius to his life
as a running back or a receiver. But, MAN was he fun — anytime he touched
the ball, he might just do something that would blow your mind. Actually quite
a few punt returners were like that. White Shoes Johnson was like that.
Dante Hall was like that. Devin Hester.
(這段是講一個美足球員，專接踢發球後第一次進攻的，因和MLB無關就不解釋了)
Dwight Gooden was amazing fun in the early days. The strikeout pitchers are
always fun. Jim Zorn was fun — scrambling quarterbacks are wonderful.
These days: Bubba Watson is fun. Joe Flacco is oddly fun*. Victor Cruz is fun.
Andrelton Simmons is fun — great defensive shortstop are fantastic.
Lionel Messi. Man, nobody’s as much fun as Steph Curry — you can’t watch
him play basketball without, at some point, just breaking out in a big smile.
早期的Dwight Gooden超好看。三振型投手永遠都很好看。Jim Zorn很有趣─能帶球衝刺
的四分衛很讚。Bubba Watson很好看，Joe Flacco是另一種意義上的好看。Victor Cruz
好看。Andrelton Simmons也很好看。防守型的遊擊手都很好看。踢足球的梅西。嗯，大
概沒人比得上Stephen Curry。很難看完一場他的球而不開心的。
*Flacco is fun because his arm is just RIDICULOUS — if I could throw a
football as hard or as far as Joe Flacco, I would overthrow receivers by
40 yards again and again just to entertain myself. Maybe that’s why he
does it.
*Flacco好看的原因是因為他很扯：如果我有辦法把橄欖球丟得和他一樣遠，我大概每次
都會丟在接球員前面40碼來讓我自己覺得爽。或許這是為什麼他也這樣丟的原因。
In my lifetime, I think that there was nothing in sports more fun than
watching Vlad Guerrero hit a baseball. He was one-of-a-kind. He grew up in
the Dominican Republic, and when he signed with the Montreal Expos he was
this big (6-foot-3), strong, fast, power-armed force of nature. I’ve heard
people compare Yasiel Puig to him, and that’s not a bad comparison — but
if anything Vlady was even more unbridled and absurd.
看過這麼多，我想在運動場上，沒有比看Vladmir Guerrero打擊更爽的事了。他是獨一
無二的。在多明尼加長大，和博覽會簽約時的他又高(6呎3)，又壯，俊足又強肩。我聽
過別人拿Yasiel Puig去和他比。當然這樣比也有些道理，但不管怎麼看，Vlady是更加
狂放不羈。
From his first day in pro baseball, you could not throw a baseball by Vlady
— no matter how fast or slow, no matter how high or low, how far outside or
inside. If you bounced a pitch in front of the plate, he might hit it. If
you threw it over his head, he might hit it. He would definitely try.
從他踏入職業棒球的第一天，Vlady就沒有打不到的球。不管快或慢，高或低，多外角或內
角。如果你本壘板彈一顆星，他也有可能打到。丟比他頭還高，他也有可能打到。但
他一定會試著打看看。
There have been bad-ball hitters before, of course. Clemente was a famous bad
ball hitter. Yogi was a famous bad ball hitter. Manny Sanguillen proudly would
swing at anything. But there was something wonderful about Vlady’s free
swinging. Every at bat, it was like he was just trying to prove a point. From
2007 to 2011, by the Fangraphs numbers, Vlad Guerrero swung at more than
FORTY-FIVE PERCENT of the pitches out of the strike zone.
當然，以前也有專揮壞球的打者。Roberto Clemente是有名的例子之一。Yogi Berra也是
。Manny Sanguillen很自豪的有球就揮。但Vlady的球來就打有獨特的魔力。每次他站上打
擊區，他都好像是要告訴觀眾什麼事一樣。從2007到2011，根據Fangraphs的數據，
Guerrero揮了整整45%好球帶外的球。
Think about that for a second. He basically swung at HALF the pitches that were
not strikes. Of course, other players swing at bad pitches — and there’s not
a thing fun about that when you’re talking about Jeff Francoeur. What’s fun
about Guerrero is that even from 2007 to 2011 — though Guerrero was aged and
beat up and no longer the hitting genius he had been as a young man — he STILL
hit .303 and slugged .490.
仔細想一下。他每揮棒兩次就有一顆是打壞球。當然，其他打者也會對壞球出棒 ─ 而且
如果你指是Jeff Francoeur的話這一點都不有趣。讓Guerrero與眾不同的地方是，即使是
2007到2011，一個又老又傷，不再是少年英雄的他，依然繳出了.303的打擊率和.490的長
打率。
Every at-bat of his was not just a battle with the pitcher but with geometry.
Five feet outside? He’d reach. In the dirt? He’d golf. Behind him? He’d
switch-hit. Close your eyes, you can just see the ridiculous movements Vlady
would make just to hit a baseball. Man did he love hitting baseballs. His eyes
just lit up when he was at the plate.
他每次站上打擊區，面對的不只是投手，還是幾何學。本壘板外五呎？我揮看看。掉到土
裡？撈起來。球往我背後飛？我換手打。閉上你的眼睛，你就能看到Vlady各種想盡辦法打
到球的動作。他真的很愛「打」球。他眼睛一看到球就燒起來了。
Of course, pitchers KNEW he would swing at just about anything. And yet, for 16
years, they never could find that place outside his hitting zone. They never
figured out how to take advantage of his non-selective ways. Guerrero led the
league in intentional walks five times, and I don’t think it was only because
of his great hitting. I think it was also because pitchers didn’t know how
else to walk him.
當然，投手也知道他球來就打。但是花了16年，他們還是投不出他的好球帶。他們從來沒
有因為他這樣的通通揮佔到便宜。Guerrero是五次的聯盟故意保送王，而我想這不只是因為
他是個好打者，而是投手們找不到投壞球保送他的辦法。
At 23, Guerrero played his first full season and hit .324 with 38 homers, 37
doubles, 9 triples. Everything he did was BIG. He made big plays. He made big
mistakes. He swung big. He missed big. Guerrero flashed one of the great arms
you’ve ever seen — Jonah Keri brings up the excellent point that Montreal,
for a team that only played 36 seasons, had some spectacular outfield arms in
its history. Guerrero’s arm was ridiculous. Larry Walker’s arm was fantastic.
Andre Dawson had a breathtaking arm. And, most of all, there was Ellis
Valentine. What an arm that guy had.
23歲時，Guerrero在他的第一個完整賽季繳出了.324的打擊率，38支全壘打，37支二壘安
打，9支三壘打。他作什麼事都特別突出。有超級美技，也有超誇張失誤，他打擊揮大棒，
揮空也大揮空。Guerrero的臂力大概是史上最強之一。Jonah Keri也說過，只有36年歷史
的蒙特婁博覽會，大概有歷史上最強的外野肩力。Guerrero很扯，Larry Walker很猛，
Andre Dawson很強，更別說Ellis Valentine。哇操咧。
But while Guerrero’s arm was strong, he rarely had any idea where it was
going. The guy airmailed so many cutoff men that at some point you just wanted
him to get it over with and wear an American Postal Service uniform. He stole
bases — as many as 40 in a season — but he got thrown out a lot (the year he
stole 40 he led the league by being caught 20 times). He was fast and reckless
on the bases, often hurting his team as much as he helped them.
雖然Guerrero能傳得很遠，但他通常也不知道球會飛去哪裡。他在咖斗時傳過頭的次數
，多到你會想把他拉出來然後給他一件郵差制服。他會盜壘，曾經一季盜40次，但他也常
常被刺殺(他盜40次那年，被抓了20次，全聯盟最多)他跑壘時快又無畏的作風，對球隊有
傷害和有幫助的比例大概差不多。
And at the plate … just, wow. He would swing at anything and he would swing
with crazy ferocity. And yet, against all logic, he didn’t strike out much. He
never struck out 100 times in a season and only came close once. Eleven times,
Vlady hit 25-plus homers while striking out fewer than 90 times. Since the
strike — when strikeouts began to skyrocket — only Albert Pujols has pulled
off that feat as often.
在打擊區…我只能說，哇…。他看到球就揮，而且跟瘋子一樣大力揮。可是完全不合邏輯
的是：他很少被三振。他從來沒有一季被三振超過100次，而且只有一次差點達陣。整整
11季，他打了超過25隻全壘打，只被三振不到90次。從罷工那年開始算，也就是三振數開
始狂飆的時代，只有Pujols有達成這樣的成就。
How did he do it? Well, for Vlady, it was simple math. He had three strikes to
hit the baseball. And so he simply crushed the first thing he saw. In his
career, he put about 20% of the first pitches he faced into play. He was the
quintessential first ball fastball hitter. If it looked kind of straight, and
looked within his reach (and weren’t they ALL within his reach), he swung at
that first pitch.
他怎麼辦到的？嗯，對Vlady來說，不過是簡單的算數。每次打擊，他有三好球的機會可以
把球打出去。所以他最好第一球就開始揮。在他的生涯中，有20%的打席是打第一球進場。
他是真正的第一球打者。只要投手第一球看起來不太歪，而且看起來揮得到(難道他有揮不
到的球？)他就會揮。
*Here’s a fun little statistic on Guerrero: On 3-1 counts, he hit .417. If he
had a pitcher down 3-1, forced to throw something resembling a strike,
Guerrero was extra-lethal. But, truth is, he hardly ever faced a 3-1 count.
He hit a 3-1 pitch in play less than 4% of the time. The at-bat was usually
long over before a 3-1 count was possible.
*一個有趣的統計數字：Guerrero在一好三壞的打擊率是.417。如果他有辦法逼投手到一
好三壞，逼得他們要投出看起來像好球的球，Guerrero是致命武器。但事實上，他幾乎從
不會遇到一好三壞。只有4%的打席是他在一好三壞之後把球打進場。往往在那之前打席就
結束了。
Pitchers all knew this. They studied him. They game planned him. They were
told, again and again, “don’t give him anything good to hit on the first
pitch.” But that’s part of what made Guerrero so fun. His idea of “good”
was different from everyone else’s idea of good. On the first pitch, he hit
.363 and slugged.660. The guy would swing at anything. The guy would swing at
pitches in OTHER GAMES. And still pitchers could not throw a first pitch bad
enough to hold him off.
投手們當然也知道。他們會看他的資料。會訂定一套計畫對付他。他們會被一再提醒：「
第一球不要給他好球。」但這就是為什麼Guerrero特別有魅力的地方。他的「好球」定義
跟其他人完全不同。他的第一球打擊率是.363，長打率.660。他真的什麼都揮。大概隔壁
球場的球他也想揮。但投手們依然投不出夠爛的第一球去防他。
Guerrero hit .324 that first full year. Then .317. Then .345. Then .307. Then
.336. Then .330. Then .337. Batting average isn’t much of a statistic for
determining the overall offensive contribution of a player, but in Guerrero’s
case those batting averages are little markers of his artistry. Everything
about him was moving parts, legs flying all over the place, heavy slides,
overthrows, aggression, vicious swings, joyous intensity, but at the end of
the year it always ended same. He hit the ball harder than just about
anyone ever. And he always hit around .330.
Guerrero在第一個完整球季的打擊率是.324。第二年.317，接下來是.345，.307，.336，
.330，.337。打擊率不是衡量選手打擊能力的唯一指標，但Guerrero的打擊率透露出了他
擁有的卓越技巧。他彎著身體揮，跑來跑去，大滑壘，傳過頭，充滿攻擊性的揮棒，一種
愉悅的動感。但每年到了季末都一樣。他比任何人揮得都還大力，然後永遠是.330左右的
打擊率。
He burned out pretty young, which figures when you look at the way he played
baseball. He got his last big league at-bat at 36 — by then he was just an
oversized version of the oversized player he had always been. He still hit
.290. But the power was gone. And he was walked unintentionally just 14 times
in 590 plate appearances. The superhuman reflexes necessary to do the
impossible things Vlady did had dulled just enough. He tried in various ways
to get back, but he could not.
他很早就開始衰退了，不過看他打球的方式大概也猜得出來。他最後一個打席是他36歲的
時候。那時的他只是一個以高個來說很胖的選手。他的打擊率還是有.290。不過長打沒了
。而且590打席中只被保送了14次。以往幫他作別人作不到的事的反射神經已經鈍了。他還
想試著像以前一樣打球，但就是沒辦法。
In the aftermath of his retirement, he has been coupled with his contemporary
Todd Helton, who also retired. It’s kind of weird. They were absolutely
nothing alike. But by the numbers, their careers mirrored almost exactly.
Helton hit .317. Guerrero hit .318. Helton had 2,505 hits. Guerrero had 2,590.
Helton had 2,791 runs-plus-RBIs. Guerrero had 2,824. Helton had 61.2 WAR.
Guerrero had 59.1 WAR. You could make a strong Hall of Fame case for both.
在他退休以後，他被拿來和同時代也退休的Todd Helton比較。這其實怪怪的。他們的風
格一點都不像。但他們的數據幾乎是一模一樣。Helton生涯打率.317，Guerrero.318。
Helton有2,505安，Guerrero有2,590。Helon有2,791分得分加打點，Guerrero有2,824。
Helton的生涯WAR是61.2，Guerrero是59.1。他們確實都有機會進名人堂。
But the Hall of Fame talk feels like something for another time. For now, I
want to remember Guerrero walking to the the plate, the pitcher sweating, the
crowd ready to see something awesome. He wore no batting gloves. Then Guerrero
would stand there, his body surprisingly upright, his bat high over his
shoulder and waving back and forth, and you could just tell he was itching to
swing at something, anything that came his way — moths, popcorn, air
molecules— and then the pitch would come, and if it was anywhere close,
anywhere in thestadium, he would lift that left leg, and turn his back toward
the pitcher, andhe would swing with purpose, and he would keep both hands on
the bat all theway through the swing and — as often as anyone of his
generation — he wouldcrush the ball. It was so much fun. Somewhere in all o
f it, I think, is why we keep watching.
不過現在先不談名人堂了。我只想回憶一下，Guerrero走進打擊區，投手不停冒汗，觀
眾迫不及待的樣子。他不戴打擊手套。然後他會站在那裡，站得很直，棒子拿到肩膀上
一前一後的擺動，幾乎能感覺到他等不急要巴下去，不管是什麼往他飛來的東西 ─ 蛾
還是爆米花還是空氣分子 ─ 然後球來了，只要是在差不多的地方，只要球還在球場內
，他會抬起左腳，轉身，全力、完整的一揮，然後，結果十之八九都是：球被夯得又高
又遠。真是太棒了。我想，這樣的投打對決裡的某些東西，就是吸引我們一直看球的原
因吧。(全文完)