來源: The New York Times
網址: https://tinyurl.com/y7mvt2a6
Tossing a Baseball to Fans Isn’t So Simple Anymore. Some Players Like That.
要把球丟給球迷不再是件簡單的事 有些球員還挺喜歡的
Before the start of a half-inning, Yankees first baseman Greg Bird routinely
ends up with the infielders’ warm-up ball and a decision that has become a
lot more complicated lately: Which fan will get a souvenir, and how? A soft
toss to a child near the dugout is no longer an option.
在每個半局開始之前，洋基一壘手Greg Bird通常是拿到內野手大家暖身完後的那顆球的球
員，要如何處理這顆暖身球在最近變得有點難處理：哪個球迷可以拿到這顆球？如何給呢？
因為要像以前把球輕鬆丟給在休息區旁邊的小球迷已經不再是個選擇。
That moment of connection between fan and player, one of baseball’s
cherished rituals, has been disrupted by the expanded protective netting now
in all 30 major league parks.
那個串起球員跟粉絲的時刻，那個棒球比賽裡大家很珍惜的儀式，已經被球場上擴大設置
的保護網給干擾了。
“The nets, they really just throw a wrinkle in it,” Bird said. “The people
closest to you are harder to get the ball to. I get supernervous trying to
throw it over those nets, especially if the kid’s in the first couple of
rows. The net kind of angles, so you can get it over to them, but it just
looks weird.”
「放個保護網真的是添麻煩，」Bird說。「那些離你最近的人反而更難拿到球。當我試著
要把球丟過網子的時候，我超級緊張的，尤其是要丟給在前幾排的小朋友的時候。那個網
子有個角度，是可以把球丟過去，但是看起來真的怪。」
He had no complaints, though. Nor did the more than a dozen other players
interviewed for this article, who all praised the changes in the safety
netting, which as of this season stretches to at least the far end of every
dugout. (Some teams, including the Mets and the Yankees, have extended their
netting down the outfield lines.)
但是他沒抱怨，其他十幾個在這篇文章裡接受訪問的球員也沒有，大家都對這個球季延伸
保護網到休息區這措施表示讚許。(有些球隊，包括梅子跟洋基，甚至延伸到外野區)
The players had seen too many fans, including young children, hit by
screaming foul balls and flying broken bats over the last few years. So they
welcomed the change and gladly adapted their methods of distributing souvenir
balls. Some even relished the challenge.
球員們在過去幾年看到太多球迷，包括一些小朋友，被高速的界外球或是斷棒打到。所以
對這樣的保護措施，球員們都很歡迎，他們也很樂意的配合改變他們給紀念球的方法，有
些球員甚至喜歡上這樣的挑戰。
“There’s a lot of strategy,” Bird said with a smile, using air quotes on
the word “strategy.”
「有很多"策略"可以用，」Bird在講的時候，面帶微笑，在講"策略"的時候雙手比了個引
號的手勢。
There are at least 17 inning-ending, final-out balls to be handed out at
every game, not to mention the ones used in warm-ups. When protective screens
covered only the area behind home plate, players flipped a large share of the
balls right above the dugout, a premium seating area.
每一場至少有17個半局，最後出局數的那顆球會給出去，更不要說在半局之間的暖身球。
所以當保護網只有在本壘區後方的時候，球員會把大部分的球丟給在休息區後方的觀眾
席，也就是高級座位區。
Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt said he used to roll the ball
across the dugout roof to a first-row resident at home games, but now he
walks to the far right edge of the team’s third-base dugout, where the
netting ends.
響尾蛇一壘手Paul Goldschmidt說他以前會在主場打球的時候，會直接把球用滾的，直接
從休息區屋頂滾給第一排的觀眾，但是現在他要跑到休息區末端，網子沒延伸到那裡的三
壘休息區邊邊給球迷。
Some players seek gaps in the netting, learning the variations in each
stadium. Young fans learn, too, often running over to the openings between
innings.
有些球員則會觀察每個球場的差別，去找網子之間的空隙，一些小球迷也學會觀察這現
象，會在攻守交換的時候跑去網子的空隙準備接球。
Players also loop the ball over the netting, giving fans farther back a shot.
The result, players say, is a democratization in the distribution of
souvenirs.
一些球員也會把球丟超過網子，讓比較後排的觀眾也有機會。也因此，一些球員說，這也
算是一種給紀念球的"民主化"。
“It’s just spreading the love now,” Andrew Romine, a utility player for
the Seattle Mariners, said. “Now the people a little bit farther back can
get a ball between innings.”
「現在就是把愛分享出去，」水手隊工具人球員Andrew Romine說到。「現在一些比較後排
的觀眾也可以在局間轉換的時候拿到球。」
The over-the-netting method also takes some pressure off players to choose a
recipient.
把球丟過網子的方式也讓球員減少了決定要把球丟給哪個觀眾的壓力。
“Actually it’s pretty cool — you just launch it up,” Red Sox first
baseman Steve Pearce said earlier this season, when he was still with the
Blue Jays. “Now you’re not singling out a single person. Now it’s like: ‘
You guys want a ball? Here you go.’ ”
「事實上這很棒