美國雅虎新聞
http://t.cn/REBpoHa
They want to be wrong. For the sake of baseball, they want Shohei Ohtani to
blossom into a true two-way player, a starting pitcher extraordinaire and
power-hitting dynamo, a multinational marketing sensation. They want their
eyes – the ones that have seen Ohtani this spring and believe he cannot hit
at the major league level today – to be lying.
他們希望這是錯的：以棒球之神的名義阿，他們希望大谷翔平以真正的二刀流在大聯盟
生存。他們希望大谷是一位特別厲害的先發投手，並且也是一位Power型打者，成為
投手市場以及打者市場的轟動。他們希望他們在春訓時看到大谷的打擊後了解到他的打擊
無法在大聯盟生存的這件事情是假的。
Only here are eight major league scouts, seven of whom have seen Ohtani this
spring, and the reports they shared with Yahoo Sports sound almost identical.
They acknowledge his raw power and uncommon speed. They also believe major
league pitchers are going to punish him with inside fastballs, that his swing
contains flaws in balance and mechanics, and that he needs at least 500 plate
appearances of seasoning in the minor leagues to give him a chance at
becoming a productive major league hitter.
這裡有八位大聯盟球探，其中的七位球探跟我們分享的報告幾乎雷同。他們了解到大谷的
強打Power以及不同凡響的速度。他們也認為大聯盟投手會用內角速球教訓大谷，且大谷
在揮棒中的平衡機制中有著瑕疵，需要至少在小聯盟裡500個打席後才能讓他
成為有效率的大聯盟打者。
And for anyone other than the 23-year-old, that would be all well and good.
Except the Los Angeles Angels not only have Ohtani slotted in their starting
rotation, they have rejiggered it to accommodate his transition to Major
League Baseball, moving to a six-man staff. While they could theoretically
pull the ripcord on that and start Ohtani in the minor leagues – the rest of
their starting pitchers have thrown on the standard four days’ rest this
spring – the prospect of a player as hyped as any in years starting the
season in Salt Lake City is farfetched.
對其他23歲的年輕人來說，在小聯盟500個打席很OK。但天使隊沒那個空間。他們不只把
大谷放在先發投手輪值上，他們還特地為了大谷在場上扮演的腳色，搞了一個六人輪值
名單。當然，他們可以對大谷的策略踩剎車，並且把他丟到小聯盟再出發(讓其他的先發
投手在這春天都正常的投一休四)。但一位展望值直破天際的選手要從鹽湖城開季出發，
這很牽強。
Which leaves them with a bit of a conundrum – a first-world problem, yes,
but a challenge nevertheless: If Ohtani really does struggle at the plate as
evaluators expect, how long of a leash do the Angels offer until encouraging
him to focus on pitching, where scouts see frontline talent?
這讓他們有了不小的難題(儘管是個美麗的負擔，但總是一個挑戰)：如果大谷真
如這些球探所言，在打擊區上打不出來。那天使隊要給多少機會後才要鼓勵他專心投球
就好？至少球探認為他的投球有著不錯的才能。
Certainly the Angels don’t intend to make any substantive proclamations
after 14 plate appearances this spring. They signed Ohtani for $2.5 million,
plus a $20 million posting fee, following a frenzied bidding process and want
to kid-glove him as much as possible. Here’s the thing: It’s not the one
hit in 11 at-bats (with three walks) that’s any concern to scouts – spring
training is the home of grain-of-salt numbers – as much as what they saw in
those times at the plate that gives them pause so quickly.
當然，天使隊在春訓中這14個打席後絕對不會作任何表態。他們在瘋狂標價中殺出，
用250萬鎂簽了大谷，外加2000萬鎂的入札費。他們想要好好地照顧他。重點來了：
1-11外加三個保送的表現，對球探來說沒有什麼意義，因為本來春訓就是成績看看就好。
球探而言，較有意義的是那些打席中讓球探中看到並且很快的停下手邊的筆記的情形。
One evaluator, who is familiar with Ohtani after watching all of his plate
appearances from recent seasons in Japan, believes the biggest issue stems
from the quality of the pitches in Japan vs. MLB. It was illustrated in a
recent at-bat against Zack Godley, the Arizona Diamondbacks starter who
backed Ohtani off the plate with a front-door sinker for a strike, then
finished him with two curveballs, the last of which Ohtani flailed through.
其中一位跟大谷很熟的球探在看完他在日本這幾年的打席後，認為最大的差別是日本跟
大聯盟的球質不同。以蛇蛇先發Zack Godley為例：他先塞一顆內角伸卡讓他
後退幾步，再來兩顆曲球解決他。最後一顆大谷揮了個大空棒。
Another scout at the game focused on how Ohtani moved his 6-foot-4, 220-pound
body – and while he believes Ohtani can be a good hitter with time, there
were obvious issues. He did not, the scout said, hit from a balanced base.
His front hip leaked out during his swing. He needed to cheat on inside
fastballs, leaving him susceptible to a spate of other pitches. He showed a
heavy top-hand swing, which is not necessarily a problem – Bryce Harper,
like Ohtani a left-handed swinger and right-handed thrower, focuses intensely
on his top-hand movement – but as presently constituted with Ohtani could
cause a significant number of rollover groundouts, according to the scout.
另外一位球探專注在大谷如何運用他6呎4，220磅的身材。他認為大谷在時間磨練後能
夠成為好打者，但大谷有著明顯的問題。球探認為，大谷沒有用平衡的機制打
球。他的臀部都會竄出去，讓他對其他一連串的球路都感到疑惑。他依賴球棒的上手
揮棒，而這不一定是問題。Harper跟大谷一樣是左打右投，也是很重上手揮棒，但大谷的
揮棒會使得他打出一堆滾地出局。
Like the evaluator, he took a more universal view of the pitch selection
Ohtani will see. It’s not just the sinkers. Heavy, hard-spinning curveballs
are particularly rare in Japan, where the strikeout pitch of choice is a
split-fingered fastball, and the curve’s rebirth in MLB recently makes for
at least two pitches that could pose particular trouble for Ohtani.
他對大谷的選球採一個比較全面性的探討。除了伸卡球之外，球質重並且轉速快的曲球
在日本來說非常罕見。對日本來說，他們比較喜歡用快速指叉球來三振對手。而大聯盟
最近的曲球熱讓大谷變得至少有兩種球路對他而言是威脅。
“He’s basically like a high school hitter because he’s never seen a good
curveball,” the scout said. “He’s seen fastballs and changeups. And you’
re asking a high school hitter to jump to the major leagues?”
「他基本上哩，就是個高中打者罷了。他從沒看過好的曲球。他看過快速球跟
變速球，阿你要這種高中打者直接去大聯盟打球？？？」
With any other player, the remedy is obvious: Allow him to prepare for what’
s to come against lower-level players. With the Angels intent on winning this
year, they could find themselves in something of a Catch-22 with Ohtani. His
greatest gift – his right arm – might be the thing that prevents him from
fulfilling his desire to be a true two-way player.
對其他球員而言，補救方法很明顯：讓他去準備跟層級較低的選手對打。天使如果今年
想贏，大谷翔平對他們來說真的是個進退維谷的難題。他最好的天分，也就是他的右手，
也許會成為阻止他成為二刀流慾望的原因之一。
“You don’t learn on the job in the major leagues,” another scout said. “
You can’t.”
另外一位球探說「在大聯盟裡，沒人在做中學的啦，而且你也不能邊做邊學。」
Pitching in the major leagues is hard enough, something Ohtani is learning
quickly. The Tijuana Toros, a Mexican League team, lit him up for six runs in
three innings on Friday afternoon. He allowed a monster first-inning home run
to Dustin Martin, a 33-year-old who topped out at Triple-A. He gave up a pair
more in the second inning. By the third, his fastball velocity dipped as low
as 90 mph, a bit of a surprise but not worth alarm at this point in the
spring.
在大聯盟投球已經夠難了，這大谷很快地就知道了。他對上Tijuana Toros，一個墨聯的
隊伍，結果三局就打了他六分。他被Dustin Martin(最高到3A的球員而已)尻一隻超大
的全壘打，也在第二局又再掉兩分。第三局時他的直球掉到剩90mile，雖然有點小意外
，但這個春訓來說這已經不算啥了。
Ohtani has enough to worry about already. He said the most difficult part of
his transition is getting used to a schedule with no days off – and should
he play designated hitter two or three times a week, as is the plan, that
only exacerbates the intricacy of his days. Each facet of the game takes
incredible amounts of work. There’s a reason no one has done both.
大谷要擔心的東西已經夠多了。他說來美國最難的就是要適應沒有假日的行程
。如果照他計畫中一個禮拜打兩到三次DH，這只會加劇他的負擔。一場棒球，無論什麼
方面、什麼職位，都需要很大的付出。這也是沒人能夠二刀流的原因。
When asked which side of his game was further along, Ohtani said: “About the
same progress-wise. Hitting-wise, adjusting isn’t going to be as big as
pitching.” The major league ball and mound are different, he said. He did
not mention anything about the major league arms, which evaluators believe to
be a far greater concern.
當問到大谷哪方面的狀況改善得比較多時，他回答「都差不多。打擊的話，調整不會
像投球方面一樣要大改。大聯盟的用球跟投手丘都不同。」他並沒有提到評估員們想的
：大聯盟的手臂。他們認為大聯盟的手臂對大谷來說可能才是比較大的挑戰。
Ohtani’s confidence in his bat is admirable, and perhaps he is the rare sort
who can adjust on the fly, whose talent is overwhelming enough to change
perceptions overnight. Special players do special things.
大谷對他的打擊自信令人佩服，也許他是那種才能高到能夠一個晚上就改過來，邊打邊
調整的球員。特別的球員總是會做特別的事情，對吧。
“That’s true,” an American League scout said, “but I don’t know if
anyone is that special.”
一位美聯球探說：「對阿，這是真的。但我不認為真有人那麼特別。」
備註：
1.這我翻的，有錯幫我指正一下，感恩
2.美國春訓打到現在就把大谷噴爆了QQ但我認為這只是春訓，很多人都在調整。Trout
也打不好阿～～No mind No mind