http://ppt.cc/OtnZ
Chicago Cubs fans may disagree, but all streaks ultimately come to an end.
On Wednesday night, the Boston Red Sox may fail to sell out Fenway Park
for the first time in nearly a decade.
小熊球迷也許不同意，但所有的連續紀錄終會有結束的一天，這個星期三晚間，將是近
10年來第一次芬威球場沒有賣滿座的比賽。
Including their home opener Monday, the Red Sox have sold out a
major-league-record 794 consecutive games, a streak that dates to the 2003
season, the year before the team ended an 86-year drought and won the
World Series. Since then, rain or shine, freezing temperatures or summer heat,
the Red Sox have sold all 37,000 or so seats at Fenway Park.
包括他們星期一的主場開幕戰在內，紅襪連續滿座的大聯盟紀錄延續到794場比賽，從
04年紅襪結束86年世界大賽冠軍荒的前一年開始，不管刮風下雨還是寒風刺骨甚至烈日
當空，紅襪在芬威球場每場都賣出超過3萬7千張票。
The Red Sox’ streak dwarfs the 455 consecutive sellouts by the
Cleveland Indians in the 1990s, and it is nearly five times as long as
the second-longest current streak, 169 games, by the San Francisco Giants.
(The Philadelphia Phillies’ sellout streak ended last August at 257 games.)
紅襪的紀錄讓1990年代印地安人連續455場滿場的紀錄看起來渺小，不僅如此，他們
更比現役排名第二連續169場滿場的舊金山巨人多了將近五倍。
(費城費城人的紀錄在去年八月結束，停在連續257場滿場)
But even Red Sox fans, who are among the most involved in baseball,
finally have reasons to stay away. The team’s epic collapse in 2011
was followed by a last-place finish last season. The improvements to Fenway
Park, including seats added to the top of the Green Monster, are no longer
a novelty. Ticket prices have pushed up over the years.
但就算是如此熱愛棒球的紅襪迷們也有原因不進場，像2011年的大崩盤讓紅襪去年在
美聯東區墊底，加上芬威球場近年的整修在綠色怪物上新增許多座位，坐在綠色怪物
上看球變得不新鮮了，當然近幾年票價上漲也是原因之一。
Tickets in April are also more difficult to sell because the weather is cooler
and children are in school. Worse, the Red Sox will play 17 home games
this month, a team record for April, making it that much harder to sell every
ticket. The streak may end as soon as the second home game of the season —
Wednesday’s matchup against the Baltimore Orioles — when the Red Sox expect
ticket sales to surpass 30,000, but not reach capacity.
票在四月顯得更難賣了，因為氣候寒冷，小朋友也開學，更糟的是，紅襪這個月有17場
的主場比賽，是隊史在四月的新高，使得要賣完每張票更加困難，紀錄最快會在星期三
面對金鶯的比賽時終止，預估可以賣出3萬張但不到滿場。
Fenway Park’s capacity is 37,493 for night games and a few hundred less during
the day, when some center-field bleacher seats are covered. With standing room,
attendance can hit 39,000. Even so, Fenway Park is considered the third
smallest stadium in baseball, trailed only by those in Oakland, Calif., and in
St. Petersburg, Fla., where the Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays seal off
entire sections because of lackluster ticket sales.
芬威球場在晚間的比賽最多可容納3萬7千4百9十3人，下午場因為中外野觀眾席遮起來
的關係會少幾百個座位，如果加上站票，實際能塞進3萬9千人，就算如此，芬威球場
還是被認為是第三小的棒球場，前兩個分別是奧克蘭運動家和坦帕灣光芒的主場，
因為票銷售不佳的原因，封閉了好幾個區域的座位席。
Regardless of how long it lasts, and how it is defined, the Red Sox’ sellout
streak is the result of a confluence of factors, the most important being a
winning team. When the run began May 15, 2003, with Pedro Martinez beating the
Texas Rangers, 12-3, the team — under a new management group that featured
Lucchino, the owners John Henry and Tom Werner and General Manager
Theo Epstein — was embarking on a long run of strong baseball that included
World Series titles in 2004 and 2007.
不論這個紀錄能持續多久，又或者是如何定義滿場，紅襪的連續滿場是許多綜合因素
匯集起來的結果，最重要的當然是成為一支常勝軍，從03年5月15日紀錄開始的那場比賽
起，Pedro Martinez主投，紅襪以12比3打敗德州遊騎兵，整支球隊也有全新的管理團隊
John Henry,Theo Epstein等人讓這支球隊成為具有競爭力的強隊，也分別在04年和
07年拿下世界大賽冠軍。
Lucchino said season-ticket renewal rates were 88 percent to 90 percent
this year, down from about 95 percent in recent years.
Lucchino說季票續約比率從近幾年的95%掉到88~90%。
“We hope to really thank them with a decent season,” he said of Red Sox fans.
“That would be the best thank you of all.”
"我希望今年可以以一個像樣的球季來回報球迷，這是感謝球迷最好的方法。"