https://www.mlb.com/news/munetaka-murakami-nearing-home-run-record-in-japan
It's not just Judge: Slugger chasing HR record an ocean away
不只有法官：在大洋的另一側追逐全壘打紀錄的大砲
Jon Paul Morosi is a reporter for MLB.com and MLB Network.
不知道何時MLB記者會幫中職強打者寫報導
The home run chase has become the subject of national fascination, bordering on obsession. The daily count demands front-page coverage. Adoring ovations are the soundtrack of the season as autumn nears.
Munetaka Murakami is a phenomenon, indeed.
村上宗隆是現象級的存在，真der
Wait ... you were expecting someone else?
Oh, right. Aaron Judge and Albert Pujols. Both are on the verge of history, and the joyful tension surrounding them has inverted the natural order of September. When pennant races are at their apex, we tend to check the standings first. Now we ask, “Hey, did Judge or Albert homer yet tonight?”
Thanks to Murakami, our friends and fellow baseball fans in Japan can relate.
由於村上宗隆，日本球迷能對法官、撲吼獅的全壘打追逐產生共感
Murakami, a 22-year-old third baseman, has hit 54 home runs this season for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. With 17 games to play, he’s one homer away from tying the legendary Sadaharu Oh for the most in a season by a Japanese-born player in Nippon Professional Baseball.
還剩17場比賽，村上已幹了54發
“He’s a special human being and everything you want in a superstar,” said Swallows outfielder Patrick Kivlehan, formerly of the Padres, Reds and D-backs. “He’s humble and respectful. He’s still so young, and he’s taken the whole country by storm. There are Murakami jerseys everywhere. People are waiting at hotels just to get a glimpse of him. It’s like playing with a rock star.”
前大聯盟球員的燕子隊洋將表示
村上是個超級巨星
到處都可看到人們穿他的Jersey
他就像個搖滾巨星
Thanks to Murakami, this year’s home run chase is an around-the-clock phenomenon. When Pujols and the Cardinals visit the Padres and Dodgers next week, their games will conclude only a few hours before the Swallows’ typical 5 a.m. ET start time.
Mune, as he’s known in the Swallows clubhouse, is the mirror image of Judge: Murakami bats left-handed. Judge bats right-handed. Murakami plays in Tokyo. Judge plays in New York.
東京、左打的村上，映照紐約、右打的法官
And while one sleeps, the other slugs.
“He’s definitely been hitting Judge-esque tanks,” Swallows starter Cy Sneed, formerly of the Astros, said with admiration. “Neither of them are hitting wall-scrapers.”
燕子隊洋投賽史尼表示
村上就像燕子隊的法官
And for both Murakami and Judge, the most immediate milestone before them is not the NPB or AL/NL single-season record.
While Judge is within range of Roger Maris’ Yankees and American League record of 61, the overall Major League standard of 73 belongs (controversially) to Barry Bonds. Oh’s 55 home runs in 1964 remain the most of any Japanese-born NPB player, but Wladimir Balentien of Curaçao hit 60 for the Swallows in 2013.
對比法官正在追逐的61轟及73轟紀錄
在日本則是王貞治的本土55轟及巴冷天的60轟紀錄
Oh is a mythical figure in Japanese baseball, comparable to Michael Jordan in the pantheon of American icons. For years, many in Japan believed Oh’s mark would not be surpassed. According to multiple accounts, pitchers were encouraged to pitch around opposing hitters as they approached the record.
王貞治在日本棒球界的喬丹
過去很長一段時間
日本人會儘量閃躲紀錄挑戰者讓王的紀錄不要被超越
Two foreign players