王建民

<轉載自PTT 王板 limoki>



Bombers leading with their Chien

Rookie tries on Red Sox for size



BY ANTHONY McCARRON

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER



John Cox had watched Chien-Ming Wang pitch twice in a college tournament

in Taiwan, but the scout was supposed to fly to Osaka, Japan, before

the end of Wang's tournament to look at accomplished Japanese prospects.

But Wang's smooth delivery, his "big, great body," and the way he got

stingier when runners reached base tugged at the Yankees' Pacific Rim

scout and he stayed to watch the righthander finish the tournament.



John Cox當年來台灣看了王建民在春季聯賽的兩場比賽，而在聯賽結束前，他原

本應該是要飛到大阪觀察日本的新秀。但是因為王建民那順暢的投球動作、高壯

的身材，以及壘上有人時他沈著的態度，使得洋基球探對他產生濃厚的興趣，並

留下來看完王建民在聯賽的比賽。



"I said the hell with it, I'll see those other guys another time.

Thank God I did," Cox says now, chuckling.



「我當時心裡還咒罵這麼一來還得另外找時間去日本一趟」「謝謝老天爺，幸好

我那時留下來了」Cox笑著這麼說。



Wang pitched tremendously and Cox knew the 6-foot-3, then-20-year-old

could be a prospect. In one sequence, his teammates made two errors

behind him, with Wang's Physical Education College team in Taipei,

clinging to a 1-0 lead. Wang struck out the next two hitters to

escape. His fastball had been clocked most of the game at 88-90 miles

per hour. During the threat, he threw several at 94, Cox says.



王建民當時投的非常好，Cox馬上知道這個6呎3吋，即將滿20歲的小伙子極具潛

力。Cox說，有一場比賽，王建民北體的隊友發生了兩次失誤，當時，球隊僅僅

以1：0領先，而他馬上三振了接下來的兩位打者，解決了那個危機。當時，他的

快速球一般大約在88～90英哩間，但是面對危機，他卻投出好幾球94英哩的速球。



Afterward, Cox followed Wang out to the parking lot to get a better

look at him. "I can't speak to him, but I'm going to get up closer,

see how big his hands are, see how big he really is. I'm thinking,

'Wow, this is better than I thought,' " Cox recalls. Wang was bigger

than pretty much every other player at the tournament. Cox asked

Gordon Blakeley, then the Yankees' director of international scouting,

to scout Wang's next start in three days. About a month later, after

some international intrigue, Wang was a Yankee.



後來，Cox為了好好的觀察王建民，於是在賽後跟著他到了外頭的停車場，Cox

回憶道：「我雖然無法和他交談，但我想要更近距離的看看他的手有多大、身材

有多壯，親眼見到之後，我當時想『哇，這甚至比我想的還要更好』」。王建民

比當時聯賽中其他的球員都更高大。Cox要求後來的洋基太平洋區球探主管Gordon

Blakeley在三天後王建民的再次先發時來看看他的投球，一個月之後，經歷了一

場國際性的搶人大戰，王建民最後穿上了洋基的球衣。



Fast-forward five years and one shoulder surgery later and the

25-year-old Wang is unexpectedly one of the most vital members of the

Yankee pitching staff. Summoned out of the minors in April as the Yanks

tried to patch up an ailing rotation, Wang has become perhaps their

most consistent starter and wowed his teammates with his soft-spoken

poise.



我們把時間快速推移到五年後以及中間經歷一次肩膀手術的現在，25歲的王建民

，在所有人都沒有預期到的情況下，成為洋基先發投手群中最重要的一個角色，

為了填補洋基殘破的先發投手陣容，他在今年四月從3A被召上大聯盟，目前不僅

或許是已成為陣中最穩定的先發投手，也讓隊友們對他優雅冷靜的態度大表讚嘆。



The Yankees still have injury problems among their starters, so Wang

figures to be just as important in the second half of the season and

could challenge for the American League's Rookie of the Year award.

Joe Torre tabbed him to start the Yanks' second game after the All-Star

break, Friday at Fenway, in the cauldron of the Yankee-Red Sox rivalry.



洋基的先發投手群仍然為傷所困中，所以預料王建民下半季時在陣中的角色將一

樣的重要，甚至還有機會角逐今年的美聯新人王。Torre已經排定他在明星賽後

的第二場比賽先發主投，將在本週五於強大的壓力下在Fenway球場對上紅襪隊。



While Wang's teammates know plenty about his ability, several said they

know little about him. Wang spends most of his clubhouse time alone,

sitting at his locker when he is not working out. Wang's first language

is Mandarin, but he has worked on his English and is confident enough

to both conduct a brief interview with a reporter and communicate with

catchers about pitching mechanics and game situations.



儘管他的隊友清楚他在場上所具備的能力，但也表示對於私底下的王建民瞭解並

不多。沒出賽時，他在休息室裡多數都是獨自坐在衣物櫃旁。王建民的母語雖是

中文，不過他正在努力加強英文能力當中，目前他已經有自信能夠以英語回答記

者的訪談，在場上時也能夠和捕手溝通投球動作以及場上的狀況。



"I don't really know much about him," said catcher John Flaherty. "But

the communication factor has not been an issue with him if you talk

slowly. Off the mound, though the conversations aren't intense. You can

joke around with him. He's a good teammate."



洋基捕手Flaherty表示：「我對他瞭解的並不多」「雖然在場下他的話不多，不

過如果講的慢一些，跟他溝通並不會是一個問題，你還可以開他的玩笑，是一個

很好的隊友。」



Wang nearly didn't become a Yankee, which is where the international

intrigue comes in.



在當年那一場國際爭奪戰中，王建民差一點就不是今天你我都知道的洋基人。



Before he completed his deal, Wang was sitting in his home in Tainan,

Taiwan, wearing a Seattle Mariners cap. His parents wore Mariner caps,

too. The Mariners are the only team with an area scout in Taiwan,

according to Seattle's director of Pacific Rim operations, Ted Heid,

and they were confident they were going to sign the pitcher they began

following in high school, long before other teams.



就在交易即將底定前，王建民坐在台南家中時已經是帶著水手隊的帽子，甚至連

他的雙親也是。水手隊是唯一在台灣設有球探的球隊，據水手隊太平洋區球探事

務的主管Ted Heid說，他們當時很有把握即將要簽下王建民，他們從他高中時就

一直追蹤注意這個投手，比其他球隊早了很多。



Eight other teams were interested, including the Dodgers, the Braves

and the Red Sox, but they shied away when they heard about the Mariners'

offer, which Heid says "was on the north side of one million, by quite

a bit." But while Wang seemed ready to join the Seattle organization,

his first agent wasn't done shopping around.



當時還有另外八支球隊對王建民有興趣，包含了道奇、勇士、紅襪等，但在他們

聽到Heid提出的價碼至少在一百萬美元以上後就陸續退縮了，就在王建民看來已

經準備成為水手的一員時，他那時的第一個經紀人卻並未停止推銷阿民。



"There were other teams that had scouted him, but no one else was close,

" Heid says. "We thought we had him done. While we were close, the

agent got involved and said (to the Yankees), 'Here's the Mariners'

offer, can you beat it?'



Heid說：「當時還有其他球隊也在注意他，但沒人像我們那麼接近他」「我們認

為我們已經得到他了，就在那時，他的經紀人介入了這件事，並且告訴洋基：『

這是水手隊出的價碼，你們能不能比他們高？』」



"Gordon (Blakeley) made it clear that he wasn't going to lose this guy.

We knew we couldn't compete, so we bowed out gracefully and flew home.



「Gordon（洋基球探主管）很明確的表示他一定要得到王建民，我們知道我們無

法爭的過洋基，於是我們只有退出這場爭奪戰」。



"It's a classic, the Yankees win. And my hat's off to them."



「這是很典型的結果，就是洋基獲勝，而我們只能在一旁託帽致敬。」



The Yankees say they signed Wang for $1.9 million, though Heid says

the package that beat the Mariners was closer to $2.12 million,

including money for Wang's education. Originally, Cox thought the

Yankees could get Wang for $1 million.



洋基表示他們花費了190萬美元簽下王建民，不過Heid說洋基最後擊敗對手的全

部價碼大約接近212萬美元之譜，包含支付王建民的全部學費。但Cox原先認為洋

基約只需100萬美元就可以得到王建民了。



"To be honest," Heid says, "he's a much better pitcher now than I

ever projected. He commands both sides of the plate with his two-seam

fastball. We thought he'd just be a guy with a slider, but he's been

better than that. He's taken advantage of his opportunity because of

his poise."



Heid表示：「老實說，王建民比我看過其他任何的新人都來的更好，他能把他的

two-seam速球控在好球帶的兩側，我們原先以為他大概是個不錯的slider投手，

但他似乎比那還要更好，而因為他冷靜的特質，讓他在機會來臨時更加具有優勢

」。



Wang's poise is the first thing that Torre and Flaherty talk about.

Flaherty worked almost exclusively with young pitchers while catching

for Tampa Bay and says Wang's cool is unusual and helps him make

adjustments if he struggles early in a game.



王建民的冷靜是Torre和Flaherty在談到他時最先提到的一點。Flaherty還在Tampa

Bay當捕手時，專門與年輕投手配合，他說王建民的冷靜實在是非常的少見。假如

比賽不久王建民就陷入困境，他總是幫王建民迅速的調整狀況。



"I don't think people realize how difficult that is for young pitchers,

" Flaherty says. "Even if his stuff isn't good, he can compete. That's

something you see a veteran, like (Mike) Mussina, do."



Flaherty說：「我不認為其他人知道這對一個年輕投手來說有多困難」「即使他

狀況不佳，還是能夠與對手周旋，這是像Mussina這樣的老手才做得的到的事」。



Wang says he doesn't know where the calm comes from. "I just think of

pitching," he says. "If you give up a hit, you think of the next batter

and try to get him out."



王建民說他不曉得他冷靜的特質是因何而來，「我腦中只想著投球」「如果被打

出安打，我想的就是如何解決下一個打者」。



Perhaps he's unfazed because he has pitched on big stages. As a member

of Taiwan's national team, he has pitched with an entire country

watching. Lawmakers recently urged citizens to E-mail the Yankees and

ask for Wang to remain in the rotation when injured pitchers return.



也許是因為他曾歷經一些大比賽使得他毫無所懼，做為中華隊的一員，他經常都

是在全台矚目的情況下投球。最近，台灣的立法委員還發起一人一信給洋基的活

動，要求當洋基陣中那些受傷的投手回來時，也能讓王繼續留在大聯盟的先發輪

值中。



"The times he pitched on the national team, the games were on TV and

everyone there was watching," says Wang's current agent, Alan Chang.

"The whole country is proud of him."



王建民現在的經紀人Alan Chang說，「每次他代表中華隊出賽時，每個人都會盯

著電視上的轉播」「全國民眾都以他為榮。」



"The time difference between here and there is 12 hours, so when he

pitches for the Yankees at 7 p.m., the games are on television in the

train stations. People are late to work on the days he starts."



「台灣和紐約兩地的時差是12小時，當王建民在紐約時間當地下午七點出賽時，

正是台灣的上班時間，人們為了看他出賽的轉播而遲到。」



Wang thought he'd spend his entire career in Taiwan. Playing in the

pro league at home was all he wanted when he started playing

competitively at 11. "But I signed with the Yankees and I liked the

style of American baseball," Wang says. "My college coach told me the

Yankees were America's top team."



王建民以前認為他的一生將在台灣度過，當他11歲開始投球時，唯一的企盼就是

將來能在台灣的職棒舞台出賽，「但當簽約來到洋基後，我發現我很喜歡美國的

棒球文化」「我大學的教練告訴我洋基是美國最頂尖的球隊」王建民這樣說。



That started him on the odyssey that has him in the majors. He missed

the entire 2001 season because of shoulder surgery, something that

shocked most in the organization, given his clean and easy delivery.

He also had a shoulder strain in 2003.



這也讓他開始踏上追求大聯盟的漫長旅途。因為肩膀動手術，讓他錯過2001年一

整年的球季，這件事同時也震驚了球團許多人，但手術結果卻在未來讓他能更俐

落、輕鬆的投球；而在2003年時，他也經歷過肩膀的拉傷。



But he overcame the injuries to be in a position to help the Yankees

when they needed it. Now he's easing into life as a Yankee. He had his

wife of nearly two years, Chia-Ling Wu, live in an apartment in New

Jersey. Asked if he's adjusting, he says, "Sometimes when you're

driving, you get lost."



但他戰勝了手術，在洋基需要他的時候，在先發陣容裡佔有一席之地。現在，他

更融入在洋基的生活，結婚將近兩年，他目前和老婆吳嘉玲住在New Jersey的公

寓中，被問到他是否已經適應這一切，他回答：「開車有時會迷路啦...。」



Wang often relaxes by watching DVDs. "Scary movies," he says, smiling.

On a recent Yankee off-day, he and his wife went to Times Square. "It

reminded me of Taiwan," he says.



王建民通常都是藉著看DVD來放鬆自己，「主要是驚悚片」，他笑著說。在休息

日時，他和他美麗的老婆會來到紐約的時代廣場，王建民說：「因為這裡讓我想

起台灣」。



"Being in New York, he's starting to feel more comfortable," says Neil

Allen, the Yankee bullpen coach who was Wang's pitching coach last year

at Triple-A Columbus. "I think when he first came over here, he might

have been lonely. But years have gone by, his English has gotten better

and there are so many different cultures in New York.



洋基的牛棚教練，同時也是去年王建民在3A時的投手教練Neil Allen說：「在紐

約，他已經覺得越來越自在舒服了」「我想，當他第一次來到這裡時可能會覺得

寂寞，不過這麼多年過去了，他的英文也越來越好了，而且在紐約有那麼多不同

的文化匯集。」



"If you can come through Norwich, Connecticut and Tampa and Columbus,

this is a cakewalk."



「如果你能一路熬過Norwich、Connecticut、Tampa、Columbus，那在這裡不會有

什麼問題的。」



Originally published on July 13, 2005