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Accidental villain
无心的罪人
By Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports
August 17, 2007
Back in Morning Sun, Iowa, they didn't teach baseball pitchers to aim for
the corners of home plate. If you were born with the kind of arm that could
put a dent in the barn, the kind that God loved to bestow on country boys,
the ethos was simple.
来到爱荷华州路易西安那郡的初阳市，有件事您该知道，在这里打棒球
，人们不会要投手“对着本垒板边边投”。如果，你得天独厚，拥有强
健的臂膀，只要知道一件事就好。
"I just went out and threw hard," Jack Hamilton says. "That's all I knew
enough to do."
“我就是使尽吃奶的力气投，我想这样就够了”，这是 Jack Hamilton 说的。
Imagine Hamilton's amazement when, in 1967, he started to control his pitches.
As a rookie with Philadelphia five years earlier, Hamilton led the National
League in walks and wild pitches, a 95-mph fastball his wild horse. Of all
the things to help Hamilton tame himself, learning the spitball – an illegal
pitch in which he lubed up the horsehide with a sheen of phlegm, sending it
tumbling like a dive bomber – somehow did the job.
试着在脑海里描绘 Hamilton 一九六七年的神气模样，那时，他刚刚开始
学会控制自己的天赋。五年前（一九六二年）刚刚加入费城天使队的他
，在联盟“保送”与“暴投”榜上独占鳌头，威名远播的是时速九十五
英哩、有如脱缰野马般的快速球。在所有 Hamilton 尝试过的方法中，有
一项最能帮助他掌握手中球儿的去向－被认为是违规的 Spitball（口水球
），他会把些许口水抹在球上，然后，狠狠的把球扔出去，看着球像俯
冲轰炸机一样冲向本垒。
"I was throwing excellent," Hamilton says. "I was finally starting to get
the ball over the plate."
他说：“那时候我投得相当出色，我终于开始找到控球的诀窍，球也终
于开始往本垒板跑了。”
Hamilton sits in his office in Branson, Mo., kitsch capital of the United
States. A vacation in 1986 convinced him to pack up all his stuff in
Burlington, Iowa, and retire there with his wife to open a restaurant.
Little did he know Branson would turn into a Midwest tourist trap and
encourage visitors from so many places. New York, he says, and Los Angeles,
and Dallas, and, yes, Boston.
此刻的他坐在地处密苏里州布兰森市的办公室内。一九八六年，他在度假
期间发现了此地，这里的好气氛让他把家当打包，与太太一起从爱荷华州
伯灵顿搬过来，开了餐厅。当时，他还不知道日后此地会变成美国中部的
观光胜地，吸引来自纽约、洛杉矶、达拉斯、波士顿的游客。
When tour buses from the Northeast roll into Branson, Hamilton readies
himself.The baseball memorabilia on the walls of the restaurant invites
the first round of questions, and after a few, Hamilton's name comes up,
and when it does, he hears what he has heard now for 40 years.
当游览车列队准备开进布兰森市时， Hamliton 总会做好准备。墙上各式关
于棒球的摆饰物会引来第一波的问题，几个回合后，Hamilton 的名字开始
被提起，接着，他会听到一个已经有四十年历史的老问题。。
"Are you the Jack Hamilton?"
你是“那个” Jack Hamilton 吗？
The Jack Hamilton who hit Tony Conigliaro, they mean, though they wouldn't
dare take Tony C's name in vain like that. He was a deity in Boston, where
they will never forget the day, 40 years ago Saturday, when Hamilton felled
him with a fastball flush on the left side of his face. As Conigliaro writhed
on the ground, blood spilling from his nose and mouth and ears, Hamilton
walked toward the plate before his catcher, Buck Rodgers, shooed him away
to spare him from the carnage.
问题其实是“你是那个砸伤 Tony Conigliaro 的 Jack Hamilton 吗？”当然，
Tony C.的大名绝对不是刻意被遗漏。他可是波士顿的“神”，人们永远
不会忘记，四十年前的那个周六，Hamilton 把球直接投到他的脸上。当
Conigliaro 扭曲著身体在地上打滚时，血从他的鼻子、嘴巴还有耳朵中流
出。Hamilton 走向本垒板，却被自己的队友、捕手 Buck Rodgers 给叉开，
让他逃过被围殴的命运。
So standing in the middle of the field at Fenway Park, a fallen star before
him, a stunned crowd around him, Hamilton turned introspective, the only safe
place he knew. He had hit just one batter that season. He wouldn't hit
another after Conigliaro. And it all made him wonder the same thing that has
haunted him for four decades.
那一刻，他站在芬威球场中央，眼前是一个倒地不起的明星球员，周围是
被吓呆了的观众。此后，Hamilton 躲到自己的世界，躲到一个他确定很安
全的地方。那一季，他只有投出一次触身球。他当然也不会对着 Conigliaro
投出第二次。而过了四十年，这一切还是让他摸不著头绪。
How did it happen?
到底是怎么回事？
"No one," Hamilton says, "lets me forget it."
Hamilton 说：“没有一个人愿意放我一马，让我有机会忘记这件事。”
***
Every kid who grows up in Boston learns the story of Tony C, and for many
it's their first taste of sadness and broken dreams. At first, it sounds
like a fairy tale: the local boy, a product of St. Mary's High in Lynn,
starts his first game withthe Red Sox as a 19-year-old and hits the first
pitch he sees for a home run. He leads the American League in home runs the
next season, smacks 100 homers quicker than anyone in history, slays girls
with his brown eyes the size of drink coasters, dates sexpot Mamie Van Doren,
cruises the city in a Corvette, records a few songs and is well on his way
to becoming one of the greatest baseball players anyone saw.
每个在波士顿长大的孩子都听过 Tony C. 的故事，而对于许多人来说，这
是他们生命中第一个关于悲伤与梦碎的故事。一开始，像是个童话故事，
一个在当地长大的孩子，读的是大家都知道的圣玛莉高中，十九岁加入红
袜队，第一场比赛他就把投手投过来的第一颗球打成全垒打。隔年，他在
美国联盟全垒打榜上夺冠，比历史上所有选手都还先击出第１００发全垒
打，用他清澈的大眼迷倒无数女孩，与艳星 Mamie Van Doren 传绯闻，开
著雪佛兰轿车，还灌录过唱片。他完全是个未来巨星的雏形。
And then Jack Hamilton shows up.
然后，Jack Hamilton 走进了故事中。
In the retelling, Hamilton was the Big Bad Wolf. By the fourth inning, the
California Angels right-hander had allowed just one hit, a single in
Conigliaro's first at-bat. Hamilton lorded over the mound, ominous wisps
of smoke curling in the outfield, remnants of the smoke bomb a fan lobbed
onto the field two batters earlier. Conigliaro stepped in and leaned over
the plate, the alpha dog marking his territory. Hamilton had a reputation
for coming inside with his pitches. Tony C spat on reputations.
在人们口中，Hamilton 就是大野狼。比赛当时进行到第四局，加州天使队
的投手 Hamilton 只被击出过一支安打，正是 Conigliaro 在第一个打席所击
出的。Hamilton 基本上是完全压制了对手，外野刮起了怪风，似乎象征的
什么，观众丢进场的纸屑在场上漫无目的的飘着。Conigliaro 踏进打击区
，往投手丘望过去，这个地盘是他的。Hamilton 靠着敢投内侧出名。
Tony C. 最不吃谁靠什么出名这套。
The first pitch was a fastball, the pre-'67 kind. Hamilton lost it high and
tight. Tony C hesitated. A 95-mph fastball arrives at the plate in around
four-tenths of a second. When Tony C moved, his helmet, without an earflap,
rustled loose. The ball smashed into Conigliaro and thudded to the ground,
its impact absorbed by his face.
第一球是快速球，一九六七年代的那种快速球。Hamilton 失手，球飞得过
高又太靠打者，Tony C. 愣了一下，这颗九十五英哩的快速球只花了十分
之四秒就已经贴近他的脸。当 Tony C. 做出本能反应时，他那没有耳罩的
头盔离了位。球直接砸中 Conigliaro 的脸，碰一声的落到地上，所有的冲
击都集中在脸上。
"He didn't stagger at all," Hamilton says. "He went straight down."
Hamilton 说：“他直接倒地，哼都没哼一声。”
The beaning fractured Conigliaro's cheekbone, dislocated his jaw and caused
a cyst to form behind his left eye, which some teammates were afraid had
fallen out of the socket. Conigliaro said he thought he was going to die.
He was rushed to the hospital. The Red Sox seethed in their dugout, big
George Scott pointing his bat at Hamilton, poised to avenge his friend.
Conigliaro 的颊骨碎掉，下颚脱臼，左眼后方并发囊肿，许多队友都以为他
的左眼掉出来了。Conigliaro 说他以为自己要死了。他立刻被送到医院。红
袜队球员在休息区中，情绪难以按耐，“大个儿” George Scott 把球棒指著
Hamilton，要替队友报仇。
Conigliaro lived. He sported a shiner that looked like an abstract painting,
blacks and purples mingling sickeningly. Conigliaro missed the rest of the
season and all of 1968 with blurred vision. He entertained the idea of
pitching before his eyesight improved and allowed him to return April 8,
1969, the Red Sox's first game of the season.
Conigliaro 活了下来。脸上带着像是印象派画家笔下人物的眼框，黑色、紫
色交错。Conigliaro 该季及隔年没有再回到球场上，因为他视野模糊。他考
虑过要转为投手，之后，他的视力好转，一九六九年四月八号，他参加了
红袜队该季的第一战。
In the 10th inning, Conigliaro hit a two-run home run, and he scored the
winning run in the 12th. The next season, he hit a career-high 36 home runs,
finished second in the AL with 116 RBIs and looked well on his way to a
baseball resurrection.
第十局，Conigliaro 击出两分全垒打，在第十二局跑回致胜分。隔年，他击
出生涯新高的三十六发全垒打，以一百一十六分打点拿下美国联盟第二，
看来完全就是要重新出发。
His eyes wouldn't cooperate. The Red Sox traded Conigliaro to the Angels
after the 1970 season. He flamed out and left baseball. A 1975 comeback
with Boston was aborted after 57 at-bats. By 30, Tony C was retired.
但是，他的视力不肯配合。一九七零年球季后，红袜队把他交易到天使队
。他无法接受这个事实，离开了棒坛。一九七五年，他又回到红袜队，在
五十七个打席后，再次被球队请走。Tony C. 在三十岁时退休。
Time chewed and Conigliaro passed it working as a sports broadcaster.
Following an interview for a TV job calling Red Sox games Jan. 9, 1982,
he suffered a massive heart attack on the way to the airport in his brother
Billy's car. Conigliaro's heart stopped for more than five minutes. He lay
comatose for seven weeks. When he awoke, his family tried everything to
salvage his life. They brought shamans, holistic healers, acupuncturists.
Nothing worked. Still struggling, Conigliaro died in 1990 of pneumonia and
kidney failure. He was 45.
时光匆匆，Conigliaro 转行当起播报员。一九八二年一月九号，在结束一场
红袜队的转播后，他在与弟弟 Billy 前往机场的路上心脏病发。Conigliaro 的
心脏停止长达五分钟。他陷入昏迷达七周。当他醒来，家人试尽一切方法
要挽回他的健康。巫医、信心疗法、针疗，通通没有用。挣扎着活着的
Conigliaro 在一九九零年因为肾脏衰竭与肺炎辞世。得年四十五岁。
Major League Baseball honors a player every season with the Tony Conigliaro
Award for overcoming adversity. The Red Sox will mark the 40th anniversary
of the beaning Saturday with a ceremony that includes Conigliaro's family.
大联盟每季都颁发 Tony Conigliaro 奖，表扬克服横逆的球员。这个周六
，红袜队将颁发该奖项，并且将邀请 Congliaro 的家人。
Boston's opponent: The Los Angeles Angels.
红袜队的对手。。正巧是洛杉矶天使队。
By now, Hamilton understands that for the rest of his life, he will be a
villain to countless people he has never met. Billy Conigliaro still believes
Hamilton played headhunter with his brother.
现在，Hamilton 了解到，终此一生，他永远会是别人眼中的罪人，许多这
样认为的人甚至没见过他本人。Billy Conigliaro 依然相信 Hamilton 故意对
着他哥哥投出头部触身球。
"I couldn't take a baseball and throw it at somebody's head on purpose,"
Hamilton says. "I don't have the guts.
Hamilton 说：“我不可能拿着球往别人的头上砸。我没那个胆子。”
"I really don't care what the public thinks about me. Accidents happen. If I
thought about it all the time, it would bother me. I know in my heart, I
didn't mean to throw it."
他说：“我真的不在乎别人怎么想。意外总是会发生。如果我老想着这件
事，这会造成我的困扰。我自己清楚，我绝对不是故意的。”
Sometimes, Hamilton wishes he could have said that to Conigliaro's face. The
two never spoke. They faced each other April 11, 1969, Conigliaro's third
game back, as well as April 20. He went 1 for 4 with a sacrifice bunt.
有时候，Hamilton 希望他能当面向 Conigliaro 说出这句话。这两人从未交谈
过。他们曾在一九六九年四月十一号再度碰头，那是 Conigliaro 复出的第三
场比赛，还有四月二十号。他在四个打席中只击出一支牺牲触击。
A little more than a year later, Conigliaro's autobiography "Seeing It
Through"was published.
一年之后，Conigliaro 的自传“坚持到底”出版。
"I know it was an accident," Conigliaro wrote, "but I honestly don't know if
I have ever really forgiven him for it."
Conigliaro 写到：“我知道那是场意外。但是，我真的不知道我能否原谅他。”
***
Ever since Boxcar Willie died, Hamilton hasn't been to a baseball game.
Hamilton befriended the country singer, one of the first to build his own
theater in Branson, and the two would make the four-hour drive to St. Louis
and take in a few Cardinals games a year.
从 Boxcar Willie 死后，Hamilton 就再也没有参与过棒球比赛。Hamilton 与这
位乡村歌手是好友，他是最先在布兰森市开设戏院的先锋，一年当中，这
两人会花上四个小时开车到圣路易市，看几次红雀队的比赛。
"Just watching baseball is my hobby," Hamilton says. "Now I've got the Extra
Innings package. I'll stay up for the West Coast games. I'll sit at home and
watch until 12:30."
Hamilton 说：“看看球是我的嗜好。现在，我有延长赛优惠，我会晚点睡
，看西岸的比赛。我会在家看球到晚上十二点半。”
Hamilton's career ended two years after the pitch to Conigliaro. He blames
it on injuries. Some say he was scared to pitch inside. Maybe it was both.
Maybe it was neither.
Hamilton 自己的棒球生命在那颗触身球两年后划下句点。他自己的理由是
伤势。有些人说他自此不敢往内侧投球。也许两者都对，也许两者都不对。
Occasionally he'll go into his back yard and play catch with his son.
Hamilton is 68 now. His wife, Janyce, runs the books at their restaurant.
His son is a cook, his daughter a waiter. Hamilton schmoozes, chats baseball
with interested customers and tells them to order prime rib, the house
specialty.
有时候，他会在后院与儿子玩玩传接球。今年 Hamilton 已经六十八岁。他
的太太 Janyce 是餐厅的掌柜，儿子是厨师、女儿是服务员。他会与有兴趣
的客人谈谈棒球，然后，推荐店里的肋排，这可是招牌菜。
At the front of the restaurant, Hamilton hands out baseball cards of himself
that highlight his career. Each talks about the grand slam he hit off Al
Jackson in 1967, or the one-hit shutout he threw against the Cardinals the
year before, the only blemish a bunt single by pitcher Ray Sadecki. Nowhere
does it mention Conigliaro.
在店前面，Hamilton 会分发自己球员生涯的球员卡，当中记录了不少精采
时刻。他在一九六七年对 Al Jackson 击出满贯全垒打。一九六六年对红雀
队投出完投，只被点出一支安打。而这些球员卡都没有提到 Conigliaro 。
Most people don't know any better. They're just glad to be in Branson, at
Jack's Plaza View Restaurant, talking baseball with a former major leaguer.
Hamilton has owned a few restaurants over the years in Branson. He called
one Pzazz, a name he stole from another establishment in Burlington because
he found it so unique.
许多人对这一切一无所知。他们只是很高兴能在布兰森市的“杰克的广场
景观餐厅”遇到一位前大联盟投手。Hamilton 现在已经开了几家餐厅。当
中有家名叫“Pzazz”，这是抄袭老家爱荷华州伯灵顿一家餐厅的名字，因
为这太独特了。
"I'll tell you something," Hamilton says. "When people see something they
haven't seen before, they don't forget the name."
Hamilton 说：“让我告诉你吧。当人们看到从来没看过的事情时，他们不
会忘记那个名字。”
Jeff Passan is a national baseball writer for Yahoo! Sports.
Jeff Passan 是 Yahoo Sprots 的特约记者
Send Jeff a question or comment for potential use in a future column
or webcas.
请来信指教。
Updated on Friday, Aug 17, 2007 4:30 am, EDT
感想：台风天看到带点忧伤的故事。。分享一下。
还有，不小心发现，我跟 Tony C. 的艳星女友有一样的生日。。