It can happen in a hurry.
事情可能发生的很迅速。
Growing up in Seattle, one of few stars I watched on the Mariners during the
1980s (when the team had a losing record every season) was a first baseman
named Alvin Davis, the American League's rookie of the year in 1984. In 1989,
Davis was second in the AL in OPS. He fell off some in 1990 and by 1991 he
hit .221. In two seasons, he had gone from one of the best hitters in
baseball to a guy who couldn't get around on a big league fastball. After a
cameo with the Angels in 1992, he was finished, done at age 31.
我生长于西雅图，一垒手Alvin Davis是我在1980年代注意的少数西雅图水手队(当时每季
战绩败多胜少)的明星球员之一，他是1984年美国联盟的新人王。在1989年时 Davis在美
联的OPS项目上排名第二。1990年成绩稍微下滑，1991年更只打出.211的打击率。仅仅两
个球季，Davis就从联盟最佳打者之一退步到无法应付大联盟投手的快速球。1992年球季
在天使队担任替补球员，球季结束后以31岁的年龄退休。
Jim Edmonds' fall was more traditional and predictable. He'll turn 38 years
old in June. He's battled nagging injuries throughout his career. He's been
in slow decline since his monster 2004 season, when he hit .301 with 42 home
runs and helped the Cardinals reach the World Series. Last season, he was a
below-average hitter for the first time since his rookie season (other than
an injury-plagued 1999). The Padres gambled that he had something left in the
tank, acquiring the four-time All-Star for a minor leaguer, but after hitting
.178 with 24 strikeouts and only three extra-base hits in 90 at-bats, they
decided Edmonds had met Father Time and released him over the weekend.
Jim Edmonds的衰退较为有迹可循，他在六月将满38岁。他的职业生涯都在对抗不断的伤
痛。大爆发的2004年球季，Edmonds打出了.301打击率与42支全垒打，并且帮助红雀打进
世界大赛冠军，自此之后，成绩逐年下滑。上个球季，是Edmonds自新人球季以来首度打
击率低于联盟平均(不包含受伤势困扰的1999年)。教士队压宝Edmonds的身手还在，于是
以一名小联盟球员将这位四度入选明星赛的球员交易过来，但是当Edmonds在90个打数中
只打出三支长打，打击率.178，并吞下24次三振后，教士队认为他已经到了生涯末期，并
在周末将他释出了。
The Cubs are reportedly interesting in signing Edmonds, to see if he has a
last gasp remaining. I hope he does; the Cubs could use some punch in center
field with Felix Pie disappointing and I've always enjoyed watching Edmonds,
even if his trademark diving catches in center field did often appear a bit,
umm, overdramatic.
据报导，小熊队有兴趣签下Edmonds，看看他的状况是否有机会好转。我希望如此;小熊队
可借此刺激一下表现令人感到失望的Felix Pie，尽管Edmonds的招牌扑接有时显的有些
...嗯，太戏剧化了，但是我仍然很享受观赏Edmonds打球。
Edmonds has been one of the most underrated players of his generation. While
known for his eight Gold Gloves he was also a terrific hitter, reaching a
.385 or better on-base percentage six straight seasons with St. Louis and
hitting 30 or more homers five times (twice hitting 42).
Edmonds一直是最被低估的球员之一。除了八届金手套奖以外，他也是一名可怕的打者，
在圣路易红雀队时，连续六个球季上垒率超过.385，并且曾五度打出超过30支全垒打(两
度42支)。
Edmonds had been a very good player for the Angels from 1995 through 1998,
hitting at least .290 with 25 home runs each season. But shoulder problems
limited him to 55 games and a .250 average in 1999 and with Edmonds facing
free agency after the 2000 season, the Cardinals acquired him in spring
training for Kent Bottenfield and Adam Kennedy.
1995至1998年球季，待在天使队的Edmonds是位很棒的选手，每个球季皆打出至少.290打
击率与25支全垒打。但是肩膀的伤势使他在 1999年球季只出赛了55场，打击率.250，并
将于2000年球季后成为自由球员，红雀队在春训时以Kent Bottenfield与Adam Kennedy将
他交易过来。
The Cardinals knew they were acquiring a talented player, albeit one whose
effort had been questioned at times by teammates. "He can definitely play the
game when he wants to," Angels pitcher Chuck Finley once said. "Jimmy's
biggest problem is Jimmy." The Cardinals definitely didn't expect that
Edmonds would begin one of the great stretches of play by any center fielder
in major league history.
红雀队知道他是一名有天份的球员，尽管他的成就数度被队友质疑。"他一定有办法上场
比赛，如果他想的话"，天使队投手Chuck Finley曾表示:"Jimmy最大的问题就是他自己"
。红雀队当然没料到Edmonds将开始大联盟史上中外野手最佳表现的时期之一。
Check out this list of five-year peaks for some Hall of Fame center fielders,
plus a few others. RC is runs created over that five-year span and RCAP is
runs created above position (compared to an average center fielder for that
time period, taken from Lee Sinins' baseball-encyclopedia.com).
看看这份包含了一些名人堂球员中外野手的连五年生涯高峰的名单。RC是指五年内创造的
得分，RCAP则是高于相同位置球员所创造的得分(与同时期中外野手平均相比，节录自
Lee Sinins的baseball-encyclopedia.com网站)。
HR RBI RUNS AVG OBP SLG RC RCAP
Mickey Mantle, 1954-1958 192 522 630 .325 .451 .618 777 453
Ty Cobb, 1910-1914 29 425 511 .397 .462 .567 716 353
Joe DiMaggio, 1937-1941 169 691 603 .350 .420 .638 759 351
Hack Wilson, 1926-1930 177 708 586 .331 .419 .612 712 295
Willie Mays, 1961-1965 226 690 613 .308 .387 .606 682 287
JIM EDMONDS, 2000-2004 181 501 511 .298 .410 .593 614 279
Tris Speaker, 1912-1916 19 399 541 .359 .443 .504 665 276
Ken Griffey Jr., 1996-2000 249 685 593 .290 .382 .604 686 253
Duke Snider, 1953-1957 207 585 581 .311 .407 .618 693 245
Bernie Williams, 1996-2000 131 535 540 .324 .410 .551 604 235
Larry Doby, 1950-1954 138 503 484 .286 .399 .513 560 213
Dale Murphy, 1982-1986 174 524 545 .288 .376 .522 598 176
Earl Averill, 1930-1934 125 591 569 .320 .395 .546 668 163
Kirby Puckett, 1986-1990 77 481 481 .331 .370 .507 561 146
Cesar Cedeno, 1972-1976 104 400 466 .298 .365 .485 499 146
Andre Dawson, 1979-1983 121 439 468 .296 .341 .507 491 131
Richie Ashburn, 1951-55 11 245 497 .321 .407 .403 534 100
Andruw Jones, 2002-2006 192 558 479 .266 .352 .524 523 96
Gold Gloves aren't listed, but Edmonds was voted one all five seasons. The
Cardinals made the playoffs four of those five seasons. With Edmonds' combo
of power, batting average, on-base ability and defense, I'm comfortable
saying it was one of the 10 best five-year stretches any center fielder has
put together.
金手套没有列出来，但是Edmonds在五个球季中皆获得金手套，红雀队在其中的四个球季
打进季后赛。综合Edmonds的火力，打击率，上垒能力与防守，我可以说这是所有中外野
手中，十个最佳的五年生涯高峰之一。
Now, I am not suggesting lining up Edmonds against the likes of Mays, Griffey
and Snider makes him a Hall of Famer. He got a late start to his career