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The 10 worst cleanup hitters since 1957
1957年以来最糟糕的十位四番
by Steve Treder
May 20, 2008
So far in this series, we've examined leadoff hitters, second-slot hitters
and No. 3 men. Now it's time to focus on the very worst No. 4 hitters of the
past half-century (defined as starting at least one-half of their team's
games in that lineup slot).
这系列文章我们已讨论了史上最糟的一棒、二棒以及三番。现在是该将焦点转到半世纪来
最糟糕的四番们（这里的四番规定至少须半季被排在先发上）
The stat we're using to rank these stinkers is OPS+. Certainly, OPS+ isn't
the be-all and end-all of offensive measurement, but, hey: This isn't a
serious "study." It's just for fun. One might quibble with the exact ordering
of these guys, but even the blunt instrument of OPS+ has properly identified
them all as hitters leaving something to be desired, particularly in the
cleanup spot.
为了衡量这群烂透的家伙，这儿我们使用的数据是OPS+，当然，OPS+并不是啥完美的数据
，不过呢，这种博君一笑的文章也不是什么认真的“学术研究”，认真你就输了。
有人可能会质疑这些烂家伙的排行有问题，不过那并非这篇文章的重点。我只想说明：
即使使用最粗浅的OPS+，我们也可以看得出他们全都缺乏某种四番该有的能耐...
没错，就是清垒的能力。
What about "cleanup" is there not to understand?
有谁不懂啥叫“清垒”的吗？
Last time, we discussed the fact that the third-place hitter's job isn't all
that complicated: He's just supposed to be darn good, effective at both
getting on base and driving runners in. The fourth-slot guy's job is, if
anything, even simpler than that. The role has been called "cleanup" since
forever for a reason: See the runners soiling the pristine white bases out
there? This guy's job is to clean them bases up, get them runners home.
上回我们讨论过三番的工作并非那么复杂，他只要承前启后：有效率地上垒与推进跑者。
至于四番呢，他的工作甚至比三番更简单：“清垒”！四番被叫四番只有这么个永恒的
理由：看到那些将白色垒包踏脏的跑垒者了吗？四番这家伙的工作就是把他们全打回来，
如此而已。
Obviously it's great if a cleanup hitter hits for a high average and/or draws
a lot of walks, but if he's doing either or both of those things without
hitting for power, he isn't properly performing the cleanup function. Setting
the table is a means to an end, not an end in itself; the purpose of getting
on base is to come around and score. The cleanup hitter is there to convert
baserunners into runs, to finish what the others have started. And that means
hitting for power, and plenty of it.
一个高打击率及（或）很会选到BB的四番当然是很不赖，但要是符合上述两者却没有砲瓦
，这个四番根本毫无清垒能力可言。
永远要记得一件事：上垒只是手段并非目的；上垒的目的就是要回到本垒。
四番的能力就是完成一切——将跑者转化成分数！换个说法，就是四番必须有充沛的砲瓦
(Dis)honorable mentions
（不）荣誉的列表
Here are this week's guys who just missed the cut:
底下就是这周不及格的四番们：
Team
Rank OPS+ Player Pos Year Team Lg OPS+
23T 92 Bill Robinson LF 1978 PIT NL 99
23T 92 Rico Carty DH 1979 TOR AL 82
23T 92 Dave Parker RF 1987 CIN NL 102
23T 92 Andre Dawson DH 1993 BOS AL 90
23T 92 Orestes Destrade 1B 1993 FLA NL 80
20T 91 Andre Thornton DH 1981 CLE AL 96
20T 91 Steve Garvey 1B 1986 SDP NL 103
20T 91 Cal Ripken SS 1995 BAL AL 98
18T 90 Ken Boyer 3B 1965 STL NL 92
18T 90 Keith Moreland RF 1986 CHC NL 97
17 89 Greg Luzinski DH 1984 CHW AL 92
13T 88 Dick Billings C-LF 1972 TEX AL 82
13T 88 Dale Murphy CF-RF 1989 ATL NL 89
13T 88 Joe Carter LF 1995 TOR AL 92
13T 88 Andruw Jones CF 2007 ATL NL 107
12 87 Deron Johnson DH 1975 CHW AL 94
Predictably, most of these are veteran sluggers in decline; whether
understandably or foolishly, their deployment just hadn't yet caught up with
their rate of production. A different sort of case is that of Orestes
Destrade: He wasn't much good, but the Marlins were a first-year expansion
team who can't be much faulted.
可预期地，大多糟糕的四番都是面临衰退的强打老兵们，不管可理解还是愚蠢至极，
把他们摆在四番的产值都低得可以。不过Orestes Destrade算是个特例，他虽然不怎样，
不过那是马大鱼扩编成军第一年，要怪他们实在也说不过去。
Much more interesting is the case of Dick Billings and the 1972 Rangers: They
weren't a first-year expansion team, but you sure couldn't tell that by
looking at their roster. That their manager was none other than Ted Williams
simply added to the pathos. Sure, Billings was marginal and overmatched, but
so was nearly everyone else poor Teddy Ballgame had to work with. What a mess.
另个有趣的例子是1972年条子的Dick Billings，条子那年当然不是啥扩编球队，但光看
打序你是无法辨别差异在哪低；更哀伤的是，他们当时的监督是打击之神Ted Williams…
可怜的Teddy Ballgame，他的同事们几乎都和Billings一般糟糕，一切真是一团混乱。
As for Keith Moreland ... I don't know. They were the Cubs. What can you say?
至于Keith Moreland嘛…我该说什么呢？小熊嘛，你知道的。
And as though we needed more evidence that the once-formidable Andruw Jones
fell off a cliff last year ... how's that big Dodger contract looking so far?
虽然还得找出更多蛛丝马迹才知道那强大的Andruw Jones去年究竟发生了啥事…
这名重量级的新躲人目前挥击情况如何呢？
And as for Joe Carter ... well, we'll be encountering him below. So why don't
we proceed?
Joe Carter呢…我们底下还会再遇见他，所以接着看下去吧。
Tied for ninth-worst cleanup hitter since 1957
1957年以来最糟的四番——两个第九名
OPS+: 85
Tony Armas, center fielder, 1983 Boston Red Sox (team OPS+: 99)
Overall:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
142 613 77 61 107 29 0 131 2 0 8 31 0 1 .218 .254 .453 .707
When batting fourth:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
141 606 77 61 106 28 0 131 2 0 8 31 0 1 .218 .254 .456 .710
Jim Presley, third baseman, 1990 Atlanta Braves (team OPS+: 95)
Overall:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
137 577 59 54 72 29 0 130 3 0 4 10 1 1 .242 .282 .414 .696
When batting fourth:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
106 451 50 48 63 26 0 105 3 0 4 6 0 1 .244 .290 .447 .737
Joe Carter, center fielder-left fielder, 1990 San Diego Padres (team OPS+: 97)
Overall:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
161 697 79 52 115 48 18 93 7 0 8 12 22 6 .232 .290 .391 .681
When batting fourth:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
84 368 43 27 59 23 13 59 5 0 3 4 12 4 .220 .277 .386 .663
Armas was, of course, among the most one-dimensional hitters in the history
of the game. Thus, while as we said above that delivering the power is a
cleanup hitter's No. 1 priority, completely eschewing everything else, as
Armas did, is really going too far. Armas was making an out three times out
of every four trips to the plate, for crying out loud, yet manager Ralph
Houk, who as we've seen before had some odd notions about batting orders, and
moreover was extremely reluctant to modify a set lineup, had decided that
Armas was going to be his cleanup man and, by golly, that's just how it was
going to be.
Armas无疑是史上全垒打控排行榜的一份子，虽然依照上面我们对四番的第一要求就是
砲瓦，但他也实在太极端些，况且四次打击三次上不了垒包未免也太烂。好吧，我们都
知道监督Ralph Houk对打序有某种异于常人的想法加上又不爱更动打序，既然他决定让
Armas当四番，结果也就是这样了。
And, yes, you're reading that correctly: Armas grounded into a double play
more frequently than he drew a walk.
对没错，你没看错：Armas的双杀打比四坏还多…。
Speaking of free-swinging, undisciplined one-dimensional sluggers ... my
favorite Jim Presley story is one my brother-in-law Ross loves to tell. Ross
has lived most of his adult life in the Pacific Northwest, and has been a
faithful (which means generally long-suffering) Mariners fan for decades.
说到爱自由挥击、没啥选球的强打者…我最爱故事的是妹夫Ross常讲的Jim Presley。
Ross他长大后大部分时间都待在太平洋西北部，是个几十年忠诚（同时也意味着煎熬）
的水手迷。
Now, Ross tells this story far better than I can write it. Ross is a keenly
insightful "baseball guy": an outstanding player in his day, and an
accomplished youth and high school coach for decades since. What's more, he's
a brilliant and deeply learned man, and oh hell but I hate him so, a gifted
storyteller, as well.
我无法将故事写得像Ross描述地那般生动，他完全是个热情的棒球份子，一个出色的球员
，也担任了几十年的国高中教练，他是个天资聪颖且学习能力强的天才；当然，还有我最
讨厌的一项才能——他实在太会讲故事了。
All I can offer is this: Try to imagine yourself on a lazy late afternoon,
comfortably nestled in a scruggly old patio chair, about half-way through
your second (oh, why not, your third) oh-so-cold-and-satisfying Full Sail
Ale, while far overhead, birds flutter and chirp among gently swaying Pacific
Northwest treetops ...
我只能这么描述：想像你在某个懒洋洋的下午舒适地坐在天井的旧椅子上，喝着你第二瓶
（当然也可以是第三瓶，只要你喜欢就好）透心凉的啤酒；头底上吱喳的小鸟轻盈地飞
过西北太平洋的树梢…
When Dick Williams took over as Seattle manager in mid-1986, he was nearly
60, and was taking on his sixth major league manager's job. It was safe to
say he'd learned a thing or two.
当1986球季中Dick Williams接下水手监督时，他已经近耳顺之年，同时这也是他第六个
大柠檬教头职务，依他的资历，说他担任监督应该有些经验并不为过。
After observing his young third baseman for a while, Williams took Presley
aside.
再看过他队上的三垒手后，William将Presley拉到旁边来。
"Jim," Williams said, "I've got a question for you."
“Jim，我问你一个问题”William开口了
"Fire away!" Presley said with a grin.
“说吧！”Presley给了教头一个微笑
"Okay, then," Williams continued, "Have you ever heard the expression, 'Don't
get cheated up there'?"
“好吧，那么你有没有听过‘打击时时不要被投手给骗了’这种说法？”
"Oh, absolutely, Dick," Presley answered, nodding intently. "That's my whole
philosophy. I don't want that pitcher to get me out with the bat on my
shoulder, or on a check-swing. If I'm goin' down, I'm goin' down hard!"
“喔，那当然囉”Presley刻意点了点头回答“这完全是我的打击哲学。我才不想让投手
诱使我将棒子举到肩膀高或是出棒过半。我如果要出局，也一‧定‧不让对方好过的！”
"Uh-huh," said Williams. "Well, you know what, Jim?"
“嗯哼，Jim你知道吗？”William说道
"What?" Presley asked.
“啥？”Presley不解地说
"The next time you find yourself in a two-strike situation," Williams said,
"There's something I want you to do."
“下回你发现自己陷入二好球窘境时”William说“我希望你能作某件事。”
"What's that, skip?"
“啥事？”
"Get cheated."
“给投手骗。”
And as for Joe Carter, well ... we'll be encountering him below. Again.
至于Joe Carter，还是那句老话：我们底下还会再碰到他的。
The eighth-worst cleanup hitter since 1957
1957年以来最糟的四番——第八名
OPS+: 84
Jeffrey Leonard, left fielder-designated hitter, 1990 Seattle Mariners (team
OPS+: 97)
Overall:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
121 525 39 30 75 37 6 97 3 0 7 20 4 2 .251 .305 .356 .661
When batting fourth:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
98 420 35 23 66 24 4 74 3 0 7 17 4 2 .256 .300 .368 .668
That Leonard's nickname was "Hackman" tells you all you need to know about
his offensive approach. He was an impressive athlete and a talented player,
but Leonard was one of those guys whose reputation was generally a stride or
three ahead of his performance. He batted cleanup more than twice as often as
he batted in any other spot in the order, even though Leonard was never a
serious power generator.
Leonard的绰号是“司机”，这生动的名词完全描述了他的攻击方式。他是个极具天分
且使人印象深刻的运动员，但同时也是个名过其实的家伙。他打四番的次数比他在其他
打序上多两回，虽然他从来不是个强力的攻击发动机。
And if he'd been a questionable choice as a cleanup man in his prime, by this
point the 34-year-old Hackman was a ludicrous choice as a cleanup man. That
he was deployed in the role for back-to-back seasons by the Mariners tells
you all you need to know about the managerial brilliance of Jim Lefebvre.
他在本质上适不适合担任四番这件事是很有疑问的，找个34岁的司机当四番是个可笑的
选择。特别是竟然连续两季把他摆在这位置，因此我们可以知道当时的水手监督Jim
Lefebvre是多么地天纵英名啊。
The seventh-worst cleanup hitter since 1957
1957年以来最糟的四番——第七名
OPS+: 83
Don Baylor, left fielder-designated hitter, 1980 California Angels (team
OPS+: 98)
Overall:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
90 380 39 19 51 24 4 32 11 0 5 9 6 6 .250 .316 .341 .657
When batting fourth:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
85 361 38 17 47 24 4 28 11 0 5 9 6 6 .246 .316 .330 .646
His selection as AL MVP in 1979 was pretty silly, but Baylor had delivered an
outstanding season as the Angels' cleanup hitter. So it was completely
reasonable for manager Jim Fregosi to start out 1980 with Baylor in the role.
选他作为1979年MVP真的是挺蠢的，但Baylor作为猴子四番的球季表现挺出色，所以1980
球季Jim Fregosi会将他放在第四棒是相当合情理的决定。
What wasn't so reasonable was that Fregosi stuck with Baylor even as it
became abundantly obvious that the wrist injury that was plaguing Baylor that
season had thoroughly drained his power. Baylor's utter lack of production in
the heart of the Angels' lineup was a key reason for their collapse from a
division-winner in '79 to a 65-95, sixth-place disaster in 1980.
之所以会变调的原因则是Fregosi满满的爱，明明Baylor的手伤不仅困扰着他而且大幅
降低他的力量，但他的位置依旧不动如山。他占住猴子中心打线所造成的伤害，是天使从
79年的分区冠军掉到80年第六名，65胜95败这种鸟成绩的主要因素。
Tied for fifth-worst cleanup hitter since 1957
1957年以来最糟的四番——两个第五名
OPS+: 81
Dick Stuart, first baseman, 1962 Pittsburgh Pirates (team OPS+: 96)
Overall:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
100 433 52 31 64 32 1 94 2 0 5 9 0 1 .228 .286 .398 .684
When batting fourth:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
96 403 51 28 57 28 1 86 2 0 5 9 0 1 .226 .280 .399 .679
Ron Coomer, first baseman, 2000 Minnesota Twins (team OPS+: 85)
Overall:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
135 589 64 46 82 36 2 50 4 0 5 25 2 0 .270 .317 .415 .732
When batting fourth:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
120 518 52 38 63 31 2 44 3 0 5 22 2 0 .267 .313 .395 .708
Stuart's dismal 1962 performance has always slightly puzzled me. He was a
famously dreadful fielder, and a frightfully slow baserunner, but one thing
Stuart could be counted upon to do was deliver with his booming bat. I've
never heard about any injury issue Stuart was facing that year.
Stuart在1962年低潮总让我感觉有点奇怪，他是个令人闻风丧胆的外野手，同时跑垒速度
也真慢得可以。但Stuart送回跑者的大棒子无疑是值得信赖的，可是那年我从没听到过他
有啥伤痛问题。
Manager Danny Murtaugh can't be faulted for giving Stuart the generous
opportunity he did to break out of the slump, especially since it apparently
was just a slump, though a real humdinger. Indeed, Murtaugh can be credited
for handling the situation quite wisely, giving Stuart his due chance, then
decisively turning the late-season first base starts over to the talented
rookie Donn Clendenon, who performed well.
不能怪教练Danny Murtaugh给予陷入低潮的Stuart这么多机会，尤其是那看起来显然只是
一段低潮。事实上Murtaugh后来的处理方式相当高明：先是给Stuart按表操课，季末又果
决地将一垒交给具天赋的新人Donn Clendenon。
Okay, a great Dick Stuart story I recently heard, told by Larry Gerlach at
this year's Nine conference. Larry was a teenager in 1956 in Lincoln, Neb.,
taking a job as a scorecard-seller at the Lincoln Chiefs' ballpark just to
get a chance to hang around and watch the games.
好吧，Larry Gerlach最近告诉我一个关于伟大Stuart的故事。1956年Larry仍是个住在
内布拉斯加州林肯市的青少年，他在Lincoln Chiefs'棒球场卖记分卡打工，并看有没有
机会混进去看比赛。
Larry's at that ballpark on the season's opening day, an hour or two before
gametime. Suddenly, instead of the usual dusty, dented pickup truck or
station wagon, a glistening two-tone, lavishly finned Cadillac convertible
comes hurtling off the highway into the stadium's gravel parking area,
brodying to a jauntily angled halt.
在球场开幕赛那天前一两个小时，Larry看到台特殊的车子，它不同以往脏兮兮、凹损的
卡车或车站货车，那是台闪亮亮双色的凯迪拉克敞篷车，它开下公路并在球场的碎石停车
处停了下来。
Startling as this set of wheels and its entrance is, its occupant is even
more so. Coolly easing himself out of the car is a handsomely tall,
rippling-muscled, bronzely-tanned wonder, sporting an exquisitely greased
dark-brown pompadour and ducktail.
而车主甚至比这台凯迪拉克的轮子与车门还闪亮。他自若轻松的下了车，高大挺拔的他有
著纠结古铜色的肌肤，他棕色的头发仔细的往后梳并抹著光亮的发油。
And that's not all. This specimen is decked out in oh-so-sharp sunglasses, a
lime-green (yes, lime-green) skin-tight short-sleeved polo shirt,
creamy-white crotch-bulging pegged pants, Italian loafers, and—Larry is keen
to add—no socks.
还不只是这样。这特殊人士还戴着超炫的太阳眼镜，穿着件澄绿色（你没看错，就是"澄"
绿色）的短袖紧身Polo衫、奶油色分叉裤、意大利休闲鞋，而且——Larry特别强调——
没穿袜子。
"This," Larry says, still awestruck more than half a century later, "was Dick
Stuart."
“他，”即使已经过了半世纪，Larry还是敬畏的表示“就是Dick Stuart。”
Stuart would wallop 66 home runs for Lincoln that season.
那一季Stuart替林肯市夯了66发全垒打。
So, how can Ron Coomer possibly hope to follow that act?
所以囉，Ron Coomer凭什么觉得自己比得上Stuart呢？
Well, he can't. As extravagantly memorable as Stuart was even in his
failures, Coomer was blandly forgettable.
嗯，当然他办不到，就算Stuart后来简直一塌糊涂大家依然是记得一清二楚；
Coomer？谁是Coomer啊？
Coomer was a blandly forgettable player on a blandly forgettable team who
appears on this list only because his—well, maybe not blandly forgettable,
but something less than colorfully memorable—manager (Tom Kelly) chose to
bat him cleanup. It was a poor choice, but one little noted at the time, and
even less remembered.
在这排行榜上的Coomer跟他的球队一样Dororo化，这名字之所以会不那么光彩地出现在这
，自然也是因为监督(Tom Kelly)糟糕地选了他作四番。这个决定当时没啥人注意到，
所以后来没啥人记得也是很正常的。
Tied for third-worst cleanup hitter since 1957
1957年以来最糟的四番——两个第三名
OPS+: 77
Tim Wallach, third baseman, 1991 Montreal Expos (team OPS+: 95)
Overall:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
150 637 60 36 73 50 8 100 6 0 4 12 2 4 .225 .292 .334 .626
When batting fourth:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
127 542 51 31 66 40 7 85 6 0 4 11 1 4 .236 .299 .343 .642
Joe Carter, designated hitter-first baseman-left fielder, 1997 Toronto Blue
Jays (team OPS+: 83)
Overall:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
157 668 76 55 102 40 5 105 7 0 9 12 8 2 .234 .284 .399 .683
When batting fourth:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
89 381 47 35 47 20 4 64 7 0 5 8 5 2 .244 .294 .413 .707
Wallach wasn't a great hitter, but he was a good one. He really wasn't the
sort of guy you want batting cleanup, and usually he didn't: Over his career
he had twice as many starts in the fifth or sixth slot as he did batting
fourth. But most of the time he wouldn't embarrass you batting fourth, as he
did here; this just happened to be the season in which he suddenly hit the
wall. Thus he's in the same boat as a lot of the veterans in the honorable
mentions list above.
Wallach不是个伟大的打者，但也算不错了。他真的不是那种你会看到的四番打者，而
通常他也不是。他生涯打五棒或六棒的次数是他打四番的两倍之多。不过他打四番的成绩
也非那般难堪——除了这一年以外；这季是他的撞墙期，这也是他之所以和这些值得尊敬
的老家伙一起被列入排行榜的原因。
Now, as for Joe Carter ... well.
至于Joe Carter呢…这个嘛
The whole Joe Carter mystique baffled me at the time, and still does. Yes, he
was remarkably durable, yes, he was a "gamer," yes, he ran the bases quite
well for a big man. All told he was a good ballplayer, a fine guy to have on
your team.
Joe Carter的神秘感从以前一直困惑着我，的确，他的耐操令人印象深刻；没错，他是个
“玩家”；是的，对个大个头来说他跑垒很不赖——这一切都说明他是个好球员，你会想
将他摆进你的队伍里。
But he wasn't anything more than a pretty good hitter. He certainly wasn't a
star hitter, and most definitely he wasn't the sort of hitter you want in the
heart of your order. Yet Carter was nearly universally perceived as a
terrific hitter, a big star hitter, and he was deployed in the third or
fourth slot in his team's order more than 1,700 times—that is, nearly his
entire career. He was named to the All-Star team five times, was voted the
Silver Slugger Award twice, and received MVP votes in eight separate seasons,
including two top-five finishes.
回头看来他也不是最棒的打者，至少不是明星级的，更显然地，你并不会想将他放进你的
中心打线里。然而一般人广泛认知Carter是个了不起的打者，他在队上担任第三或第四棒
长达1700场——差不多是他的整个棒球生涯。他被提名进全星星五回、也曾拿下两次银棒
奖，更在八个不同球季里得过MVP的票，其中两次以前五名作终。
All of this huzzah was completely, utterly unwarranted. It isn't that he
wasn't quite that good; it's that he wasn't anywhere close to that good. But
everyone, not just the mainstream media, but his management as well, was
merrily drinking the Joe Carter Kool-Aid.
但这些奖项全然不保证什么，这并不是说他只差点没“那么好”，而是指他根本就完全没
“那么好”。可是所有人，不仅仅是主流媒体，都因为他的长袖善舞而欣然为他着迷。
I don't intend this as any sort of knock on Carter himself. He was obviously
a hard-working player who kept himself in top shape, and did the very best he
could. By all accounts he was (and presumably still is) a wonderful guy.
我并不是想给Carter什么当头棒喝，他确实是个认真的球员而且将身材保持的很好，场上
表现也尽其所能。就每个角度来看，他曾是（可能现在还是）一个很棒的家伙。
But he just, well, wasn't anywhere flipping anything close to that good.
Indeed he was, as indicated here, repeatedly performing as one of the very
worst cleanup hitters in the second half of the 20th century.
不过嘛，老话一句，他的成绩真的没那么出色啦。就如同上面数据，他是二十世纪下半中
最糟糕的四番之一。
The next time someone tells you that the RBI statistic isn't really all that
overrated, and hasn't really served to cause people to misperceive the actual
value of ballplayers, just answer with these two words: Joe Carter.
下回若有人告诉你RBI真的没有被过度高估，而且并不会让人错误评估一个球员的真正
价值时，只要回他们两个字：Joe Carter。
The second-worst cleanup hitter since 1957
1957年以来最糟的四番——第二名
OPS+: 75
Willie Kirkland, right fielder, 1962 Cleveland Indians (team OPS+: 96)
Overall:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
109 470 56 31 72 43 3 63 0 3 5 10 9 1 .200 .272 .377 .649
When batting f\Fourth:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
85 367 47 28 61 36 3 43 0 2 5 6 9 1 .219 .293 .426 .719
Kirkland's major league career consisted of not just one, but two distinct
phases of disappointment. He was a tremendous five-tool athlete, and he
destroyed the minors, leading this league or that in runs scored, triples,
homers, RBIs and batting average.
Kirkland的大联盟生涯并不只是一段，而是由两个明确且令人失望的时期所组成。他曾是
个厉害的五拍子球员，并在小联盟屠杀，在一个又一个联盟里得分、三垒安打、全垒打、
打点以及打击率勇冠群雄。
Thus when he arrived in the majors, the Giants anticipated stardom, but
instead what they got was good-but-nothing-special performance. After three
uninspiring seasons, they gave up and traded Kirkland to Cleveland. The
Indians, figuring the change of scenery would trigger Kirkland's blossoming,
instead got yet another nice-but-hardly-great year from him in 1961.
自然而然当他上了大联盟，巨人军对他满心期待，结果他们得到的是个“不错但没啥特别
”的成绩。历经三个平凡的球季，他们将Kirkland送到了克里夫兰。笑脸人也幻想着环境
的改变有可能让Kirkland爆发，后来证明他们跟巨人军都看走眼了，1961还是个“不错但
就是这样”的球季。
That was disappointment phase No. 1. Then came 1962.
这是失望时期一，于是来到1962年球季。
As we see, Kirkland simply didn't hit a lick. His batting average last saw
the heights of .250 nine games into the season, and he spent the bulk of the
year wrestling the .200 mark to a draw. Forget stardom, forget even
cleanup-hitter status; the 28-year-old Kirkland was now struggling to justify
deployment in the starting lineup altogether.
如我们所见，Kirkland从来没爆发过，他打击率上回高于二成五是球季开始的前九场，而
他剩下的时间都在努力维持两成打击率。别管那些好表现，更甭提啥四番能力了；28岁的
Kirkland现在只想保住他的先发位置。
And he'd never recover. He'd spend the next four years producing in this
sluggish manner, steadily receding into part-time status. Finally he'd wind
up in Japan, in those days the boneyard for American has-beens.
不过这不是什么励志小说，他再也没有恢复过。接下四年他表现依旧这么糟糕，逐渐退化
成工具人。最后他只能转往日本发展。
The worst cleanup hitter since 1957
1957年以来最最糟糕的四番
OPS+: 72
Aramis Ramirez, third baseman, 2002 Pittsburgh Pirates (team OPS+: 88)
Overall:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
133 570 51 44 71 29 3 95 8 0 11 17 2 0 .234 .279 .387 .666
When batting fourth:
GS PA R XBH RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
99 411 38 34 54 22 3 69 5 0 7 10 2 0 .241 .287 .390 .677
So Ramirez had broken out with a big year as a 23-year-old in 2001, and so it
made complete sense for Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon to have him in the
cleanup spot at the outset of '02. So far, so good. And over the first couple
of weeks of the season, Ramirez was delivering at a .348/.407/.500 clip. So
far, so good.
2001球季23岁的Ramirez表现异常出色，所以隔年海盗教头Lloyd McClendon将他移至四番
是完全合理的。事情进展至此还不错，在球季的前几周，Ramirez的打击三围是
.348/.407/.500，的确，事情发展的还不赖。
Then in a bench-clearing brawl on April 17, Ramirez severely twisted an
ankle. Hey, these things happen.
4/17在一次两队发生激烈冲突下，Ramirez严重伤到脚踝，但也没办法，这种鸟事总是会
发生。
But rather than give Ramirez a sufficient DL stint to fully heal, the
nobody's-idea-of-a-serious-contender Pirates had him back in action within
two-and-a-half weeks, and in the starting lineup, batting cleanup, within
three-and-a-half.
匪夷所思的是，教练并未将他放进DL名单中好好的治疗，这个对重大事故毫无概念的
海盗队两周半后将他拉上场，三周半后让他扛先发四番。
And stinking on ice.
乱搞也要有个限度嘛
Ramirez wasn't close to fully healed. He was hobbling, hampered by the bad
ankle in the field, on the bases, and at the plate. He hit .160/.185/.307 in
May—but McClendon left him in the lineup, and in the cleanup spot.
跛脚的Ramirez根本没完全复原，他受伤的脚踝影响他在场上的表现，他五月的打击三围
衰退至.160/.185/.307，但脑残的McClendon继续将他摆在四番先发。
He hit .217/.272/.265 in June—but McClendon left him in the lineup, and in
the cleanup spot. He hit .198/.224/.342 in July—but McClendon left him in
the lineup, and in the cleanup spot.
他六月的成绩.217/.272/.265只比五月好一点，但脑残的McClendon继续将他摆在四番先
发；七月的成绩.198/.224/.342，但脑残的McClendon继续将他摆在四番先发。
All told, Ramirez would hit .223/.265/.376 after returning from his injury—
but McClendon left him in the lineup, and in the cleanup spot all the way
into mid-September. Ramirez would finally get his rest, and heal—in the
offseason.
大家都说，Ramirez伤后顶多是.223/.265/.376的水准，但脑残的McClendon继续将他摆在
四番先发直到九月中。可怜的Ramirez终于可以——在季后赛时好好休息疗伤。
Give Ramirez his props for playing hurt. But give McClendon and the Pirates a
weapons-grade raspberry for failing to get any kind of a clue that maybe this
"let him play through it" thing wasn't working out so hot.
我们可以体谅Ramirez带伤却得继续奋战的难处；但对坚信“让他继续打球克服这一切”
会成功的脑残McClendon与海盗队，请务必开汽水嘘死他们。