这是个很赚人热泪的电影剧本 (连赞助商都帮你找好了)
Giese曾有过的完全不同的驾车经验
(看完本电影你的感触会更深)
by Mark Herrmann, June 9, 2008
有没有跟这个人买过二手车呢? 假如你有过的话，那你真的是好运当头了。
就一个销售员而言，Dan Giese总是太会为客户着想。结果他不只没法卖二手车，连
卖新的Honda的车也遇到了瓶颈。
Giese表示: "我就是个不适合当销售员的人。因为如果卖了一辆车，可以让从客户
那里赚了不少，或是客户跟我年纪差不多的话，我就没法谈成这个交易。因为我的个性
不喜欢占人便宜。"
底线就是: 他就是不要去利用别人。但是利用机会可是不一样，即使这机会并不只
是因为恰巧被他遇上了，但他绝不会轻易放过。
他真得是兴奋极了。昨天在洋基球场他喜悦的样子，看起来就像飞到难以置信的云端
里头一样。他有三年是很沮丧地离开球场(很短暂地进到了汽车产业)，在31岁的今年他赢
得了生涯大联盟的首胜。
我可以跟你打赌全场54,213位观众比较有兴趣的是，Chamberlain大联盟二度的先
发状况进步更大，更足以成为轮值里的先发投手。但是比赛结束后，Giese拿到了当日出
赛球员的名单当作纪念。Giese在接受了Reggie Jackson给他的握手祝贺后，洋基队也告
诉他会将这场比赛的球放在一个精美的小展示盒后再送给他。
这不需要一位销售员让我们买下这样的故事(就很有卖点了)。就算你会觉得，这个
故事的作者在写Chamberlain由第八局的中继转变为先发的过程，故事情节写得还不够精
采动人。但是我不得不承认，这个故事写得相当引起人的兴趣。让我们也了一些话题可
以去谈论。昨天的比赛里，主角其实是Giese。
Chamberlain在昨天的比赛最终仍算是位中继投手，他投了4又1/3局表现算是马马虎
虎(他让球队1分落后给皇家队，而皇家队是大联盟里战蹟最差的几个球队之一)，也让这
一天变成了Giese职业生涯中最美好的一天。
无论往后他的棒球生涯还会发生什么事，任何的经验都比不上这一天Giese坐在洋基
队的板凳区，紧张地看着Mariano Rivera为他保住了大联盟生涯的首胜。
Giese表示: "那看起来就像是迪士尼的故事情节。假如我是在电影里看到这情节，我
会说: '哦，这分明就是电影里才有可能发生这样事情。' 简真就像在作梦一样。"
不错，财大气粗的球队就像在废弃物回收区里捡到了像Giese这样的投手，然后给了
他昨天这样机会上场投球 － 他却投出了2又2/3局无失分，无安打的表现，只有一位跑者
因不死三振的暴投上到二垒。或许也表示洋基队终究已经不再季初像是个庞大、笨重和平
凡的球队了。
Giese能有这样的机会要感谢Chamberlain。Chamberlain仍在小心照护下只能投少量
的球数，所以洋基队需要一个可以投长局数的投手。但是Chamberlain表示: "这是因为
Giese所作的让他得到这样的机会。功荣是全部属于他的，因为Giese表现出了在小联盟投
球的特色，就是上到场上投出好球。"
Giese在赛前投球时知道他必须要有当先发投手那样投长局数的体认，因为当
Chamberlain达到投球限制时他就必须上场投球，他表示: "老实说，球队告诉我的事，就
是我必须在Chamberlain下场后，上场去投先发投手需要的局数。"
就像Chamberlain一样，这个球季Giese也从后援投手转任为先发投手。Giese也体会到
他在小联盟转任先发，和Chamberlain洋基球场转任先发差别可是天差地远。
此外，如果Giese以他个人故事的脚本的话，他不可能是个比Chamberlain更特出的人
。Chamberlain非常受到大家的注意，Giese却引不起大家特别的注意。Chamberlain是个球
速超快的火球投球(Giese表示: "他是Nolan Ryan那种类型的投手")，Giese则是状况好的
时候球速才会高到90英哩。Chamberlain的未来是在受到细心的规划和保护之下，而Giese
却曾在28岁那年放弃了未来的棒球生涯。
2005年在他生涯第三个球队里，他感受不到任何可以上到大联盟的机会。而他怀孕的
太太又恰好碰上了一场小车祸，Giese忍受不住决定退出棒球圈。他决定到圣地牙哥大学念
完商学学位，但他还需要付贷款，一位家中的好友是奔驰(Mercedes)的经销商同意雇用他
到本田汽车工作几个月。
Giese昨天表示: "那是我一生中碰上最惨的工作，但也对我的未来有了很大的启发，
因为这工作让我想清楚我还是适合回来打棒球。"
在他太太的祝福之下，他回到了费城人的球团，终于在上个球季在巨人队里首度上到
了大联盟。他期盼自己能让洋基队留下足够的好印象，即使在Chamberlain不需要球僮时，
洋基队还愿意将他留下。但是让他为未来的巨星作一阵子的后援不会是什么坏事，因为两
人的投球形态一快一慢恰好成为对比。
Chamberlain表示: "这样一前一后实在是很棒的组合。"
如果没别的事的话，这故事最后可以用美好的一天作结束。完美的结局可以看到Giese
不再需要整理两辆家里的交通工具回到小联盟去。
没错，就像电影情节里的一样他和他太太两人都开Honda的汽车，这位已不再是位销售
员的投手表示:
"他们公司制造的车子的确很不错。"
(后面的谢幕是，本电影由本田汽车独家赞助)
What a ride it's been for Giese
Mark Herrmann
June 9, 2008
Would you buy a used car from this man? Only if you were lucky, it turns out.
As a salesman, Dan Giese was too much on the customer's side. And he wasn't
even selling used cars, but new Hondas. Still, it was no go.
"I'm just not a salesman," he said. "If it was a good deal on my part, and if
the person was my age, I just couldn't do it. It wasn't my personality."
Bottom line: He simply could not take advantage of people. Taking advantage
of an opportunity is something else altogether, though, and he is more than
happy to do that.
More than happy, really. He was in the I-can't-believe-this ecstatic cloud
yesterday at Yankee Stadium. At 31, three years removed from a brief,
discouraged retirement (and foray into the auto industry), he notched his
first big-league win.
You can bet all 54,213 were much more interested in Joba Chamberlain's second
start in the big, bold move to make him part of the Yankees' rotation. But by
the end of the day, it was Giese who had the souvenir lineup card, Giese who
was accepting a handshake from Reggie Jackson, Giese who was told the Yankees
were going to give him the game ball once they built a nice little display
case for it.
No need for a salesman to get us to buy into this story. Granted, this
scribbler has been skeptical about this whole Chamberlain project - the
Yankees trying to switch him from a dominant eighth-inning reliever to a
starting pitcher on the fly. But I have to admit, it sure is interesting. It
gives us something to talk about. Yesterday, it gave us Giese.
Chamberlain essentially was a setup man again yesterday, pitching 4 1/3 so-so
innings (leaving his team a run behind the Royals, one of the worst clubs in
the majors) and setting up Giese for the best day of his professional life.
No matter what happens the rest of his career, no one ever can take away
Giese's thrill of sitting on the Yankees' bench and watching Mariano Rivera
save his first win.
"It seems like it's something out of Disney," Giese said. "If I saw it in a
movie, I'd say, 'Oh, this is obviously just a movie.' I wouldn't believe it."
Good, resourceful clubs do things like sorting through the scrap heap for a
pitcher like Giese and getting a day like yesterday out of him - 2 2/3
scoreless, hitless innings in which the only baserunner reached on a wild
pitch on a strikeout. Maybe the Yankees aren't just a big, lumbering,
mediocre team after all.
Giese has this opportunity only because of Chamberlain. The Yankees needed
someone capable of going long while Chamberlain is on his baby-step pitch
count. But Chamberlain said, "He's got an opportunity because of what he's
done. The credit all goes to him, doing the things he did in the minor
leagues, coming up and throwing strikes."
"Honestly, the way I've been taking it is I'm going to start after Joba,"
said Giese, who has the starter's certainty of knowing when he's going to
throw - in his case, it's after Chamberlain has reached his prescribed limit.
Like Chamberlain, Giese made the transition from reliever to starter this
year. The latter acknowledged that doing it in the minors is a world removed
from doing it at Yankee Stadium.
Besides, he could not be more different from Chamberlain if he wrote his own
script. Chamberlain is immensely celebrated, Giese is obscure. Chamberlain is
a flamethrower ("He's a Nolan Ryan-type pitcher," Giese said), Giese tops out
at 90 on a good day. Chamberlain's future is being carefully planned and
protected, Giese gave up on his own future at 28.
He was in his third organization in 2005, not sensing a sniff at the majors.
His pregnant wife had just endured a fender-bender and Giese simply was fed
up. He decided to finish his business degree from the University of San
Diego, but he still needed to pay the mortgage, so a family friend with a
Mercedes dealership promised to hire him if he worked a few months at Honda.
"It was the worst job in my life," Giese said yesterday. "It was enlightening
because it really made me want to go back and play baseball."
With his wife's blessing, he returned to the Phillies' organization and
ultimately made his big-league debut with the Giants last season. He's hoping
to impress the Yankees enough to stick around even after Chamberlain no
longer needs a caddie. But it wouldn't be terrible to have him relieve the
star-in-the-making for a while, what with the contrast in styles.
"It's a great combination, back and forth," Chamberlain said.
If nothing else, it made for one great day. A great ending would see Giese
never having to pack up the two family vehicles for the minors.
Yes, he and his wife both drive Hondas.
"They're good cars," the non-salesman said.
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