Three things Keith Hernandez taught me about pitching
三件 Keith Hernandez 教会我有关投球的事
原文连结：http://0rz.tw/3e4ql
by John Walsh
June 30, 2008
黑色是原文的内文
绿色是原文引用别人的文字
暗蓝色是原文的标题
亮蓝色是标题的翻译
白色是内文的翻译
If you are interested in pitching—really interested, I mean—you simply have
to read Pure Baseball by Keith Hernandez (with help from Mike Bryan on
grammar and spelling and stuff). And when I say interested in pitching, I
don't mean you know who won the last five Cy Young Awards or even who had the
best strikeout-to-walk ratio in the American League last year. Rather, I mean
you want to know not only what that last pitch was and how it moved, you want
to understand why it was thrown, why it worked or why it didn't.
如果你对投球有兴趣的话－－我是指真的很有兴趣－－你一定要看一下 Keith Hernandez
所写的 Pure Baseball（有 Mike Bryan 帮忙作文法及拼字校正等工作）。而当我说的对
投球有兴趣，我不是要你知道最近五个赛扬奖得主，也不是要你说出去年美联谁的 K/BB
比例最好。我指的是你不仅想知道刚刚投手投的那一球是哪一种球、那颗球移动的轨迹，
你还想了解为什么要配那一种球路、为什么那球如此有效或如此没用。
The subtitle of Hernandez's book is "A pitch-by-pitch guide for the advanced
fan," and that is a good description. Hernandez goes through two games from
the 1993 season, almost (but not quite) at the pitch level. That's not to say
that the book is only about pitching—Hernandez holds forth on many questions
of baseball tactics here, including base stealing, bunting, hit-and-running,
productive outs, defensive alignments and many others.
Hernandez 那本书的副标题是“给进阶球迷的逐球分析”，而这真是非常恰当的描述。
Hernandez 挑选出 1993 球季的两场比赛，大多（但并非全部）在讲解有关投球的事情。
这并不是表示整本书只谈投球－－Hernandez 也聊到了许多有关战术的问题，包括盗垒、
触击、打带跑、有意义的出局、防守布阵以及很多其他的东西。
But what really fascinates about this book is getting an insider's
perspective on pitching and the batter-pitcher confrontation. Hernandez was
clearly a "cerebral" ballplayer, a guy who was always thinking, thinking
trying to get an edge. There was nothing "see ball, hit ball" about Keith
Hernandez.
但这本书真正吸引人的地方是能让我们了解职业选手对于投球和投打对决的看法。
Hernandez 是一个“用脑”的球员，他总是在思考，思考如何才能取得上风。在 Keith
Hernandez 的字典里是找不到“球来就打”这种词汇的。
So, what did Keith Hernandez teach me about pitching? Well, as some of you
may know, I've been working with the PITCHf/x data, which has allowed us to
study pitching at a level of detail that was almost unimaginable not very
long ago. So, what I'm most interested in is pitches—what are the different
pitch types, what distinguishes one from the other, and how are they used
differently?
那么，Keith Hernandez 到底教会我什么有关投球的事呢？嗯，有些人应该已经知道，我
在作有关 PITCHf/x 的研究，这让我们得以对投球作出以前根本无法想像的详尽分析。而
这些资料让我最感兴趣的是－－到底有哪些不同的球种、它们的差别在哪、它们的用法又
有什么不同呢？
I've written quite a bit about pitch types already, so I thought I knew quite
a bit, but ol' Keith showed me a thing or two (which is so unsurprising, it's
not even funny).
我已经写过不少有关球种的文章，所以我想我应该算还满了解这方面的东西，不过老
Keith 还是可以举出一两样我不知道的事（这没什么好惊讶的，而且这也一点都不好笑）
。
The tailing fastball
有尾劲的速球
One of the first things I learned from studying the PITCHf/x data is that
fastballs typically move quite a bit to the side. Nobody much talks about
this. Actually, that's not true, the other day I happened to catch Brandon
Webb's start against the Mets and one of the broadcasters mentioned Webb's
sinker that "moves in on a right-handed hitter."
我从研究 PITCHf/x 中所学到的第一件事就是速球通常都带有横向变化。似乎很少人提到
这件事。不过也不尽是如此，有一天我碰巧看到 Brandon Webb 对上大都会，其中一个主
播提到了 Webb 的伸卡球“往右打者的内角钻进去”。
That's true, Webb's sinker (which is a kind of fastball) moves sideways,
towards a right-handed hitter, about nine inches. And Dan Haren's fastball
moves in the same direction by six inches. John Maine? Eight inches in on a
right-handed batter. Just about all right-handed fastballs move in an a
right-handed hitter (and likewise, lefty fastballs move the other way—away
from a right-handed batter).
的确如此，Webb 的伸卡球（也算是一种速球）会往右打者的内角横移 9 英吋。而 Dan
Haren 的速球也会往相同的方向移动 6 英吋。至于 John Maine 呢？8 英吋。几乎所有右
投手的速球都会往右打者的内角钻（同样的，左投手的速球会往另一个方向跑－－向右打
者的外角横移）。
Hernandez, in his book, tells us something important about the typical
tailing action of a fastball: It makes it difficult to come inside to the
opposite-hand hitter. Actually, Hernandez is discussing Phillies left-hander
Danny Jackson, who had quite a bit of tail on his fastball. When Jackson
throws to a right-handed batter, the fastball tends to tail away from the
hitter.
Hernandez 在他的书中提到一些有关这种有尾劲速球的重要观念：这种横移让投手很难将
球塞往对向打者的内角。事实上，Hernandez 谈到了费城人的左投 Danny Jackson，他的
速球有不错的尾劲。当 Jackson 面对右打者时，他的速球大都向打者外侧横移。
That's great for pitching outside, but it makes it hard to pitch on the
inside corner, as the ball tends to drift out over the heart of the plate.
Here's Keith:
这种横移的方式对外角球来说是再好不过了，但这也让投手很难把速球投向内角，因为如
此很容易就让球跑到红中。Keith 是这样说的：
After thirteen pitches tonight in Philadelphia, Danny Jackson hasn't come
inside one time. One reason is that his fastball tends to run away from these
right-handed Braves hitters. If that pitch does not start out three or four
inches inside, if instead it starts out over the inside corner, it will run
toward the middle of the plate and right onto the barrel of the bat.
Danny Jackson 今晚在费城所投的 13 颗速球中，一球都没有往内角塞。其中一个原因是
他的速球会往勇士右打者的外侧跑。如果那颗速球开始的位置不在内角往内三到四英吋，
而是直接对准内角的话，那颗球就会跑到红中，然后被打者一棒扛出去。
Why doesn't Jackson just compensate the tailing action by throwing the ball
way inside and letting it tail back over the inside corner, you ask? That's a
good question (I asked it myself), but Keith says it's very difficult to do
that, for psychological reasons. More on that below, when I discuss the
backup slider.
你应该会问，为什么 Jackson 不一开始就瞄准打者更内侧的地方，这样球就会转回内角？
这是一个很好的问题（我也问了同样的问题），不过 Keith 说这是很难做到的，而主要是
因为心理因素。我在之后谈到开后门的滑球时会更深入谈这个问题。
Hernandez goes on to discuss the "straight" fastball that doesn't tail. You'd
think less movement means less effectiveness, but Keith sees it differently:
Hernandez 接着谈到“直”球，完全没有尾劲的速球。你或许会想尾劲越差的速球应该越
没用吧，但 Keith 有不同的看法：
... it's dangerous for Jackson to throw his "tailing" fastball inside to
right-handed batters, and he hasn't developed the fastball that stays
straight. That's no disgrace, however, because Nolan Ryan never developed one
either, to use against left-handed batters in conjunction with his own
tailing fastball.
...... 要 Jackson 把他“有尾劲”的速球往右打者的内角塞是很危险的一件事，然而他
也没有练成没有横向移动的速球。不过这也没有什么好丢脸的，因为 Nolan Ryan 也没有
去练没有横向移动的速球以在面对左打者时搭配他那有尾劲的速球。
Hernandez goes on to describe part of Greg Maddux's repertoire:
接下来，Hernandez 谈到 Grag Maddux 的球种：
[Maddux] throws a sinking fastball but also another variety straight over the
top, a hard, straight bullet, and he knows that if he throws it inside to
left-handed batters, the ball will stay inside.
[Muddux] 不仅拥有一颗下沉的速球，他还有另一颗没有横向移动，快速，笔直的速球，而
且他知道当他把这种球路向左打者内角塞进去时，它会留在内角。
Danny Jackson's solution to this problem was the development of a cut
fastball. The main goal of the cutter is to throw a fastball without the
regular tailing action. Most cutters tail (only now we say "cut" instead of
"tail") a little in the other direction, i.e. in on a right-handed batter (if
thrown by a lefty like Jackson). The trick is to keep the velocity of the
cutter up near that of the regular fasty.
至于 Danny Jackson 的解决办法是练卡特球。卡特球的主要目的是要让速球拥有不同的横
向移动方式。大部分的卡特球会往另一个方向横移（在英文中会用“cut”而不是“tail”
），也就是说，会往右打者的内角钻进去（如果是由 Jackson 这种左投手来投的话）。而
成功的秘诀就是把卡特球的球速用到跟一般的速球一样快。
Back-up or back-door?
开哪一种后门？
You probably have heard the term "backdoor slider." Or maybe it was "backup
slider"? And maybe it wasn't clear just exactly what these terms meant? Well,
Professor Hernandez makes it clear. The backdoor slider (or curveball, the
term applies to both pitch types) is a pitch that starts out off the plate,
outside, then breaks in over the outside corner (or tries to). From the
description, you should be able to tell that this term only applies when a
righty pitcher faces a lefty batter and vice versa.
你应该听过开后门吧。在英文中有两种不同的说法，“backdoor slider”或者是“backup
slider”。或许你并不清楚这两种说法指的到底是什么样子的球路。嗯，就让 Hernandez
教授来为你解说吧。backdoor slider（或是 curveball，这个说法对两种球种都适用）是
指投出去的球一开始看起来像是在靠好球带外侧的坏球，但接着却转进外角好球带（或尝
试着转进外角好球带）。由这样的解释，你应该可以了解这种球路是右投手面对左打者或
是左投手面对右打者所使用的。
A backup slider (or, again, curve) is similar, except that here the pitch is
off the plate, inside, and breaks over the inside corner. Of course, this can
only occur for a righty-righty or lefty-lefty matchup. This would seem like a
very effective pitch, since the batter would perceive the ball might hit him,
causing him to turn away or bail out, while the pitch breaks over the plate.
Here's the thing about the backup slider, though: Nobody throws this pitch on
purpose, at least according to Mex.
backup slider（或者是 curve）跟 backdoor slider 类似，不过这种说法指得是投出去
的球一开始看起来像是在靠好球带内侧的坏球，但接着却转进内角好球带。当然，这只有
在右投手面对右打者或是左投手面对左打者时才会发生。这或许看起来是一种很有效的球
路，因为打者会以为球要打到他，于是就转身或者干脆闪开，但此时球却窜进好球带。不
过这里有一点要注意：没有人会刻意投这种球路，至少 Mex （Keith Hernandez 的外号）
是这么说的。
Here are Keith's very words on the backup slider:
底下就是 Keith 对 backup slider 所做的讲解：
The right-handed pitcher facing the right-handed batter wants to throw the
breaking ball on the outside corner. Why? If any breaking ball misses the
target, it's usually to the left, outside, as the right-handed pitcher sees
the plate. Locating the breaking ball inside in this righty-righty matchup is
even tougher psychologically because the pitcher has to aim almost behind the
batter. So the tendency is even more to miss to the left. And if you aim at
the inside corner but miss to the left, where does that leave the pitch? Over
the inner half—the heart of the plate.
右投手在面对右打者时，都会想要把大幅度的变化球投在外角。为什么？因为当大幅度的
变化球失投时，通常都会往左偏，滑向好球带外侧，如果由投手的方向来看的话。心理因
素使得右投手在面对右打者时更难将大幅度的变化球投向内角，因为投手必须要瞄准打者
的身后才能投出这种球路。而这种压力会使失投球更向左偏。猜猜看，如果你想投到内角
，但球却失投往左偏，那么你的球会跑到哪里呢？稍稍偏内侧－－好球带的心脏地带。
Hernandez goes on to recount how Bob Gibson said that the inadvertent backup
slider was his best pitch, but he couldn't throw it there intentionally.
Hernandez 接着谈到 Bos Gibson 曾经说过，不小心投出来的 backup slider 是他最厉害
的球路，不过他没有办法刻意投出那种球。
If as great a pitcher as Bob Gibson couldn't throw the backup breaking pitch
with any consistency, who can? Nobody. That's why it's never thrown
intentionally. When you see it, mark it down as a mistake, even if it froze
the batter for a strike. You heard it here first.
如果连像 Bob Gibson 这么伟大的投手都没有办法随心所欲的投出这种球路的话，谁可以
办的到呢？没有人可以。这就是为什么没有人会刻意投这种球。当你看到这种球路时，把
它当成是一颗失投球，就算打者站着被三振也是一样。这是你第一次听到这种说法吧。
You do see this pitch occasionally, where the batter flinches and the ball
drops in for a strike. I happened to see Carlos Marmol throw one the other
day and broadcaster Len Kasper praised it as a great pitch. To his credit,
Bob Brenly (an ex-player himself, of course) vaguely alluded to the
difficulty of locating that pitch consistently. Nobody called it a mistake
pitch, though.
有时候你的确会看到打者躲开一颗看似要触身的球，但接着那颗球却转进好球带。我那天
刚好看到 Carlos Marmol 投了一颗这样的球，而主播 Len Kasper 赞美那是十分精采的一
球。不过我想称赞的是 Bob Brenly（当然，他之前也是一位球员）稍微提到那种球路是很
难随心所欲的投出来。可是，没有人会把那种球叫做失投球。
Changeups not allowed inside
变速球不准往内角塞
One thing I've learned analyzing pitch data is that changeups are used almost
exclusively against opposite-hand batters—lefty pitcher to righty batter and
vice versa. There's not really any secret about that, even a casual observer
of the game could figure that out if he were paying attention. But something
that I did not know, and learned reading this textbook on pitching, was that
changeups are invariably thrown towards the outside part of the plate. As
usual, Keith does not mince words:
我从分析投球资料中学到，变速球通常只被拿来对付对向打者－－左投手拿来对付右打者
或右投手拿来对付左打者。这倒不是一个秘密，就算是一个普通的观众也会发现这件事，
只要他够专心的话。但是有些事情我以前并不知道，不过我从这本投球教科书里学到了，
那就是变速球一向都往外角投。跟平常一样，Keith 很直接的说：
The change-up is never thrown purposefully inside. Never.
变速球永远不会刻意投向内角。永远不会。
Now, I would have thought just the opposite. Here's my reasoning: the batter
will tend to be "out in front" of the changeup. If the pitch is inside, he
can only pull the ball foul. But if the pitch is on the outside of the plate,
the early swing and the outside location of the pitch will tend to compensate
and the result will be a ball hit fair. Not so, says Keith:
不过，如果没看这本教科书的话，我可能会以为变速球永远只投向内角。底下是我的想法
：打者在面对变速球的时候通常会“出棒过早”。如果球投向内角的话，他顶多能把球捞
到界外而已。但是，假如球投向外角，出棒时机跟球的位置两个因素反而正好互相抵销，
然后结果就是一个界内球。不过 Keith 说，不是这样的：
If the change does what it's designed to do and gets the hitter off stride,
about all he can do with the pitch over the outside part of the plate is to
hit it weakly toward the end of the bat. But even if he is off stride he can
still get the head of the bat on the inside change-up and pull it with power,
sometimes with one arm. The pitcher who throws an inside change-up runs a
major risk that he will soon be, in the immortal words of George Hendrick,
"rubbing up a new one".
如果变速球有达到它的效果，而打者的出棒节奏被扰乱，他能对外角球做的事就只有用棒
头去碰球。但是就算打者的出棒节奏被扰乱，他仍然可以用球棒前段去强力拉击在内角的
变速球，有时候甚至只用一只手。而把变速球投向内角的投手将会像 George Hendrick 的
经典名言所描述的，“向裁判要一颗新球来搓吧”。
Hernandez sounds pretty confident in his proclamations, but it should be
noted that not everyone necessarily agrees with this changeup-only-outside
policy. Ex-major league pitcher and current Oakland A's pitching coach Curt
Young, in an interview with Baseball Prospectus, was asked what he'd do
different if he were pitching today. The left-hander replied:
Hernandez 听起来对他的言论十分有自信，不过我还是要提一下，不是所有人都同意变速
球一定要投向外角。前大联盟投手、现任奥克兰运动家投手教练 Curt Young 在受
Baseball Prospectus 访问时被问到，如果他现在还在投球的话，他会做什么改变。这位
左投手回答：
... Also, using changeups in different locations. Guys have been possessed,
including myself, to throw changeups away to righties, but change-ups in to
righties can be effective, too.
...... 同时，将变速球投到不同的位置。大家，包括我自己，都一直认为面对右打者时变
速球要投到外角，但是投向右打者内角的变速球也一样会很有效。
Amaze your friends!
吓吓你的朋友！
Armed with this knowledge about changeups, accidental backup breaking balls
and tailing fastballs, you are now in a position to amaze your friends with
your baseball knowledge. Keith spells it out:
了解了变速球，偶尔出现一次开后门的大幅度变化球，以及有尾劲的速球，你可以用这些
棒球知识来吓吓你的朋友。Keith 是这么说的：
Given this [information], you are now in a position to amaze your friends by
calling the pitch selection in this one situation, based only on the
catcher's setup behind the plate. Here's the rule: When the catcher sets up
over the inside corner in a righty-righty or lefty-lefty matchup, gasoline is
on its way—cheese, cheddar, the fastball—because the catcher is not going
to request either the change-up or the breaking pitch on the inside corner.
You can bet the mortgage on that.
有了这些［资讯］，你可以借由捕手的位置来猜出配球，同时也可以吓吓你的朋友。底下
就是如何猜出配球的规则：当捕手在右投手面对右打者或左投手面对左打者时蹲到打者内
侧，速球就要来了（译按：内文中的 cheese 及 cheddar 是英文中对速球另外的说法），
因为捕手是不会配内角变速球或者是大幅度变化球的。你可以放心的把全身家当赌上去。
Try this out on your friends (or better yet, your enemies). You can probably
win a few beers using Keith's rule of the inside target.
你可以在你朋友身上试试这招（或者在你的敌人身上试试）。你或许可以用 Keith 的内角
规则赢到一些啤酒。
A skeptical comment
伴随着怀疑的评论
You know, it seems to me that some pitchers really do try to locate their
slider inside to some same-hand batters. Daisuke Matsuzaka comes to mind as
an example. But maybe Keith is right, maybe those inside sliders are mistake
pitches. But, every single one? And perhaps somebody out there is working
changeups inside occasionally, who knows, maybe one of the Oakland pitchers
working under Curt Young? I think the PITCHf/x data might be able to verify
(or refute) some of these claims by Keith Hernandez. I haven't looked at the
data yet, so I don't know what I'll find, but I'm guessing that Keith is, for
the most part, on target. Stay tuned for more.
你知道的，我觉得有些投手真的会在面对某些同向打者时，将滑球投向内角。Daisuke
Matsuzaka 就是一个例子。但是 Keith 可能是对的，或许那些内角滑球的确是失投。不过
，每一颗都是吗？而且或许有些投手偶尔会把变速球投向内角，谁晓得呢，也许奥克兰的
投手中有人在 Curt Young 的指导下这么做。我认为 PITCHf/x 应该可以证明（或反驳）
某些 Keith Hernandez 的论点。我还没有开始研究相关的资料，所以我也不知道结果会怎
样，但是我猜 Keith 所说的应该大部分都是对的。继续阅读 THT 的文章，我们会提供更
多的资讯。