主要参考原文: http://tinyurl.com/64odjat
有兴趣的可以看看，这里只节录重点
这过程差不多可以拍电影了吧
Baseball was most welcoming to Axford in 2001, when Seattle drafted him in
the seventh round out of high school. Axford instead took a scholarship to
Notre Dame, but he blew out his elbow in November of his junior year. He
redshirted, but pitched only three innings as a senior in 2005 and lost his
scholarship.
Axford在01年第七轮被选上，就像很多高中生一样，他跑去念大学 (圣母)，希望提升身价
。不过大三的时候手肘受伤开TJ，大四只投了三局而丧失奖学金。
The Cincinnati Reds drafted Axford in the 43rd round, but he told them he had
no place to pitch. So he enrolled at Canisius, and the Reds watched him once
in 2006 and declined to offer a contract.
那一年他在43轮被红人选上，为了提升身价而去Canisius College投球，可是投太烂，
结果红人拒绝提出合约。
Axford moved on to a summer league in Saskatchewan, playing for the Melville
Millionaires, whose players draw no salary. After striking out 19 in a
seven-inning game, he drew the attention of the Yankees, who signed him for
2007.
不得已之下，Axford去夏季联赛打球，投了一场七局19K比赛，吸引了洋基的注意而签下他
。
Shuffling between three Class A teams, and playing one game at Class AAA,
Axford had 67 strikeouts in 63 innings and a 3.29 E.R.A. But he was already
24, and his 45 walks and average fastball led to his release.
在小联盟成绩还OK，可是年纪有点大控球烂stuff又普普，就被释出了。
With his baseball career in doubt, Axford tried using his degree. He had
interned at a television station during college and hoped to break into film
production in Toronto. With no offers, he took a job with Telus
Communications, standing in the cellphone sections at Wal-Mart and Best Buy
and pushing Telus products. He was paid less than $8 an hour.
本来想转行拍电影，可是没offer，只好当手机销售员。
Axford continued to train, and he planned to throw for a few scouts at an
indoor facility in Mississauga before spring training. Because of a
snowstorm, only one scout showed up, from the Brewers. Axford made a positive
impression and got a job.
虽然生活困顿，但他还是持续训练。在隔年春训前找了几个球探看他投球，可是刚好遇到
暴风雪，只有酿酒人的球探到场。Axford表现得不错，得到一份小联盟合约。
He struggled at high-Class A in 2008, but secured off-season work with a call
from Mike Simoncic, the owner of an East Side Mario’s franchise restaurant
in Hamilton. Simoncic belatedly noticed Axford’s résumé, which listed the
Yankees as a former employer. He was intrigued, and hired Axford to tend bar
in the off-season before spring training in 2009.
那一年还是丢得不好，不过他很快找到寒假打工 - 当酒保。
Axford made $8.25 an hour and tips, and Simoncic promised that if he ever
made the majors, he would fly in for his debut. It seemed like a fanciful
goal until the Brewers minor league instructors Lee Tunnell and Fred Dabney
revamped Axford’s robotic delivery the next spring.
看起来差不多是免洗小联盟咖了，不过就在这时遇到贵人 - 小联盟训练员Lee Tunnell和
Fred Dabney。
Tunnell had coached in the Arizona Fall League when Roy Halladay, a future
ace, was learning a three-quarters arm angle and emphasizing a front-hip
turn. Tunnell took note of Halladay’s adjustments and, years later, applied
them to Axford.
多年以前，Tunnell在秋联执教时刚好遇到正在进行投球大改造的年轻Roy Halladay。
Tunnell记下了当时Halladay的调整，并且把它运用到Axford的改造上。
“That’s what helped me,” Axford said. “I could feel myself getting out
front better, I could feel myself not falling off as much. Literally, from
one game to the next, it was a matter of three or four miles an hour. All of
a sudden, it was just there.”
Axford: 自从改造以后，个子变高了，自信心也回来了，投球都投100mph呢。
Axford was in the majors by September 2009, and Simoncic made good on his
pledge, watching from the second row behind the dugout for Axford’s debut at
Wrigley Field.
09年季末终于升上大联盟了。接下来就是大家所知道的，在隔年从Hoffman手中接下终结者
一职，直到现在。