前言：
今天看到这篇文章后下午就开始翻一直翻到刚刚在结束，
正准备上来PO文的时候才发现已经有另外一位板友开始着手进行了，
不过这篇真的很长，而且好不容易翻完，
首先要跟另一位已经着手翻译本文的板友说声抱歉，
也谢谢各位体谅我还是把译文PO上来的任性。
原文网址：http://tinyurl.com/ydfyv5gu
By Daniel Brown of Bay Area News Group
Where have you gone, Tim Lincecum? In search of beloved Giants ace
寻人启事：那为球迷们所热爱的巨人王牌Tim Limcecum现在在哪里？
SEATTLE — Tim Lincecum’s last known address is tucked behind a partial
fence, just off a sloped dead-end street near the shores of Lake Washington.
Tim Lincecum最后为人所知的住址是座落在华盛顿湖边一条位于斜坡上的死巷内，
而处在那个地址的居所则隐身在一片残破的围篱之后。
Getting to the front door of the barn-red building requires crossing a short
bridge. It feels like walking the plank.
在抵达这座房子的正门以前需要先走过一座短桥，
走在这座桥上的感觉像是走在木板上一样。
This is where I rang the doorbell over the course of a few days last week. It
’s been said that nearly a third of Bigfoot sightings come from the Pacific
Northwest, so this was my best bet at finding the elusive, mythical, shaggy
creature known as The Freak.
在全美据传见到大脚怪的事件里有约三分之一的通报地点是来自于这个位于太平洋沿岸的
西北地区，而那就是我上周前去拜访的地方。我想，来到这应该是最有机会找到当年那个
被人们称做怪胎的神祕生物。
No such luck. Lincecum, the Giants’ two-time Cy Young Award winner, never
answered the door, and neither did anyone else. Whenever I pressed the
doorbell, the lone stirring came from annoyed dogs.
但那天好运并不站在我身边，我想要找寻的两届赛扬奖巨人名投Tim Lincecum并没有如愿
出现，甚至没有任何人来应门。无论我何时按电铃，回应我的永远只有那被打扰的狗狗所
发出来的低沉嘶吼。
My editor dispatched me to Seattle because people miss the living daylights
out of Timothy LeRoy Lincecum. This has been the first Major League season
without him since 2007, when the tiny kid with the big fastball first set
AT&T Park ablaze.
湾区人民们无一不盼望能够再度生活在那有着Timothy LeRoy Licecum的阳光下，于是我
的编辑便将这找寻他的重责大任交付予我。本季是从2007年起首度没有Tim Lincecum的一
个球季，人们无法看到这个球速与身材不成正比的小伙子在AT&T Park发光发热。
“It was a little guy taking on the world,” recalled broadcaster Duane
Kuiper. “Everybody likes that.”
播报员Duane Kuiper说：
“当初就是一个小家伙征服全世界。大家都喜欢这样的故事。”
Over the course of nine Giants seasons and three World Series victories, The
Freak entranced, enthralled, delighted and sometimes maddened.
综观Tim Lincecum为巨人效力的九个球季，他为他们得到了三个世界大赛冠军。
他那种时而专注冷静，时而疯狂的形态让人感到如痴如醉。
Lincecum was the best pitcher in the league for a stretch and then, almost
inexplicably, one of the worst. Either way, he put on a show that made him
one of the most popular and fascinating players in San Francisco history.
当年的Lincecum绝对是联盟内的最佳投手之一，但后来，却是江河日下。但无论如何，他
绝对是巨人队史上，最让人为之疯狂的其中一位。
His absence feels particularly acute this season, with a team devoid of both
wins and personality.
他的实力及那独特的个人风格都让今年一胜难求的巨人队分外想念。
Where have you gone, Tim Lincecum?
The Giants turn their last-place eyes to you.
巨人队在分区谷底里眼巴巴的找寻着当年的那个Tim Lincecum，
不停的问著：“你到底去了哪里？”
“The vibe around the Giants was different because of Timmy,” pitching coach
Dave Righetti told me shortly before my trip. “You’re talking about every
walk of life — kids, women, little girls, little boys, grown men. They just
wanted to watch this guy.”
我在出发前跟巨人队投手教练Dave Righetti谈了一会儿，
他说：
“Timmy让整个围绕在巨人队旁的一切人事物有着截然不同的变化。
无论他们来自何方，身处何处，每个人都想要看到他。”
It wasn’t just that Lincecum threw in the upper-90s or that that he led the
National League in strikeouts three consecutive times. It was that he did so
with a bat boy’s physique and a skateboarder’s cool.
这一切并不全然来自于他那96英哩以上快速球或是他那领先联盟的三振数，
而是他那近乎球童般的身形搭配上他类似酷酷滑板少年的气质。
Lincecum’s starts were holidays. He could turn a Tuesday night in August
into a happening. People wished each other a happy Timmy Day.
只要是Lincecum登板先发那天就是假日，他就是有办法将八月里某一个平凡无奇的周二晚
上变成一个专属于他的节日，在那一天，人们会互相对彼此说著Timmy节快乐借此庆祝。
“It was a happy fit because he was San Francisco. He is San Francisco.
Quirky. Eccentric. Marches to his own beat,” Giants CEO Larry Baer said. “
When it was Timmy Day, it wasn’t just that he was good. It was like a lot of
the fans felt their son was pitching. ‘Here’s our kid going out there.’ He
was embraced in that way — your son’s Little League game. You really felt
invested, emotionally, in his performance.”
巨人队CEO Larry Baer说：
“对旧金山来说，Tim Lincecum就是一个代表着他们的存在。
古怪中带有一点骄纵，不顾旁人眼光，按照着自己的风格行事。当年他所造成的旋风不单
单是因为他的实力，许多时候更像是球迷们觉得看着他就像是看着自己的儿子在球场上打
拼。每个人都会说：你看，我们的儿子上场了。球迷是以这种方式去爱戴着他，就像是你
去看你孩子的少棒赛，你全心投入，也因他的表现而产生情绪起伏。”
Now, the pitcher you couldn’t take your eyes off is nowhere to be seen.
Lincecum last appeared in a game on Aug 5, 2016, for the Los Angeles Angels.
Pitching in his hometown of Seattle that day, Lincecum’s fading fastball got
knocked around for six runs in 3.1 innings, sending his final ERA to 9.16. He
hasn’t retired yet, but when he does Baer is poised to bring him to San
Francisco in some kind of official capacity. “There’s definitely a place in
the Giants world for Linecum,” he said. “I mean, that goes without saying.”
而现在那个你舍不得将目光从他身上移开的投手已经消失无踪。Lincecum前一次出赛已经
要追溯到2016年8月5号，而当天的他身披天使队制服，站在打击区上的对手则是来自于他
家乡的水手队。球速早已大不如前的Lincecum当天仅投3又3分之1局，掉6分，也让他的
ERA飙涨到9.16。尽管他还没有正式退休，但Baer已经决定如果Lincecum要退休时，他一
定会把Lincecum重新带回旧金山，为他举行一场正式仪式。Baer说：“不须多言，巨人队
的世界里绝对有属于Lincecum的位子。”
Until then? Lincecum is believed to be back here inhabiting the shores of
Lake Washington, although no one with the Giants could say for sure. Someone
thought maybe he was in Arizona. When the team tried to invite him to throw
out the first pitch before a playoff game against the Chicago Cubs last year,
Lincecum was in Hawaii.
那在那一刻来临前呢？尽管巨人队内没有人可以确定，但人们相信Lincecum依旧隐居在华
盛顿湖畔，还有某些人觉得他正在亚利桑纳。去年季后赛，巨人球团原本希望能够邀请
Tim Lincecum为他们与小熊队的比赛进行开球，但他当时人却在夏威夷。
Wherever he is now, he’s keeping a low profile. The Freak is now The Ghost.
无论现在他身处何方，他保持得十分低调。当年的怪胎现在已经成为一抹幽魂。
Lincecum’s agent, Rick Thurman, told the Bay Area News Group in August that
Lincecum is keeping in shape and hopes to pitch again. But Thurman did not
respond to voicemails, texts or e-mails in search of additional details for
this story. Lincecum’s father, Chris, who was once a frequent and chatty
radio guest, did not respond to texts.
Lincecum的经纪人Rick Thurman在今年八月接受Bay Area News Group访问时表示
Lincecum依旧维持训练并希望有一天能重返大联盟。但在此之后，Thurman并没有回复任
何想要更深入探究此件事的任何相关讯息。而Lincecum那位曾经在各大广播节目及脱口秀
都十分活跃的父亲Chris一样没有回复讯息。
Lincecum is not on social media. The last missive from his confirmed (but
never verified) Twitter account came in 2012, when the four-time All-Star
tweeted about a “food coma” after a trip to Benihana’s.
Lincecum并不是一个在社群媒体上活跃的人。最后一条来自被证实是属于他(但并没有经
过审核)的推特帐号的讯息已经要追溯到2012年，讯息内容是Lincecum说他去一间日式餐
厅吃到撑的事情。
A handful of Giants employees who specialize in media relations or alumni
events say Lincecum is the rare ex-player they can’t keep tabs on. A current
Giants player said he sent The Freak a text on his 33rd birthday on June 15.
Weeks later, he still hadn’t heard back.
一群专门负责媒体公关及退役球员联系的巨人球团职员说Lincecum是少数几个他们几乎无
法掌握行踪的人。一个现役巨人球员说他曾在Lincecum满33岁生日的6月15号当天发了个
短信给他，至今仍旧音讯全无。
Even Lincecum’s last public sighting came with an air of myth. Fans spotted
him among the San Francisco crowd protesting for women’s rights in the wake
of Donald Trump’s inauguration in January — and they posted photos on
social media to back it up. But Lincecum did not return a text message
seeking confirmation and Thurman, his agent, said he wasn’t sure it was
actually him.
Lincecum最后一次在公开场合出现的状况则是像谜一般。今年一月Donald Trump就职后，
有球迷在一场位于旧金山街头为争取女权的抗议活动的人群里面认出他来，而且还拍下照
片。但Lincecum没有回复任何试图确认的讯息，而他的经纪人Thurman则说他根本不确定
照片里的人是Lincecum。
# # #
That Lincecum has gone Greta Garbo (or is it Bernie Carbo?) offends nobody
who knows him well. Several Giants players were unfazed about the long lapses
in communication. No one interprets it as a snub. Even at his peak, Lincecum
preferred to lay low.
任何与Lincecum熟识的人都不会被他这种忽然消失的行事方式给冒犯到。许多巨人队球员
并没有因为Lincecum这样长期失联而对他有不同的看法，没有人觉得自己受到Lincecum的
冷落。即便在Lincecum的巅峰期间，他一样是个低调的人。
At the University of Washington, where Lincecum was a two-time Pac-10 pitcher
of the year, there are posters and banners commemorating the fire-balling
star who struck out more batters than anyone in conference history — more
than Tom Seaver, more than Randy Johnson.
在华盛顿大学求学期间，Lincecum曾经两度荣获太平洋十二校联盟最佳投手的头衔，
你可以在校园内看到许多庆贺他突破太平洋十二校联盟最多三振纪录的海报及旗帜，
被他超越的前辈里可是有着像Tom Seaver及Randy Johnson这样的巨投。
But the real Lincecum stays away
但Lincecum与这一切保持距离，好像与他无关一般。
“He doesn’t really have much of a relationship at all with the Husky
baseball program. It’s not a rift and they’re not at odds. It just falls in
line with the way he approached things,” Steve Sandmeyer, the Huskies
play-by-play broadcaster, said in a phone interview.
哈士奇队(华盛顿大学棒球队)的现场播报员Steve Sandmeyer在一次的电话访谈中提到：
“Lincecum与他的队友们的关系一般，不是因为他们合不来，
而是因为Lincecum就是这样的一个人。”
“He’s a big believer in moving on. I think he moved on very quickly from
Washington. Whenever we had a rare opportunity to talk to him … he really
didn’t want to live in the past.
“Lincecum是个放眼前方的人。我认为他很快就把华盛顿大学的一切放在脑后。无论什么
时候我们好不容易找到机会跟他说上两句话，我们却可以从他的言谈中感觉到他不想再谈
以前的事情。”
“And I suspect the same thing is happening now. I think for people who want
to take a trip down memory lane with him, it would be difficult to get him to
talk about that.”
“而我猜现在的这一切跟当年并没有什么不同。
即便人们试着想要与他一聊聊往事，但他们却只能不得其门而入。”
I took a drive over to Liberty High School in Renton, Washington, where
Lincecum first established his legend as a 4-foot-11, 85-pound freshman. (By
his senior year, he’d ballooned to 5-9, 135).
我接着开往位于华盛顿州Renton市的Liberty高中，当年那身高仅近150公分，体重仅近39
公斤的Tim Lincecum便是在这里开启了属于他的传奇篇章。(Lincecum在高三时已经长高
到约175公分，体重也增加到约61公斤。)
I dropped in unannounced and asked for permission to take photos of the
Lincecum mementos on display. The answer came in the form of a cringe. “We
don’t have anything,” the school official said, wistfully.
我并没有事先询问，而是直接前往希望可以让我拍一些与Lincecum有关东西的照片。
然后校方的回应却是说他们并没有相关的东西可提供。
They haven’t heard from Lincecum since the day he graduated in 2003 — “not
a peep” — despite multiple overtures. At Liberty, as with UW, there is no
indication of acrimony. The school official said they remain proud of his
accomplishments and wish him the best.
他们在2003年Lincecum毕业后就没有收到任何关于他的消息。不过就如同Washington大学
一般，在Liberty高中也没有听到任何有关Lincecum的埋怨。但校方依旧表示仍相当
以他的成就为傲，也祝他一切顺利。
Most likely, Lincecum is simply avoiding being fussed over. Elliott Cribby, a
former Huskies teammate, said he dines with Lincecum about once a year and it
’s always a covert operation.
而最可能的是Lincecum只是单纯不想被当成引人注目的焦点。他的哈士奇队时期前队友
Elliott Cribby说他大约每年都会固定跟Lincecum碰面吃个饭，每次碰面都像是在执行一
个祕密行动一样。
“When we go out, he’s got a hoodie on top of his head,” said Cribby, now
the associate head coach at Seattle University. “He doesn’t want to create
a buzz about himself. People recognize him, but at the same time people don’
t recognize him because he looks like a normal guy on the streets.
Cribby说：
“每当我们出去时，Lincecum一定会穿上帽T并把帽子拉起来。他并不想因为自己的现身引
起任何骚动。尽管人们认识他，但他们并不能真正认出他，因为他的打扮就跟你在街上看
到的路人没什么两样。”
“He’s extremely humble. He comes from that middle-class background where
work ethic was instilled in his life. And when he’s off the field, he wants
to just relax and keep a low profile.”
“他是个十分谦逊的人。他来自一个中产阶级家庭，笃信脚踏实地的理念。
而当他不在球场上比赛时，他就想要能低调地过著轻松惬意的生活。”
And if Lincecum actually does get recognized on the town? Buckle up.
那如果Lincecum真的在城里面被认出来的时候怎么办呢？
Michael Burgher, a former Huskies outfielder, recalled heading out with his
pal not long after the Giants won the World Series in 2010. They went to one
of their old hangouts near campus. But it was clear they were no longer
simply two college buddies grabbing a bite.
前哈士奇队外野手Michael Burgher回忆起某次在2010年巨人队夺冠后跟Lincecum一起出
去的状况。那天他们去的餐厅位于校区附近，一间他们学生时代常去的地方。但很显然地
，这次已经不再是两个大学麻吉一起吃个饭那么简单了。
“We were in this bar and there was nobody there. But people started figuring
out who he was and the phone calls started coming in,” Burgher said by
phone. “All of a sudden the bar is full. The table we’re sitting at is full
of shots. And everyone is still sending him drinks.”
Burgher透过电话说：
“当我们进去时，除了我们之外基本上没其他客人。但当人们开始发现坐在那的是大名鼎
鼎的Tim Lincecum，你会发现电话声开始此起彼落，转眼间，整个BAR已经人山人海，而且
我们桌上早已摆满了shots，但人们仍不断地想要请他喝酒。”
As the untouched shot glasses kept piling up like a mounting pitch count,
Lincecum grew uncomfortable. He’d only been famous for a short time and the
attention unnerved him. Burgher remembered Lincecum turning to him in the bar
and saying: “Just don’t leave me. Let’s get out of here. This sucks.'”
正当那些连碰都没被碰的酒杯持续叠得像山一样高的同时，Lincecum感到越来越不自在，
当时他的成名未久，而人们的注意力使他焦虑。Burgher记得Lincecum转头跟他说：“拜
托不要丢下我一个人面对他们。我们赶快闪吧。这实在有够鸟。”
They relocated to a pizza place, but the scene was just as unsettling.
接着他们换到了一间披萨店，但事情并没有什么太大的改变。
“Frat guys were climbing up the light posts yelling down,'Tim Lincecum!'”
Burgher recalled. “Guys were buying pizza and trying to get him to eat
them. ‘Tim, eat my pizza!’
Burgher接着说道：
“一些大学兄弟会的成员爬到路灯上面并对着在下面的我们大喊：Tim Lincecum！
然后大伙就开始一直买披萨并且然后对Lincecum说：嘿，Tim，吃我的披萨啦！”
“It was just weird, you know?”
“你知道吗？那听起来超诡异的。”
# # #
Lincecum created a stir from the day he arrived at AT&T Park. Baer remembers
going down to the clubhouse in 2007 to introduce himself to the Giants’ hot
shot rookie.
从第一天踏进AT&T 球场以来，Lincecum就刮起了属于他的旋风。
Baer到现在还记得在2007年第一次见到这位当时炙手可热的新秀时所发生的事情。
“I walked right by him. I thought he was one of the bat boys,” Baer said
with a laugh. “Where’s Lincecum? Oh, that’s him? It wasn’t just the size.
It was the whole look: I think that was part of his endearing quality. He was
just so kid-like.”
Baer笑着说：
“我当时就从他身旁走过，我觉得那家伙就只是其中一位球童。我还得要问
说Lincecum在哪。那不单单是因为他的身材，而是他整个人散发出来那种惹人疼爱的气质
就让他看起来像个小伙子一样。”
The 10th overall pick in the 2006 draft appeared just 13 times in the minors
before the Giants called him up to face the Philadelphia Phillies on May 7,
2007.
在2007年5月7号巨人队正式把他从小联盟拉上来面对费城人前，
这名2006年第十顺位中选的球员仅在小联盟出赛过13场比赛。
Righetti took Lincecum out to the bullpen to warm up, but it was barely worth
the trouble. Most starting pitchers throw between 40 and 60 pitches to get
loose. “Timmy got to 13, flipped me the ball and was gone,” Righetti said.
“He was ready to go.”
当时投手教练Righetti正在牛棚协助Lincecum热身，
因为一般来说，先发投手大多会在牛棚先练投40~60颗球让全身伸展开来。
但没多久后，他就发现似乎没什么好准备的。
Righetti说：
“Timmy投了13个球之后就把球扔回给我，接着就闪了。他就这样热身完毕了。”
Former Giants catcher Bengie Molina, who would later work behind the plate
for some of Lincecum’s best games, barely knew a thing about him before
catching him the first time.
前巨人队捕手Bengie Molina曾经是Lincecum生涯几场代表作的幕后功臣，尽管如此，
Molina在还没接补Lincecum的球以前对他可说是一无所知。
“They told me, ‘Be ready. He’s electric,”’ Molina said by phone from
Puerto Rico.
Molina在波多黎各透过电话访问时表示：
“他们叫我要准备好。说这家伙可是劲力十足。”
It was love at first flight, even if Lincecum’s first stat line was less
than dazzling. He gave up five runs in 4.1 innings and Molina still blames
himself for calling for a curveball to Shane Victorino, the second batter of
the game. Molina was sure Victorino wouldn’t even swing; he belted it for a
two-run homer.
而事实上，Molina对Lincecum可说是一见倾心。尽管他的首场先发表现不尽人意，不过
Molina把这个结果归咎到自己不应该面对Shane Victorino的时候配了一颗曲球。他原本
肯定Victorino根本不会出棒。结果Victorino却把这颗球轰出场外变成一发两分全垒打。
But in that first inning of his major league career, Lincecum also showed a
glimpse of what was to come. He struck out Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Aaron
Rowand — all swinging.
但Lincecum在他生涯第一局的表现也让人预见到一个传奇生涯的开始，
他让Chase Utley、Ryan Howard以及Aaron Rowand全部挥空遭到三振。
“I loved catching Timmy. He could just cruise through a lineup,” Molina
said. “There’s a reason they called him The Freak. His windup was tricky,
the way he hid the ball.
Molina说：
“我热爱接补Timmy的球。他可以轻易的面对打线内的每一位打者。
人们叫他怪胎是其来有自的。他的挥臂方式及藏球技巧让人难以捉摸。”
“His ball moved everywhere. That’s what people didn’t understand. He threw
a natural cutter. Can you imagine having a good changeup to go with 99 mph?”
“他的球可以投向任何位置，而这也是让打者无法理解的地方。他的快速球带有天然的
Cutter尾劲。然后他还有一颗很棒的变速球去搭配他那可以投到99英哩的快速球。”
Over the course of the next five seasons, Lincecum delivered the most
dominant pitching stretch in these parts since Juan Marichal was kicking the
clouds in the 1960s. Lincecum became the first player in major league history
to win Cy Young Awards in each of his first two full seasons.
而接下来五个球季Lincecum的表现可说是既60年代Juan Marichal的最具宰制力的表现。
Lincecum也是MLB历史上唯一一位可以在生涯头两个球季皆获得赛扬奖肯定的选手。
He set a San Francisco record with 265 strikeouts in 2008, then nearly
matched it with 261 more in 2009.
在2008年时，他以265次三振刷新了巨人队史纪录，而2009年则投出了接近的261次三振。
More than that, he was mesmerizing.
而Lincecum甚至是可以让大家产生一种盲目的信心。
“What I remember most is that when he started a game, you definitely thought
the Giants were going to win that day no matter what,” Kuiper recalled. “
There are other pitchers that you feel like that about. But in my mind it was
an automatic: Unless something really weird happened, we were going to win.
If the Giants didn’t win in his start, it was almost like they lost a
doubleheader.”
Kuiper说：
“我记得在当时只要是Lincecum先发的时候，大家都觉得那场巨人队肯定能赢球。
尽管有某些投手也能让你有这样的信心，但在我心中对于Lincecum先发来讲更像是：
除非发生什么无法解释的怪事，不然没有什么可以阻止Lincecum帮我们赢下这场比赛。
但如果最后巨人队输球了，大家表现出来的就像是单日双重赛两盘尽墨一样的感觉。”
He was must-see Timmy. For sheer fervor, his starts rivaled the atmosphere
generated by bygone theatrical hurlers like Mark Fidrych or Fernando
Valenzuela.
Lincecum先发的比赛就是一场绝不容错过的精采好戏，
就如同当年的Mark Fidrych跟Fernando Valenzuela一样。
“Because he was so different than everybody else,” said Omar Vizquel, the
former Giants shortstop and now a coach with the Detroit Tigers. “Everything
he did, everything that he said, the way he acted and the way he pitched was
so different than anybody else. You couldn’t teach the stuff that he was
doing.”
前巨人队游击手Omar Vizquel说：
“因为Lincecum实在太与众不同。
无论他所做的一切、他讲的每一句话、
他处事的方法以及他投球的形态都没有人可以拿来相比。
他所做的一切是多么的浑然天成，那是教不出来的。”
# # #
Of all things, the hippest player in sports may have been undone by a bad hip.
但这位几乎可以说是所有职业运动里面最嬉皮的球员却被他那受伤的臀部给击倒。
In that regard, there was an early red flag. A memorable Sports Illustrated
cover story — “The Freak,” from July 7, 2008 — mostly detailed Lincecum’
s wondrous rise as “the most fascinating ace of his generation” But writer
Tom Verducci also raised an air of caution about the pitcher’s mechanics. He
noted that the normal stride length for a pitcher is 77 percent to 87 percent
of his height. Lincecum’s stride at that time was 129 percent or roughly 7½
feet.
而这个伤势其实早已有迹可循。虽说2008年7月运动画刊的封面故事里详述了那属于这位
棒球怪胎一切华丽的美好，甚至用上“同世代内最引人入胜的王牌”来形容这个球员，但
作者Tom Verducci同时也针对Lincecum的投球机制提出了他的隐忧。他说多数投手的跨步
长度约在他们身高的77%~87%，但Lincecum的跨步长度达将近215公分，也等于他身高的
129%。
Verducci wrote:
Verducci写道：
A long stride carries two severe risks for pitchers: 1) It can compromise the
ability to rotate the hips; and 2) it can cause a pitcher to land on his heel
with a stiff front leg, the equivalent of slamming on the brakes in a car.
Jump and then land on your heels. The shock of the impact travels up your
legs to your hips. It hurts. Imagine doing it 100 times a game over many
games over many years. It’s no wonder that long-stride pitchers … break
down.
“太长的跨步会给投手带来两个严重的威胁：
1) 这会去挤压到臀部旋转的轨迹。
2) 这会让前脚僵硬的情况下强行使脚跟着地，就像是你使尽全力踩下煞车一样。如同
你往上跳之后却是以脚跟着地。这个冲击力道会经由你的脚一路传到你的臀部，这个动作
会让你受伤的。想像一下一个投手每场至少做这个动作达100次，然后年复一年的需要站
上投手丘多少次。也难怪那些跨步幅度过长的投手最后都会落得如此下场。”
There are many theories about the cause of death with Tim Lincecum’s
fastball, but hip problems remain the leading suspect. He sustained a labral
tear (in this case, the connective tissue between the upper leg and the hip
socket). The injury was announced in June of 2015, but there were signs of
wear and tear before then.
现在有太多关于Lincecum球速锐减的不同理论，但多数人都认同他臀部伤势是一个最主要
的原因。尽管他是在2015年6月的时候被诊断出连结臀部以及大腿的一条肌肉撕裂伤，但
早在这之前就有一些损耗的现象产生。
Lincecum — whom skeptical scouts once deemed too small to be a starter —
posted four consecutive seasons with at least 200 innings. He also had six
consecutive seasons with at least 32 starts.
尽管某些球探因Lincecum的瘦小身材而对他是否能成为先发投手感到存疑，但他实际上是
贡献出连续四季皆投至少超过200局的成绩，而且他更是连续六季都至少先发32场或以上。
Cribby, the former college teammate turned pitching coach, had long marveled
over Lincecum’s ability to maximize his small frame. But he also watched the
power ebb over time.
而Lincecum的前队友Cribby现在也成为了一名投手教练，从大学时期以来，Cribby一直都
对于Lincecum如何从他那瘦小的身材里面去挖掘出如此巨大的动能感到着迷，但他也发现
这股能量却日渐消散。
“I noticed that his stride length was shortening a little bit. And I think
that’s some of the reason he had some hip issues,” he said. “It’s because
he was really, really pushing that lower half in the extremities to go to
points that they’ve never been or points they weren’t supposed to go.”
他说：
“我有发现Lincecum的跨步幅度逐渐缩短，而我猜测这可能跟他臀部受伤脱不了关系。
因为他每次都是使劲全力地把他下半身延展到极限，甚至可能已经突破那本不该被超
越的极限。”
When Lincecum broke in during the 2007 season, his average fastball traveled
94.60 mph, according to comprehensive data available at BrooksBaseball.net.
It was at 94.65 mph for his first Cy Young in ’08 and 93.20 for his second
Cy Young in ’09.
在Lincecum首度登上大联盟的2007年球季，他的快速球均速落在94.60英哩，而他首度获
得赛扬奖的08年球季则是94.65英哩，第二次获得赛扬奖的09年球季而是稍稍降到93.20英
哩。
By his last season with the Giants, in 2015, The Freak’s average fastball
was only 88.74.
而在Lincecum最后效力于巨人队的2015年球季，他的快速球均速仅剩下88.74英哩。
Dave Groeschner, the Giants trainer, acknowledged Lincecum’s hip injury
ultimately affected the pitcher’s drive off the mound because “you have to
use your lower half to generate power and throw. When you have an injury like
that, it’s hard to do.”
巨人队训练员Dave Groeschner承认他认为Lincecum的臀部伤势的确影响到他的投球，他
说一个投手需要靠他下半身的力量产生足够的爆发力以便投球，但当这样的伤势在身时，
那几乎是不可能办到的。
But he is also loathe to pinpoint one specific cause for the rapid decline. I
asked Groeschner if the innings simply caught up with Lincecum.
但同时他也很不喜欢人们把Lincecum的快速衰退全部归咎到同一个原因上。
我向Groeschner询问是不是有可能Lincecum过多的投球局数对他造成反噬。
“Yeah, probably. They do on every starting pitcher,” he said. “Ultimately,
I don’t know if anybody has the right answer about why he didn’t last
longer. … There are a whole bunch of things that nobody will ever have a
definitive word on. They’ll be able to say, ‘I think it was this. I think
it was that.’ But nobody really knows.”
他回答说：
“这是有可能的。但同样的状况一样发生在所有先发投手身上。
说到最后，我还是不知道是否已经有人成功找到他就这样衰退的原因。
有太多事情是没有人可以百分之百肯定的。
你可以听到很多人说他们觉得是这样、是那样，但没有人真正晓得真相。”
Vizquel is in the camp that Lincecum’s small frame was never made for the
long haul.
Vizquel是跟那些认为Lincecum的身材导致他无法维持健康的人站在同一边。
“I think it was because of the way his body was built. He couldn’t take all
of the load of the pitches and everything that you go through,” Vizquel said.
Vizquel说：
“我想这一切都跟他的身材有关，
他的身体无法完全去承担那些投球机制所导致的伤害。”
“Maybe, also, his windup I think really hurt him, too. The way he delivered
the ball, it was a lot of effort. I could see him going back and twisting his
arm — it came all the way around. In the beginning, it looked effortless
because that’s the way he pitched. But I’m pretty sure that really wore his
body out. It’s too bad. It’s like you said: he faded. He started going down
and he never recovered.”
“另外我觉得他的挥臂方式同样对他造成一定程度的损害。
他投球的方式实在太费力。
我曾经看到他在投完球回到休息室后在那边旋转他的手臂看似在试着舒缓不适。
尽管在生涯初期的时候一切看起来是那么的轻松写意，
但我非常确认这个机制是逐渐在侵蚀着他的身体。
就像你说的，他衰退了。当他开始走下坡后，他无法重新再站起来。”
Joe DiMaggio disliked the lyric in “Mrs. Robinson that asks, “Where have
you gone, Joe DiMaggio?” The Yankee Clipper was so upset that he considered
a lawsuit.
Joe DiMaggio起初对"Mrs. Robinson"这首歌里面那句“Joe DiMaggio你跑到哪里了？”
这句歌词感到十分反感，他甚至考虑要针对这句歌词提起法律诉讼。
Paul Simon knew this when, a few years after the song rose to No. 1 on the
pop chart, he approached DiMaggio in an Italian restaurant to elaborate.
而此首歌的作词家Paul Simon在这首歌走红并登上排行榜第一名的数年后得知了这件事，
他趁著在一间意大利餐厅遇到DiMaggio的机会向他提出说明。
“I said that I didn’t mean the lines literally, that I thought of him as an
American hero and that genuine heroes were in short supply,” Simon wrote
after DiMaggio died in 1999. “He accepted the explanation and thanked me. We
shook hands and said good night.”
Simon在DiMaggio于1999年过世后写道：
“我跟他说我这句歌词真正的涵义并不等同于它字面上的意思，
在我心中他是属于美国人的英雄，而且现在世道真正的英雄越来越少，
因此我才会这样有感而发。而他也接受了我的说明，并对我致上感谢之意。
接着我们握手互道晚安告别彼此。”
Lincecum's vanishing act, too, whether willful or accidental, represents the
symbolic end of a golden era. For San Francisco, he was the electricity
behind three World Series parades, the long-haired poster boy for the band of
misfits.
无论Lincecum的消失是来自他本身的意愿或只是个意外的结果，但这件事仍代表了一个黄
金世代的结束。但对旧金山人来说，他依旧是那个三次世界大赛冠军的重要一员，会始终
以一个看起来与周遭格格不入的长发少年的形象存留在每一个人心中。
The Giants are ready to welcome back Timmy when the time is right. They just
need to find him first.
巨人队已经准备好要在适当的时机重新把Lincecum带回到大家的面前。
但他们还是需要先想办法找到他。
Lincecum has left and gone away.
因为Lincecum已经离开，而且走远了。