来源: The New York Times
网址: https://tinyurl.com/y7mvt2a6
Tossing a Baseball to Fans Isn’t So Simple Anymore. Some Players Like That.
要把球丢给球迷不再是件简单的事 有些球员还挺喜欢的
Before the start of a half-inning, Yankees first baseman Greg Bird routinely
ends up with the infielders’ warm-up ball and a decision that has become a
lot more complicated lately: Which fan will get a souvenir, and how? A soft
toss to a child near the dugout is no longer an option.
在每个半局开始之前，洋基一垒手Greg Bird通常是拿到内野手大家暖身完后的那颗球的球
员，要如何处理这颗暖身球在最近变得有点难处理：哪个球迷可以拿到这颗球？如何给呢？
因为要像以前把球轻松丢给在休息区旁边的小球迷已经不再是个选择。
That moment of connection between fan and player, one of baseball’s
cherished rituals, has been disrupted by the expanded protective netting now
in all 30 major league parks.
那个串起球员跟粉丝的时刻，那个棒球比赛里大家很珍惜的仪式，已经被球场上扩大设置
的保护网给干扰了。
“The nets, they really just throw a wrinkle in it,” Bird said. “The people
closest to you are harder to get the ball to. I get supernervous trying to
throw it over those nets, especially if the kid’s in the first couple of
rows. The net kind of angles, so you can get it over to them, but it just
looks weird.”
“放个保护网真的是添麻烦，”Bird说。“那些离你最近的人反而更难拿到球。当我试着
要把球丢过网子的时候，我超级紧张的，尤其是要丢给在前几排的小朋友的时候。那个网
子有个角度，是可以把球丢过去，但是看起来真的怪。”
He had no complaints, though. Nor did the more than a dozen other players
interviewed for this article, who all praised the changes in the safety
netting, which as of this season stretches to at least the far end of every
dugout. (Some teams, including the Mets and the Yankees, have extended their
netting down the outfield lines.)
但是他没抱怨，其他十几个在这篇文章里接受访问的球员也没有，大家都对这个球季延伸
保护网到休息区这措施表示赞许。(有些球队，包括梅子跟洋基，甚至延伸到外野区)
The players had seen too many fans, including young children, hit by
screaming foul balls and flying broken bats over the last few years. So they
welcomed the change and gladly adapted their methods of distributing souvenir
balls. Some even relished the challenge.
球员们在过去几年看到太多球迷，包括一些小朋友，被高速的界外球或是断棒打到。所以
对这样的保护措施，球员们都很欢迎，他们也很乐意的配合改变他们给纪念球的方法，有
些球员甚至喜欢上这样的挑战。
“There’s a lot of strategy,” Bird said with a smile, using air quotes on
the word “strategy.”
“有很多"策略"可以用，”Bird在讲的时候，面带微笑，在讲"策略"的时候双手比了个引
号的手势。
There are at least 17 inning-ending, final-out balls to be handed out at
every game, not to mention the ones used in warm-ups. When protective screens
covered only the area behind home plate, players flipped a large share of the
balls right above the dugout, a premium seating area.
每一场至少有17个半局，最后出局数的那颗球会给出去，更不要说在半局之间的暖身球。
所以当保护网只有在本垒区后方的时候，球员会把大部分的球丢给在休息区后方的观众
席，也就是高级座位区。
Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt said he used to roll the ball
across the dugout roof to a first-row resident at home games, but now he
walks to the far right edge of the team’s third-base dugout, where the
netting ends.
响尾蛇一垒手Paul Goldschmidt说他以前会在主场打球的时候，会直接把球用滚的，直接
从休息区屋顶滚给第一排的观众，但是现在他要跑到休息区末端，网子没延伸到那里的三
垒休息区边边给球迷。
Some players seek gaps in the netting, learning the variations in each
stadium. Young fans learn, too, often running over to the openings between
innings.
有些球员则会观察每个球场的差别，去找网子之间的空隙，一些小球迷也学会观察这现
象，会在攻守交换的时候跑去网子的空隙准备接球。
Players also loop the ball over the netting, giving fans farther back a shot.
The result, players say, is a democratization in the distribution of
souvenirs.
一些球员也会把球丢超过网子，让比较后排的观众也有机会。也因此，一些球员说，这也
算是一种给纪念球的"民主化"。
“It’s just spreading the love now,” Andrew Romine, a utility player for
the Seattle Mariners, said. “Now the people a little bit farther back can
get a ball between innings.”
“现在就是把爱分享出去，”水手队工具人球员Andrew Romine说到。“现在一些比较后排
的观众也可以在局间转换的时候拿到球。”
The over-the-netting method also takes some pressure off players to choose a
recipient.
把球丢过网子的方式也让球员减少了决定要把球丢给哪个观众的压力。
“Actually it’s pretty cool — you just launch it up,” Red Sox first
baseman Steve Pearce said earlier this season, when he was still with the
Blue Jays. “Now you’re not singling out a single person. Now it’s like: ‘
You guys want a ball? Here you go.’ ”
“事实上这很棒