https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-2006-year-in-review
'06: An unlikely champ, pink bats and 1st WBC
'06：黑马、粉红球棒、第一届世界棒球经典赛
Year: 2006
NLDS: Cardinals over Padres in 4; Mets over Dodgers in 3
ALDS: A’s over Twins in 3; Tigers over Yankees in 4
LCS: Cardinals over Mets in 7; Tigers over A’s in 4
World Series: Cardinals over Tigers in 5
MVPs: AL: Justin Morneau, Twins; NL: Ryan Howard, Phillies
Cy Youngs: AL: Johan Santana, Twins; NL: Brandon Webb, D-backs
Rookies of the Year: AL: Justin Verlander, Tigers; NL: Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
All-MLB Team (chosen by me, in 2020):
1B: Albert Pujols, Cardinals
2B: Chase Utley, Phillies
SS: Derek Jeter, Yankees
3B: Miguel Cabrera, Marlins
OF: Jermaine Dye, White Sox
OF: Carlos Beltrán, Mets
OF: Manny Ramirez, Red Sox
C: Joe Mauer, Twins
DH: David Ortiz, Red Sox
SP: Johan Santana, Twins
SP: Brandon Webb, D-backs
SP: Aaron Harang, Reds
SP: Chris Carpenter, Cardinals
RP: Trevor Hoffman, Padres
RP: Francisco Rodríguez, Angels
（上面这些应该就不用翻了）
When did the illusion that a Major League Baseball regular season was enough
of a marathon to whittle out any non-contenders from the postseason party
begin? Was it in 1973, when the Mets went 82-79 and still reached the World
Series? Was it in '81, when the Royals were under .500 in the first "half" of
the season, but got to play in the postseason because of their strong second
"half"? Was it in 2005, when the Padres barely sneaked over .500 at 82-80 and
still made the postseason? Or was it simply when Billy Beane said in “
Moneyball” that his “[stuff] doesn’t work in the playoffs?”
大家是何时产生了“棒球球季长度长到可以把任何没竞争力的球队从季后赛中淘汰”的
幻觉的？是大都会队赛季82-79却打进世界大赛的1973年吗？还是皇家队“上半季”胜率
不到五成、“下半季”却暴冲打进季后赛的1981年呢？还是教士队以82-80的成绩勉强溜
进季后赛的2005年呢？还是从Billy Beane在“魔球”中说出“这套在季后赛不管用”这
句名言的时候呢？
I might argue that 2006 was the year that did it. The postseason never felt
less like a crapshoot than it did in '06.
我会说是2006年。没有哪年的季后赛比06年更像是在赌花旗骰的。
You could argue there were five legitimately excellent MLB teams in 2006. The
Yankees (who won 97 games with a fun mix of young and old, including an
MVP-caliber season from Jeter), the A’s (93 wins from the peak “Moneyball”
era), the Twins (who had both the American League MVP Award and the AL Cy
Young Award winners), the Tigers (an all-time chemistry team, with an AL
Rookie of the Year Award winner in Verlander, and all sorts of appealing
veterans) and perhaps the best team of them all, the Mets (with a ridiculous
lineup that featured David Wright and José Reyes right as they were
exploding, the best year of Beltrán’s career and a still terrifying Carlos
Delgado). Any one of those teams would have felt like a worthy World Series
winner, and a title would have ended two decades of pain for the Tigers, Mets
and the Twins, it would have vindicated everything Beane was doing in Oakland
and it could have been the Yankees grabbing the crown right back after the
Red Sox had so cruelly stolen it from them two years earlier.
你可以说2006的大联盟里有五只货真价实的强队：该年赢得97胜、拥有打出最有价值球员
等级的Jeter以及组成有老有少的洋基队；赢得93胜、正值“魔球”巅峰期的运动家队；
同时拥有该年美联赛扬奖及最有价值球员的双城队；当年拥有着史诗级团队化学效应、美
联最佳新人Verlander以及一群各方看好的老将的老虎队；当然还有拥有正在起飞的David
Wright和Jose Reyes、巅峰时期Beltrán以及战力依旧的Carlos Delgado等惊人打线、实
力也许是这五支球队之冠的大都会队。
上述五支球队都有问鼎世界大赛冠军的架势；老虎、大都会、双城队都可借此解除长达二
十年的冠军荒；Billy Beane可借此向世人验证他在奥克兰所做的一切；而洋基则可借此
将两年前被红袜残酷地夺走的王冠给抢回来。
But none of those teams won the World Series that year. None of the 12 teams
that won more than 83 games won it. Nope: The St. Louis Cardinals won it.
但上述这些球队当年都铩羽而归。甚至当年那12支超过83胜的球队通通杠龟。不好意思，
最后是圣路易红雀队摘下桂冠。
The Cardinals had put together some terrific teams in the years before 2006.
The '05 squad had won 100 games. The '04 team won 105