棒球運(yùn)動(dòng)中也有信仰

There is saying at the race track that you can't "rule a man off for trying." I believe in this approach to life on this earth. I believe in God. I believe in my country. I believe in basic human decency. I believe there is a right and a wrong way to do things. If I were asked to define Americanism - what made our country what it is to date - I would say it was the American's willingness and ambition to stand on his own two feet. I keep a box score on every baseball game I cover. There is a credit column in which hits are recorded and there is a debit column in which errors are listed. These are often deceptive. They will give hits to a batter who has been lucky and they will charge errors against a fielder who has been unlucky. This is a small mirror of life itself. These things over a long run even up just as they do in life.
賽場(chǎng)上有一種說(shuō)法，“選手有嘗試的機(jī)會(huì)”。我相信生活中也應(yīng)采取這種態(tài)度。我還相信上帝，相信我的祖國(guó)，相信人性本善，相信處事原則有對(duì)有錯(cuò)。如果讓我來(lái)界定什么是美國(guó)精神，也就是我們的國(guó)家得以有今日之成就的這種精神，我認(rèn)為它指的就是美國(guó)人民自強(qiáng)自立的意愿和志向。我保留著自己報(bào)導(dǎo)過(guò)的每場(chǎng)棒球比賽的成績(jī)一覽表。表上正分那一欄記錄的是擊出安打的次數(shù)，負(fù)分那一欄則記錄著失誤的次數(shù)。這樣的記錄常常不準(zhǔn)確，因?yàn)橛袝r(shí)會(huì)把安打球記在某位走運(yùn)的擊球員身上，而有時(shí)又會(huì)把失誤記在某位倒霉的守場(chǎng)員身上，但久而久之總的數(shù)據(jù)還是會(huì)基本扯平——生命中的許多事情又何嘗不是如此。

've seen shortstops make errors on plays another shortstop would not even try to make. He had his record in mind. The shortstop who made the errors had the team's success in mind. He was willing to sacrifice his personal record in the greater interest of the team's success. There is a kind of religion in that attitude.
我見(jiàn)過(guò)有些游擊手在比賽中故意出現(xiàn)失誤，這些失誤其他游擊手壓根兒不會(huì)考慮，因?yàn)樗麄兡X子里想的是自己的個(gè)人表現(xiàn)記錄。選擇故意失誤的游擊手想的是球隊(duì)的勝利，為了顧全球隊(duì)的大局，他們寧可犧牲自己的個(gè)人成績(jī)。我想這種態(tài)度就是一種信仰的體現(xiàn)。

I've often wondered how it would be, how it would affect the lives of our people if we all kept a daily box score on ourselves. As a matter of fact, I believe in sports as a way of life. It was Wellington who said battles are won on the playing fields of Eton. I believe it can be stated with equal truth that the principles of decent citizenship are born on the sand lots of Bass River, Massachusetts, Peoria, Illinois, and Southgate, California.
我常想，如果我們每人每天都能填寫(xiě)一份自己的成績(jī)與不足一覽表，那我們的生活將會(huì)怎樣變化！其實(shí)我一直都認(rèn)為體育運(yùn)動(dòng)也是一種生活方式。威靈頓公爵曾經(jīng)說(shuō)過(guò)，人生的勝負(fù)是在伊頓公學(xué)的操場(chǎng)上決定的。我想這句話對(duì)棒球場(chǎng)也同樣適用。馬薩諸塞州的巴斯河，伊利諾伊州的皮奧里亞，加利福尼亞州的紹斯蓋特——在這些棒球訓(xùn)練場(chǎng)上，公民的優(yōu)良品質(zhì)得以形成、得以體現(xiàn)。

That's where our youngsters first see the religion of sports, if I may be permitted the term, in actual use. They learn about fair play, sportsmanship and working together in a common cause. And because they frequently learn by ugly contrast, their instincts and the early teachings they got from their parents are sharpened against unfair practices, bully-ragging and swell-headedness.
在棒球運(yùn)動(dòng)中，我們的年輕人第一次發(fā)現(xiàn)體育運(yùn)動(dòng)中實(shí)際上也有信仰，如果能允許我使用“信仰”這個(gè)詞。他們明白了什么叫公平競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，什么是運(yùn)動(dòng)精神，學(xué)會(huì)了通過(guò)團(tuán)結(jié)合作去實(shí)現(xiàn)共同的目標(biāo)。他們也經(jīng)常在體育比賽中看到不公平競(jìng)爭(zhēng)、威脅恐嚇或是驕傲自大等丑陋現(xiàn)象。正是這種丑惡與美德形成的強(qiáng)烈反差讓他們?cè)醋杂谔煨砸约霸缒昙彝ソ逃哪切﹥?yōu)良品質(zhì)得以發(fā)揚(yáng)光大。

Not too long ago I had what was apparently a narrow escape from death. I was the last passenger out of a burning plane, the crash of which had instantly killed the pilot. I believe I am a physical coward, but singularly I felt not fear when I came to and began to seek a way to safety. Maybe I was still stunned, but I was completely composed. I did not pray, though I believe in prayer. I did not think of my family, though I am devoted to my family. I was neither sure I would escape nor that I would perish. I was, I suppose, completely resigned to whatever fate awaited me.
不久以前我有過(guò)一次死里逃生的驚險(xiǎn)經(jīng)歷。我乘坐的飛機(jī)著了火，我剛一逃出機(jī)艙飛機(jī)就墜毀了，駕駛員當(dāng)場(chǎng)喪生。我是個(gè)畏懼自然法則的人，但奇怪的是，當(dāng)我回過(guò)神來(lái)逃生時(shí)，我一點(diǎn)也不害怕。也許我受了驚嚇，但我非常鎮(zhèn)靜。在那一刻，我沒(méi)有禱告，盡管我相信禱告的力量：我也沒(méi)有想到家人，盡管我深?lèi)?ài)著他們。我既不知道自己能否死里逃生，也不知道自己是否必死無(wú)疑。我想我當(dāng)時(shí)是將自己完全交給了命運(yùn)去安排。

They have another saying around the race tracks - "The red board is up." This means the race is over, the result is final, and there's nothing anybody can do about it. It has gone into the records.
賽場(chǎng)上還有一種說(shuō)法，叫做“豎起紅板”，指的是比賽已然結(jié)束，勝負(fù)已見(jiàn)分曉，一切都已載入記錄，誰(shuí)也改變不了。

I believe that somehow much of the philosophy of the people I live with his rubbed off me. I don't know whether this is good or bad. All I know is that is how it is with me and I've lived a happy life and I hope a reasonably decent one according to my lights.
我身邊許多人的人生哲學(xué)都對(duì)我產(chǎn)生了影響。我不知這是好是壞。我只知道這就是我的生活態(tài)度，而我也過(guò)著快樂(lè)的生活，希望這是一種在我看來(lái)正派的生活。