世界上只有兩個季節：冬季和棒球季

By+Aaron+A.Vessup

The cracking sound of a wooden bat hitting a small white ball was just one fascination， and watching spectators， hearing their voices reveal dreams and desperate yearnings were bonuses.1 In the sport of baseball， players show offensive and defensive skills united in cooperation，2 accuracy， and fate. Viewers in the stands are pulled by distinct dramas.3

First， are the battles between the pitchers from each team against men swinging determined bats.4

Second， when a batter successfully makes contact hitting the ball thrown by the pitcher that may come dangerously close to his body， or dance slowly at him with strange spinning rotations， the defense players must make extremely quick judgments on how to respond to balls suddenly coming in any direction at unpredictable speeds.5

Third， during this entire process， any mistake made by defense players or the single offense batter now becoming a runner extracts judgments by one of three officials called umpires.6

Fourth， baseball fans motivated beyond cheering for their team or favorite individual players， vocally reveal judgments regarding the fairness of the umpires decisions. Thus， while both teams on the playing field strive to exhibit the best in group cooperation and individual skills， and ruling officials try their best to be fair while judging， the watching spectators off the field are very expressive with either their supporting cheers， chants， songs， or jeers and booing.7

These sports gathering include the smelly picnic aromas of barbeque meat， hot-dogs with mustard，8 peanuts， and popcorn. Many fans guzzle large cups of beer， while others bask in the sun glistening with oily tanning lotions.9

“Take me out to the ball game， take me out to the crowds...

Buy me some peanuts and Cracker-jacks10...！”

This traditional song the fans are lustily singing at this game is called “The Show” and is a favorite American pastime.11 Games also involve watching many minor contests that determine the final major outcome. Long before the advent of television， people in homes would sit for hours with their ears glued to radios， listening to playby-play announcers describe events on the baseball field.12 Good sports broadcasters use descriptive language to help color the imaginations of listeners.

Like most boys in our city， I did not like the San Francisco Giants13 simply because their city was not our city. They had pitchers who threw baseballs that gave our batters in Los Angeles trouble. Our batters routinely would strike out14 and never reach the first base. San Francisco also had batters who could hit the ball very hard and far. The San Francisco Giants were indeed a dangerous team to fear. But， I also enjoyed listening to the Dodgers play against the Saint Louis Cardinals from Missouri； the Cincinnati Reds of Ohio； and the Pittsburgh Pirates from Pennsylvania.15 These teams had Hall of Fame pitchers that gave our Dodger batters problems， causing them to throw “fits” and experience cursing spasms.16 These team also had “sluggers” who could render instant damage，17 hitting balls far above viewers sitting in the stands. Such hard hit balls high in the air could look like tiny round pills that finally bounced crazily on the paved streets landing between parked cars. Sometimes a ball would find a resting place in a lucky kids hands， any youngster who had been patiently waiting， listening， and with strained18 neck watching the skyline.endprint

“Go！ Go！ Go！”

The stadium was rocking with chants coming from over 65，000 screaming throats. Baseball fans were standing， jumping up and down， and waving towels and flags， some even pounding others on their sweat soaked backs.19

“Go！ Go！ Go！”

I could feel the hairs on my arms stand， as a creepy chill came over my body. I was also trying to keep my own mouth from opening to shout “Go！” But I was at home standing in the kitchen washing our dinner dishes， and I did not want to yell or make any sound that might prevent hearing the next description of what the players were doing. I kept my hands still in the soapy dishwater， careful to not cause a clink from glass knocking against glass， or rattle silverware as forks， spoons， and stubborn knives slipped from my nervous fingers.20

My chosen vocation to become a speech professor years later， is largely due to my fascination with listening to the game of baseball， and also Radio Mystery Theater 21. In my youth we did not have a television at home like most of my friends. But our radio was usually turned on for Soap Operas during the day for my mother to enjoy adult dramas. Evening and weekend sports and mystery stories， were the special treats allowed after we kids completed chores and homework.22 Usually， my father listened to baseball daily transmitted23 on the car radio， or when repairing the family automobile in the cool shade of our garage. He also listened to important games between our Los Angeles Dodgers， the team in the city where we lived， and his New York Yankees24， his hometown. But， he was also drawn to listening to The Los Angeles team when it was playing against the San Francisco Giants. This team was important because Willie Mays was a batter， or baseball “slugger” who usually hit“home runs” by regularly knocking the ball out of the sports stadium for points to win games.25 Willie Mays was a Black man， and his constant winning hits brought him closer and closer to passing the ball hitting record of “The Babe”. Babe Ruth26， a fat White man pictured with cigar in his mouth， had long been a baseball legend in the history of American baseball.

“Go！ Go！ Go！”

The fans were screaming so loudly that the voice of the radio announcer could barely be heard as he described the action. My favorite player， Maury Wills， had hit the ball and safely reached first base. After this he had stolen second base when the opposing pitcher had not been attentive.27 Now， the fans were screaming for him to take another risk. Wills was threatening to steal third base， because he walked away from the safety of second base， took a few extra steps， inching28 toward third base as if he was about to run again. This was exciting. Now the pitcher was alert watching daring Wills from the corner of one eye. The catcher gave secret signals to the pitcher to cue him whether to pitch to the batter in front of him， or trap Wills by quickly throwing the ball to second base which would force him to run.29 Everyone in the stadium was demanding that this runner take another risk. Listeners at home and viewers at the park knew that Wills could indeed steal the next base successfully if his timing and judgments were accurate. Wills had done this many times before， and this is why he was the“King of Base Stealing”. This night， the fans were delirious30 and wild， wanting to see a new stolen base record reached. We all were worried and also excited. We wanted our team to win， but also yearned to see home runs hit by“ball sluggers”， and extra bases stolen by “base thieves”. I will never forget that game because this was the night when Maury Wills finally stood on third-base safely， and he also reached the last base， stealing home plate31. The Los Angeles Dodgers won by one run32 because Wills had scored. This was more exciting than when a pitcher throws three strikes to dismiss a batter from becoming a runner. Perhaps these are reasons it is said about this exciting show，“Baseball is Life”.endprint

1. 咚！木制的球棒擊中小白球。這迷人的聲音只是棒球運動的魅力之一。環視周圍的觀眾，聽著他們帶著夢想和極度渴望的呼喊，則有如錦上添花。

2. offensive： 進攻的；defensive： 防守的。

3. stand： 看臺；pull： 吸引；drama： 戲劇性場面。

4. pitcher： 投手，在棒球比賽中，防守方負責投球的球員，通常被視為主宰比賽勝負的靈魂人物；men swinging determined bats： 指下文中提到的擊球員。

5. batter： 擊球員，指棒球比賽中，進攻方上場擔任打擊任務的球員，擊球員手握球棒站在本壘兩側的打擊區內，設法將防守方投手所投的球擊出；spinning： 旋轉的；rotation： 旋轉；the defense player： 守方，棒球比賽時分攻守兩方。攻方球隊的擊球員利用球棒將守方投手投擲的球擊出，隨后沿著三個壘包進行跑壘，成功回到本壘可得一分；守方則利用手套將擊球員的球接住或將擊出的球擲回，持球踏壘“封殺”攻方跑壘。

6. runner： 跑壘員，或稱擊跑員，攻方擊球員在合法擊出界內球且沒有被場上防守人員接殺時，該擊球員應該立即跑壘；extract： 設法從……中得到；umpire： //（棒球比賽中的）裁判。在國外，不同體育比賽中裁判的名稱有所不同。

7. 因此，當攻守雙方均在場上全力以赴，展示他們精彩的團隊合作和個人技巧時，裁判們也盡力做到公平判決，而場外觀眾可不會含蓄表達他們的情感，要么歡呼頌唱，以表支持，要么冷嘲熱諷，發出噓聲一片。chant： 反復地喊；jeer： 嘲笑；boo： 發噓聲，喝倒彩。

8. aroma： 氣味；mustard： 芥末。

9. guzzle： 狂飲，豪飲；bask： 曬太陽；glisten：（因有水或有油而）發光；tanning lotion：防曬霜。

10. Cracker-jack： 玉米花混合花生裹上糖衣后具有濃厚焦糖風味的一種零食，類似爆米花，為美國百事食品公司旗下的產品。