[閒聊] 那些差點成為季後賽英雄的人們（下）

https://www.mlb.com/news/the-greatest-would-be-postseason-heroes-in-mlb-history

Mark Prior, Cubs
The moment: 2003 NLCS Game 6
The Cubs and their workhorse, Prior, were cruising as the second-year phenom
entered the bottom of the eighth with a 3-0 lead on the Marlins. Prior pickedup a quick out and, after a double by Juan Pierre, appeared to potentially
have his second out when Luis Castillo lofted a fly ball down the left-field
line.

小熊隊和他們的工作馬Prior在這位第二年大物邁向第八局時正以3-0領先馬林魚隊。
Prior很快地抓到第一個出局數，然後在Juan Pierre敲出二壘打後，Prior理論上在LuisCastillo敲出一隻飛往左外野邊線的飛球後應該要製造出第二個出局數。

Of course, Cubs fans remember that moment -- the Steve Bartman play --
vividly. Castillo stayed alive and walked. Ivan Rodriguez singled home Pierreand then, when Prior induced the potential double-play ground ball he was
looking for on his 118th pitch of the night, Alex Gonzalez booted it to
extend the rally. Derrek Lee’s ensuing two-run double knocked Prior from the
game, and the Cubs’ meltdown only continued from there.

當然，接著就發生了讓小熊迷記憶猶新的Steve Bartman事件；Castillo逃過一劫並保送上壘。Ivan Rodriguez敲出送回Pierre的一壘打，然後Prior以他當晚投出的第118球試
著造成滾地球雙殺時，Alex Gonzalez的失誤打開了逆轉的大局。Derrek Lee隨後追加的兩分打點二壘打將Prior打下場，而這還只是小熊隊潰敗的序幕。

Russ Ortiz and Barry Bonds, Giants
The moment: 2002 World Series
The Giants were eight outs away from the title, and Ortiz had redeemed
himself. The righty had gotten just eight outs while surrendering seven runs
in Game 2, but he had a 5-0 lead at his back and one out in the bottom of theseventh with the Giants in position to clinch in Game 6 before he surrenderedback-to-back singles to Troy Glaus and Brad Fulmer. Still, everything seemed
fine when Giants manager Dusty Baker came out to replace Ortiz with reliever Félix Rodríguez, with the skipper handing the ball back to his starter as a
memento to take to the dugout.

巨人隊僅差八個出局數就能奪下冠軍，而Ortiz重新證明了自己。這位右投手在世界大賽第二戰只拿下八個出局數就丟了七分。但世界大賽第六戰在他於七局下一出局時接連被
Troy Glaus和Brad Fulmer敲出一壘打前，他有著5-0的球隊領先作為靠山，而且巨人隊
已經就定位要奪冠了。而當巨人隊教頭Dusty Baker派上救援投手Féliz Rodríguez將
Ortiz換下場並讓他把球帶回休息區作留念時，一切看起來都如此風平浪靜。

But things went south for San Francisco immediately. Scott Spiezio ended a
long at-bat with a three-run homer off Rodriguez, and by the bottom of the
eighth the Angels had completely erased the five-run deficit to force a Game
7, which they would also win. Bonds, who had waited 16 years to finally play
in a World Series, hit .471 and homered four times in those seven games, but
it wasn’t enough.

但局勢馬上就轉為對巨人隊不利。Scott Spiezio在纏鬥多球後從Rodriguez手中敲出三
分砲，然後八局結束時天使徹底消弭了原先那五分的劣勢並逼出了他們接著也會獲勝的
第七戰。等了16年終於打進了世界大賽的Bonds在這七戰的打擊率高達.471並敲出四轟，但仍不足以讓巨人奪冠。

Alfonso Soriano, Yankees
The moment: 2001 World Series Game 7
Curt Schilling looked untouchable for much of Game 7, outpitching Roger
Clemens by a hair in a classic pitchers' duel that’s now somewhat
overshadowed by what happened at the end. Schilling carried a 1-0 lead into
the top of the seventh before Tino Martinez knocked a game-tying single to
right, and he was still looking strong enough that D-backs manager Bob Brenlydecided to let Schilling hit for himself in the bottom half of the inning.

Curt Schilling和Roger Clemens在第七戰的經典投手對決雖略佔上風，但現在看起來
似乎或多或少因接下來發生的事而黯然失色。Schilling在Tino Martinez於七局上敲出
右外野方向的追平分一壘打前帶著1-0的領先進入第七局，而在此之後他看起來仍強大
到響尾蛇隊教頭Bob Brenly決定讓他在七局下繼續上場打擊。

So when Soriano, a rookie, greeted Schilling in the eighth with a leadoff
home run, it looked as if Brenly would have a lot of questions to answer, andSoriano would potentially be the hero of all heroes during the Yankees’
incredible postseason run. It was Soriano who had walked off the mighty
116-win Mariners with a homer in Game 4 of the ALCS, and he was lined up for
the game-winner in the last game of the season.

所以當還是菜鳥的Soriano在第八局上以一記首打席陽春砲向Schilling問候時，那看起
來像是Brenly接著將有一堆問題等著他回答，而Soriano可能將會是那年洋基隊不可思議季後賽之旅的英雄中的英雄。畢竟Soriano在當年美聯冠軍戰第四場對上無敵的116勝水
手隊敲出再見全壘打，而現在他眼將成為球季最後一戰的致勝角色。

All that remained was a six-out save by Mariano Rivera -- an outcome that
happened so many times before -- but Tony Womack, Luis Gonzalez and the
scrappy Arizona lineup had other plans in the bottom of the ninth.

洋基接著所剩的就是Mariano Rivera之前達成過許多次的六出局救援—但Tony Womack、
Luis Gonzalez以及鬥志高昂的響尾蛇隊打線在九局下半有著其他打算。

Jaret Wright, Indians
The moment: 1997 World Series Game 7
The 21-year-old Wright was pitching well beyond his years in October 1997,
winning three of his first four postseason starts including Game 4 of the
World Series. Veteran starter Charles Nagy seemed the probable choice to
start the decisive Game 7 in Miami, but Wright’s pitching convinced Indians
manager Mike Hargrove to roll the dice and hand the ball to his rookie.

21歲的Wright在1997年的十月投出了超齡表現：他贏下了包括世界大賽第四戰在內，生
涯頭四場季後賽中的三場。經驗老道的Charles Nagy看起來比較適合擔任於邁阿密進行
的第七戰的先發投手，但Wright的投球內容讓印地安人教頭Mike Hargrove決定將球交
給這位菜鳥來賭一把。

Wright made Hargrove look like a genius when he departed with one out in the
bottom of the seventh with a 2-1 lead over the Marlins. But the home club
would rally back with the game-tying run in the bottom of the ninth, and
Edgar Renteria won it two innings later with a walk-off single off Nagy.
Cleveland would have to keep waiting for its first championship since 1948.

當Wright於七局下一出局帶著2-1領先優勢下退場時簡直讓Hargrove看起來像是天才。
但主場球隊會在九局下反攻並追平比數，而Edgar Renteria在兩局之後會從Nagy手中敲
出再見安打。克里夫蘭只能繼續等待自1948年以來的首冠。

Dave Henderson and Bruce Hurst, Red Sox
The moment: 1986 World Series Game 6
Had the bottom of the 10th never gone down the way it did on the night of
Oct. 25, 1986, at Shea Stadium, there might very well be a statue of
Henderson standing outside Fenway Park. It was Henderson who had homered to
bring the Red Sox back from their final strike in a win-or-go-home Game 5 of
the ALCS against the Angels, and it was Henderson who gave Boston the lead itwould relinquish in the most painful of ways when he homered in the top of
the 10th in World Series Game 6.

如果1986年的10月25日事情在Shea Stadium沒有像是在十局下半那樣演變，也許現在芬
威球場外就會聳立一座Henderson的雕像。當初正是Henderson在背水一戰的美聯冠軍戰
第五戰時於再一好球淘汰的逆境下擊出讓紅襪隊起死回生的全壘打，而也正是Henderson於世界大賽第六戰十局上帶給紅襪那個接著會以最令人心碎的方式破滅的領先優勢。

Hurst, meanwhile, had already been voted MVP of that World Series, thanks to
his wins in Games 1 and 5 of the Series, before the champagne and plastic
coverings were quickly removed from the Red Sox clubhouse.

於此同時呢，多虧他在第一戰和第五戰分別拿下勝利，Hurst早在香檳和塑膠布被迅速從紅襪隊休息室移除前就已經被票選為世界大賽最有價值球員。

Billy Hatcher and Mike Scott, Astros
The moment: 1986 NLCS
How about hitting a game-tying homer off the foul pole in the bottom of the
14th inning -- keeping your team alive in a win-or-go-home contest with a
World Series berth on the line -- only to see your team fall short and your
season come to an end two innings later? That’s the heartbreak Billy Hatcher
experienced in Game 6 of this classic NLCS.

在背水一戰的14局下敲出一記打在界外標竿、讓你的隊伍起死回生並重見世界大賽曙光
的追平全壘打，接著兩局後看到球季因隊伍不敵對手而作收的滋味為何呢？這就是心碎
的Billy Hatcher在這場經典的國聯冠軍戰第六戰所經歷的。

And don’t forget about Scott, who rattled off one of the most dominant three
weeks of pitching beginning with the final week of the regular season and
stretching through two sensational complete-game victories in the NLCS (18
innings, 19 strikeouts, one walk and one earned run allowed), only to see histeam lose the other four games in which he wasn’t involved. Scott, who still
won the series’ MVP Award despite the Astros’ loss, would have surely
gotten the ball in a Game 7.

然後別忘了投出從季賽最後一週起連三週強力表現、包括國聯冠軍戰連兩場驚人完投（
18局投球中19三振、一次保送僅失一自責分），最後卻只能眼睜睜看著隊友輸掉他沒參
與其中的四場比賽的Scott。如果該系列打到第七戰，扛下先發重責的一定是當時即使
球隊輸掉系列賽卻仍獲頒系列最有價值球員的Scott。

George Brett, Royals
The moment: 1976 ALCS Game 5
The Royals’ franchise star did his best to keep his team alive, knocking a
three-run, game-tying homer off Grant Jackson with Kansas City down to its
final six outs in a game where the pennant was on the line.

這位皇家隊看板球星竭盡所能地讓他的隊伍起死回生，比如在被聽牌又只剩六個出局數
的情況下從Grant Jackson手中敲出追平比分的三分砲。

But the night ultimately belonged to Chris Chambliss, who launched Mark
Littell’s first pitch in the bottom of the ninth over the wall to set off a
party at Yankee Stadium.

但那晚的英雄最終為Chris Chambliss：他在九局下半將Mark Littell所投出的第一球敲出讓洋基球場陷入瘋狂的再見全壘打。

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