http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8391100/arizona-diamondbacks-star-justin-upton-already-career-crossroads-espn-magazine 缩网址：http://ppt.cc/wrmZ By Robert Sanchez | ESPN The Magazine This story appears in ESPN The Magazine's Oct. 1 Age Issue. ON A CHARBROILED May morning in Tempe, Ariz., at a nondescript strip mall among a sea of them, Justin Upton exits his ride, puts his black-and-white Dolce & Gabbana sneakers on the asphalt and walks across the parking lot toward a cellphone store. Up ahead, the Diamondbacks outfielder can see folks standing behind a maze of black ropes, in a loose line that snakes along the left side of the building. They are here to get his autograph. Tempe, AZ的某个炙热的五月早晨，在大卖场海中的一角，Justin Upton步下爱车，踏着 Dolce & Gabbana球鞋，横越沥青铺面的停车场，走向某间手机店。在路途前方，这位响 尾蛇当家外野手，可以看到人群站在蜿蜒错综的黑色隔离绳後，松散的绳子如数条蛇般 坐落在建筑物左方。球迷们正等着拿他的签名。 It's a younger crowd, or at least younger than what one might expect in the Greater Phoenix area: lots of men with young children in D-backs caps, and college-aged women wearing Upton's No. 10 jersey. A security guard with a buzz cut stands indifferently near the front door, waiting for the 24-year-old ballplayer -- the man who seven months earlier had led his team to an improbable playoff berth, won a Silver Slugger Award and finished fourth in the National League's MVP voting. The man who now is mired in the worst hitting slump of his five-year career. 年轻的人们，或可以说比你想像的「亚利桑那民众」来得年轻：男士们牵着戴着蛇帽的 小球迷，女大生们穿着10号球衣。顶着平头的保全面无表情的挡在门前，准备迎接这位 24岁的球星─七个月前带领球队不可思议的杀入季後赛，拿下银棒奖，MVP票选第四。 但他现在陷入五年生涯中最大的低潮。 "M-V-P!" shouts someone behind the rope. 「M!V!P!」绳後的某个球迷叫着。 Upton looks wearily at the crowd. The previous night, he'd gone 0-for-3 with a strikeout and an error in a win against the Giants. His average dropped to .229. After his teammates cleared the clubhouse and the lights were turned off at Chase Field, he stayed behind to study video of his at-bats; pitch by pitch, swing by swing. Leg straight. Don't turn over. A few hours later, Upton drove alone to his townhouse near Scottsdale, arriving well past midnight. His parents were visiting from Virginia. He woke his father, Manny; he wanted to talk about hitting. Upton crouched in his batting stance and mimicked his swing while Dad offered critiques. Upton's mother slept just a few feet away. Upton疲乏的看着他们。前一晚球队击败巨人，他贡献了三支零，三振及失误各一，打击 率掉到0.229。队友离去，球场熄灯，Upton独自一人留下，看着自己的打击录影，不放 过每个球，每次挥棒，专心毫不马虎。几小时後，他开车回家，已是深夜时分。他的双 亲从老家来看他，而他叫醒了父亲─Manny，与他一同讨论打击。他马步微蹲，模拟挥击， 父亲从旁指导，母亲则在一旁熟睡着。 His passion is, at times, his Achilles' heel, and his immense talent is both a blessing and a curse. Those 31 home runs, 88 RBIs and 105 runs last year would have been a career season for most players. For Upton, the overall No. 1 pick of the 2005 draft, they are supposed to be the beginning. And so the kid who has had expectations heaped on him since he was a teenager is now confronting the central tension of his new season: Is he ready to be a franchise player? Does he have the maturity to lead a team and to endure if he struggles, as he has so often in his short career? Only the next five months will reveal that. But there is one thing of which Upton is already certain: In his world, anything short of perfection will be seen as a failure. 他的热情有时会变成他的弱点，而他那洋溢的才华是天赐也是诅咒。31发全垒打，88分打 点，得105分对大部分球员来说已是生涯高点，但对05年状元Upton来说，这可能只是一个 起步。 On this morning, hearing the "MVP" call from behind the rope, he is in no mood for encouragement. "I'm hitting .230, man," Upton mumbles as he brushes past the line. 那天早上，听着後方的欢呼声，他完全没那个心情。「老兄，我只打两成三耶。」Upton 边嘀咕边走过人群。 During slumps of years past, events like this autograph session would worry the people who handled Upton's schedule. One bad game and the rightfielder might show up an hour late. He was seen as uncaring, detached. "You wouldn't know what to say to him," says one of Upton's reps, Mike Dillon, as he watches Upton slide into a seat in the middle of the store. "Or you're worried what someone might say to him." 过去的低潮期，类似这种签名会的行程让身旁的助理大为紧张。前一晚的烂表现，可能会 让这位明星外野手迟到一小时。他看起来不在乎，感觉像是没他的事。「你不会知道要对 他说啥。」Upton的其中一位助理Mike Dillon看着他走进店里边说道。「不然你得担心其 他人说了啥。」 But here he is. The new Upton, or at least the Upton who now understands what's asked of him. He'd discussed it with his inner circle -- his parents, girlfriend Ashley Borror, best friend on the team Chris Young and agent Larry Reynolds -- before the season began. Be yourself, they told him; good things will happen. Maturity is now his watchword, as in, Isn't Justin so much more mature? He is, at least today. From his chair, he can see the crowd building outside as wave after wave of bats and balls and jerseys and photos are placed on the table in front of him. 但是现在站在这里的是全新的Upton，至少是知道他人期待的Upton。在季前他会与他信任 的决策圈讨论─他的父母、女友Ashley Borror、队上的麻吉Chris Young还有经纪人Larry Reynolds。他们告诉Upton只要扮演好自己，好事就会降临。成熟度是他目前的观察指标， 亦即，Upton还不够成熟吗？至少今天看起来很成熟。从他坐的地方看去，人们手上的各式 球队商品，像是一波波浪滔般的往他跟前的桌子袭来。 Upton signs a photo, Happy birthday, Ethan! Upton签了一张照片，写上：「生日快乐，Ethan！」 He signs a bat. Then a ball. 他签了一个球棒，然後一颗球。 Dillon is beaming. He fetches Upton a blackberry soda and a bottled water. Smiles all around. Thirty minutes later, after the last fans pass through the door, some store employees line up for a group picture. Soon Upton is ready to leave. Dillon很愉快，他递给Upton一瓶黑莓苏打跟瓶装水，笑脸盈盈。半个小时後，最後一位 球迷离去，一些店里的职员排队合照，不久Upton就要离开。 "Good luck tonight," someone says as Upton makes his way toward the door. "Tear it up." 「祝今晚好运，」其中某人在Upton步向门口时说道，「杀爆对手！」 Upton nods his head. And with that, he's gone. Upton点点头，然後离去。 (待续) --

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