"I BELIEVE I'M capable of being No. 1," Upton says a few weeks later as he sprawls across a couch in his townhouse. Even lying down, he looks like a coiled spring -- 6'2" and a lean 205 pounds, a mass of sinewy limbs and fast-twitch fibers. "I expect to come in, hit for power, hit for average and steal bases," he says, jabbing his finger into a cushion. "I hit 31 home runs last year. I want to hit 35. I hit .289. I want to hit .310. I stole 21 bases. I want to steal 30. Do I want to do the same thing again? That's a little boring." 「我相信我有能力成为天下第一。」几个礼拜後，Upton轻松地躺在自家的沙发上说着， 就算是这样躺着，他看起来仍然像个螺旋弹簧─6尺2，接近205磅，发达的四肢和浑身的 肌肉。「我希望能在大舞台上，展现长打力、安打一直打，然後在垒上搞破坏。」他边说 边用手指戳着沙发的弹簧。「去年我打了31发全垒打，希望今年有35发。去年0.289的打 率能够提升到0.310，盗垒数从21进步到30。想要跟去年一样？那有点无聊吧。」 Growing up in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, nothing came easier to Upton than baseball. He learned hitting from his father, a former college athlete who once worked as a scout for the Royals and White Sox. He learned the value of competition from older brother B.J., the Rays outfielder selected second overall in 2002. As a 10-year-old, the younger Upton was pitched around as if he were Babe Ruth. By 2005, he was 17 and tearing up teenage pitchers as a shortstop for Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake. Scouts flocked to his games and saw a superstar: a power hitter's stroke from the right side; quick, strong hands that could place the ball anywhere on the field; great defensive instincts and a laser arm; and a lower body built like an Olympic athlete. After drafting him in '05, Arizona gave him what was then a record $6.1 million signing bonus. 在维吉尼亚州的Hapmton Roads区域长大，Upton生来就与棒球为伍，他从前任大学运动 员，在皇家跟白袜当过球探的父亲学来打击技巧，并从他的哥哥，2002年选秀榜眼，现 任光芒队外野手B.J.那学会了竞争的可贵。10岁的时候，投手看到他就像看到Babe Ruth 一样闪躲。2005年他17岁，在Chesapeake的Great Bridge高中担任游击手的Upton疯狂 屠杀同龄的选手。球探们蜂拥至有他的比赛，观察这位未来的大物：强力右打者、快而 有力的手能把球打向球场中的任何角落、优异的守备直觉及雷射肩、还有如同奥运选手 般的稳健下盘。蛇蛇在05年选中他，并且给他破纪录的6.1M签约金。 Success came quickly. He was 18 years old with Class-A South Bend in 2006 when he hit 12 home runs, stole 15 bases and drove in 66 runs in 113 games. The next year, he shredded Double-A and was called up to Arizona in early August 2007, just shy of his 20th birthday. Five days later, he hit his first home run and fell a single short of the cycle. Still, Upton was, by his own admission, too naive and reckless as a rookie. He threw helmets and smashed bats in the dugout when he failed. He cut up his body when he leapt into an outfield wall. He flew up the first base line on routine infield choppers, not caring if he blew out a hamstring. He hit .221 in 140 at-bats. 成功来得很快。06年他18岁，在A的South Bend，113场比赛中他打出了12发全垒打、15 个盗垒及66分打点。隔年，他粉碎了AA然後在8月被叫上大联盟，就在他生日的前一天。 五天後，他打出大联盟生涯第一发全垒打，只差一支一垒打就缔造完全打击。然而， Upton也承认，自己是好傻好天真的新人。当他失败时，会在休息区内找棒子跟头盔出气 他奋不顾身的撞进全垒打墙，他打出普通的滚地球後，仍飞奔到一垒，完全不管脚会不 会受伤。那年他在140个打数的成绩为0.221。 "At 19, I didn't think at all," Upton says. "I was a kid playing with grown men." 「19岁那年，我啥都没想。」Upton说。「根本就是越级打怪。」 The following season, he exploded out of the gates, batting .415 with five home runs in his first 11 games. But he hit only .216 in May, then .123 in June. He lost time to an oblique injury and worried constantly about his production. He became sullen after losses. During the season, Arizona's medical staff asked Peter Crone, the team's "performance specialist," to meet with Upton. The two sat on a training table one day and talked about rising expectations. "He had this immense talent that everyone wanted to draw out of him," says Crone, who works as a mental coach in California. "The first thing I wanted Justin to do was to accept himself." 隔年球季，他突破障碍，头11场比赛打出0.415及5发全垒打。但他五月只打了0.216， 六月更惨，0.123。接着他因外斜肌拉伤缺阵，常常陷入打不出来的焦虑，输球後变得 郁郁寡欢。季中，球队医疗小组找来Peter Crone，球队的「表现专家」与Upton恳谈。 他俩坐在训练桌上，讨论着旁人越来越大的期待。「他有每个人都想据为己有的天赋。」 在加州担任辅导老师的Crone说：「我要他Upton做的第一件事情是接受自己。」 In 2009, Upton's third season, he found his swagger. He hit 26 home runs, stole 20 bases, batted .300 and made his first All-Star team. At 21, he was the NL's pre-eminent young star. But he was also tagged with another label: immature. His dugout temper tantrums were beamed on TV highlights across the country. And at times, Upton would seem coolly disconnected. He blew pink-bubble-gum bubbles as he stood in the outfield or admired his home run blasts. 2009年，Upton的第三个球季，他找到了一片天，击出26发全垒打，盗垒成功20次，三成 打击率及第一次入选明星队。21岁的他已是顶尖的年轻球星，但也被贴上了这个标签：不 够成熟。他在休息室开无双的画面，是全国电视网的常客。那时，他像是孤高的人，在外 野吹着粉红色的泡泡糖，还有臭屁的看着他的全垒打球。 "No one was there to talk to him, to sit him down and say, This is how things work in the major leagues," says Don Baylor, who was with the Rockies at the time and is now the Diamondbacks' hitting coach. "It was totally hands off." 「没人想跟他打交道，甚至是坐在他旁边聊天，这就是大联盟的生态。」当时在洛矶队 任职，现任蛇队打击教练的Don Baylor表示。「这是完全的孤立。」 While Upton struggled with his image, Arizona clearly understood his value, signing him to a six-year, $51.25 million extension in 2010 and creating "Uptown," a section of bleacher seats behind the rightfield fence. But Upton slumped again at the season's start, finishing with just 18 home runs and 64 RBIs as Arizona went 65-97, the third-worst record in baseball. In the offseason, his name was mentioned in trade discussions. That left an indelible mark on him. "I was golfing with CY [Chris Young], and I read about it on my phone," Upton remembers. "I saw how much of a business this really is." 虽然Upton的形象受挫，球队却了解他的价值，与他签下6年5125万的延长合约，还在右 外野看台上做了「Uptown」的牌子。但Upton季初又陷入低潮，整季只打出18发全垒打、 64分打点，球队输了97场球，联盟倒数第三。季後，他的名字开始出现在交易讨论中， 这对他造成不可抹灭的阴影。「当时我在跟CY打小白球，然後我在电话中看到这些。」 Upton回忆：「我看到这些有几分真实。」 Upton wasn't dealt, and the doubts seemed to motivate him. In 2011, he had the best season of his career, leading his team to its second playoff appearance in four years. By year's end, he already had 91 career home runs, fifth most among active players 23 or younger. Coming into 2012, his numbers were comparable to those of Cal Ripken Jr., Eddie Murray and Ron Santo at a similar age. "This season is just another step in J-Up becoming a Hall of Fame player," says Young, who plays next to Upton in the outfield. Upton并未被交易，然而这启发了他。2011年，他打出了生涯最好的成绩，带领球队打入 四年不见的季後赛。球季结束，他生涯已有91发的全垒打，在23岁以下的球员是第五多 的。2012年球季开打前，他的成绩可与Cal Ripken Jr.、Eddie Murray和Ron Santo等神 级球员同龄的成绩相比。「今年只是J-Up迈向名人堂的一小步。」守位相邻的队友Chris Young表示。 In early April, though, Upton injured his left thumb trying to break up a double play. The team sent him to a specialist, who drained the joint. But the fluid eventually returned, and when management suggested that Upton take a couple of weeks off to recover, he refused. It was for noble reasons. By that time, Young had landed on the 15-day disabled list with a bruised shoulder, and shortstop Stephen Drew was still absent following a gruesome ankle dislocation a year earlier. The team could ill afford to lose another high-profile bat. But Upton's decision was not for public consumption or a play for headlines and blog posts. Instead, behind closed doors he had made a subtle point: When his teammates needed someone to step up, they could depend on him. 四月初，Upton在破坏对手双杀时伤了左手拇指。球队把他送到专科医生那里，紧急进行 关节排液。但情况终未好转，球队希望他休息几个星期，他拒绝了。也许是为了冠冕堂 皇的理由，但那时，Young因肩伤进入伤兵名单，Drew仍因去年恐怖的脚踝伤势缺阵， 球队不能再少一门主炮了，但Upton的决定并非为了广大球迷，也不是为了搏版面。相对 的，在球队内部，他表明了一件事：如果他的队友需要有人挺身而出，他是可靠的对象。 By mid-May, though, Upton has only three home runs and nine RBIs, and Arizona is a dismal 15-21. Upton refuses to make the thumb an excuse, saying, "I chose to play," but he's struggling to catch up to fastballs, and squaring up a curveball seems an impossibility. 然而到了五月中，Upton只有3发全垒打跟9分打点，响尾蛇队只有凄惨的15胜21负。Upton 不让拇指成为他的理由：「是我自己要打的。」但是他没办法打速球，似乎也不可能抓到 曲球。 Back on his couch in the family room, Upton looks at his thumb, slowly flexes his oversize hand and grimaces. "I'm not seeing the ball," he admits. It seems everyone wants to help. He's called his father, who studies his son's swing with the attention of a surgeon. Upton has also spoken with Crone and Baylor, who is convinced his star hitter's slump is mostly mental. "I told him to clear his mind," Baylor says. "He's got to take all that junk out of the garage and clean it out." His anxiety, the coach says, leads to an all-consuming desire to become too perfect, to focus on the minutiae of an at-bat rather than to simply go up, see a pitch and bash the hell out of it. It's a mindset that Upton just can't seem to grasp. 回到家中的沙发上，Upton看着他的拇指，慢慢地动着手，满脸愁容。「我打击时没在看 球。」他承认。他打给与医生研究儿子挥击的父亲，也与Crone跟Baylor聊过。Baylor 相信他队上明星球员的问题出在心理。「我叫他要心无旁骛。」Baylor说。「他得把那 些无聊的事情抛诸脑後，六根清净。」Baylor认为他的焦虑，导致他野心过大事事要求 完美，注意打击的细节，而不是单纯的上场然後把球打出去。他似乎没办法掌握这种心态 "Three times in my career I've gone through a monthlong slump," Upton says. "I'm getting really frustrated with it. I'm starting to think it's me. I'm the one causing it." 「我曾经有三次低潮长达一个月以上。」Upton说。「我对此真的很沮丧，我开始觉得是 我，我是始作俑者。」 (待续...) --

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