Watch Ichiro in the on-deck circle. The guy never stops moving.
看著一朗站在打擊準備區，這可真是個永遠都無法停滯不前的傢伙。
Go ahead and look at some video of it. He’ll take a few warmup swings, then all of a sudden he’ll be crouching down, knees bent, rocking from side to side. He’ll stand up to take a couple more swings, and then he’ll be back down in a wide stance, doing this crazy thing where he rolls his shoulders back and forth. The whole routine is like one long dance move.
看著這段影片吧。他會先做一些暖身用的揮棒，接著突然間蹲下來，曲膝，左右搖擺，接著站起來多揮幾次，再蹲下來讓身體展開，做著前後轉動肩膀的瘋狂舉動，整套動作宛如一段舞蹈。
Ichiro is always stretching. Before games, after games, on off days, in the on-deck circle, when he’s on base. All the time. If you showed up early to the stadium on a game day, you’d always find Ichiro in the clubhouse, stretched out on the carpet in some kind of pose.
一朗總是在伸展。賽前、賽後、休息日，在打擊區，甚至在壘上的時候，任何時候都是。如果你在比賽那天提早到球場，你總會看到一朗在球員休息室裡的地毯上，用某種姿勢在伸展著。
I remember Ichiro before I even met him. He was a rookie and the Mariners were visiting New York early in the 2001 season. I don’t recall how much buzz there was around him yet. All I’d heard was that he was a position player from Japan — which itself was a pretty rare thing at the time. In my career there were a handful of great players from Japan, but most were pitchers, not position players. And most weren’t 27-year-old rookies.
在遇見一朗前，我就記得他了。2001年他還是大聯盟菜鳥時，在球季開始沒多久，水手作客到紐約，我不記得他在當時引起多大的風潮，只聽說他是個來自日本的野手，這在當時還是相當罕見的事。在我的職業生涯中遇到不少來自日本的優秀選手，但大部分是投手而非野手，而且幾乎都不是27歲的菜鳥。
Ichiro hit a routine ground ball to short. I didn’t have to move more than a step to my right. But by the time I looked up, he was almost to first. He nearly beat out my throw. I remember thinking, Wow! Who is this guy? He can fly. I was really surprised.
當一朗擊出一個尋常的滾地球到游擊區，這是一個我甚至不用移動到一步就能處理好的球，但當我注意到時，他幾乎已經要上到一壘了，他的腳程差一點就要擊敗我的傳球，我還記得當初是這麼想的：哇！這傢伙是誰？他會飛耶。我真得非常驚訝。
The first time I actually met Ichi was that same season, at second base — Ichiro ended up at second base pretty often, as it turned out. The first few times we chatted, he was cordial but he didn’t say much. His English wasn’t there yet. About a year later, I remember him hitting a double and sliding into second.
我第一次遇見一朗也在這個球季，在二壘上，事實上他經常待在二壘。剛開始有小聊一下，他人是挺親切的，但話不多，他那時候的英文能力還不好。一年過後，記得有一次他敲出二壘打，滑上二壘。
I gave him a nod. As he dusted himself off, he caught me off guard by responding with a few words.
我對他點了頭，他拍掉身上的泥土後，突然對我說了一些話。
“What’s going on, my main man?”
最近如何啊，我的摯友？
Main man? All I could do was smile. Where was this guy learning this stuff?
摯友？我能做的只有對他笑笑，這傢伙到底從那裡學到這字眼的啊？
As the years went on, I saw Ichiro at second base more and more. He had always been friendly, but as his English improved, our conversations got a little bit longer. Soon we were exchanging a full sentence or two in between pitches. He always made me smile with different phrases he was picking up from his teammates. He told me that he was learning quite a bit from Mike Cameron. Mike had taught him to say things like, “What’s up, my brother from another mother?” I could tell Ichi was fitting in well in a new country, on a new team. Seattle was a really welcoming place for him, and I think those Mariners teams were really good in part because of their chemistry.
隨著一年一年地過去，我在二壘碰到一朗的次數愈來愈多，他總是那麼友善，英文能力逐漸有進步，我們的對話也愈來愈長，很快的我們就可以在投球的間隔中說上1、2個完整的句子。他從隊友學到的一些句子總會逗得我一直笑，他告訴我他從卡麥隆(Mike Cameron)身上學到不少，Mike會教他說像是「我不同老媽的兄弟，你好嗎？」這樣的話。我可以感覺到一朗在一個新的國家、新的球隊中適應得很好，西雅圖是一個非常歡迎他的地方，我覺得水手隊也因為這樣的化學效應，變得如此出色。
I’m not surprised Ichiro’s English got so good so fast. His approach to learning the language was the same as his approach to the game of baseball: Work and then more work.
對於一朗英文能力能如此進步神速，我一點都不訝異，他學習語言的方式就像他對待比賽的態度一樣，就是努力再努力。
Right now people are paying a lot of attention to Ichiro approaching his 3,000th hit. He will be joining one of the most exclusive clubs in baseball. It’s an incredible accomplishment. When you add in his 1,278 hits from Japan, where he played until he was 26, his career will be counted as one of the best of this or any other generation.
現在人們將注意力都集中在一朗即將達成的3000支安打，他即將加入這個棒球史上最偉大的俱樂部之一。這是一項了不起的成就，如果你再加上他26歲以前在日本所敲出的1278支安打，他甚至可以被視為這個世代或任何世代中最棒的選手之一。
But for a moment, let’s look beyond the 3,000-hits milestone. Most people don’t focus on how great of an all-around player Ichi is. He has all the tools.
但現在，讓我們將目光放在3000安之外。大多數的人們並沒有注意到一朗「全能」的這件事，其實他擁有所有身為球員所該有的技能。
His baserunning — his sheer quickness — was like nobody else’s in baseball. This is a guy who has used speed as his main weapon for 25 seasons as a pro.
他的跑壘，那種純粹的速度感，在棒球中是所有人都比不上的，他是一個在所有25年職棒生涯中都用速度當做武器的傢伙。
Ichi’s arm is unbelievable. His hitting is obviously great, but at times his defense has gone underrated. You know what I mean if you’ve seen him throw someone out from rightfield. Maybe it was all that stretching.
一朗的手臂運用也讓人覺得不可思議，他的打擊能力當然是很優秀的，但多數時候，他的守備能力都被低估，當你看到他從右外野長傳阻殺跑者時，就會懂得我所說的了。這些，或許都要歸功於他的伸展。
At the plate, his hand-eye coordination and his ability to swing the bat are as pure as they come. I’ve heard some people refer to him as a contact hitter — and that’s true in a sense. As a hitter your job is to get on base, and Ichi got on base more than almost anyone. But I think just calling him a contact hitter takes away from what makes him so special. Most of us have only seen him hit singles and doubles. But he had an ability to show some power that wasn’t always apparent.
在打擊區上，他的手眼協調與揮棒能力能盡可能地同時發揮出來。我常聽到一些人說他是一位以碰到球為主的打者，在某種程度上來說或許也是，但做為一位打者的工作就是上壘，而一朗的上壘次數幾乎都所有選手都要多，我認為說他是碰球型的打者，會讓人們忽略掉他特殊之處，我們多半看到他打一壘打或二壘打，但他其實有著不容易查覺的長打能力。
During the All-Star Game in Seattle in 2001, I was standing around with some Mariners players when they started talking about how Ichiro should enter the Home Run Derby. I thought they were joking.
2001年，明星賽在西雅圖舉行的時候，我站在幾位水手選手身邊，他們正討論著一朗應該要去參加全壘打大賽，當時我覺得他們在開玩笑。
“He’d win if he entered,” somebody said.
有人說：「他如果參加，就會拿下冠軍。」
Shortly after, I found out what the guy meant. Everyone watched as Ichi put on his own personal home run clinic.
不久之後，我終於弄懂他們所說的，每個人都看著一朗正在上演的全壘打秀。
Most of all, I’ve admired Ichiro because he’s a model of consistency. In my mind, the most underrated characteristic for anyone is consistency. It’s something that gets overlooked until it’s gone. I think baseball was always more than just a game to him. This was what he was born to do. And most impressive of all, the guy’s 42 years old and I can’t remember him ever being on the disabled list. He has taken great care of himself. He seems to approach baseball like a craft that can never be perfected. I don’t think he has a concept of “time off” from the game. It’s his life’s work. That starts with working hard all the time, even when no one’s looking.
最重要的是，我最欣賞的是一朗那種安定的典型。在我心中，安定感正是一項最容易被忽略的特質，這是一項當快要消失時人們才會注意到的事。我一直認為，棒球對一朗來說，經常不只是比賽而已，他天生註定就是要從事這項運動，更神奇的是，這傢伙已經42歲了，但我從不記得他曾經進過傷兵名單，他將自己照顧得非常好，在棒球上，他就像是個無法更完美的手工藝品，我不覺得他對比賽有所謂的「休息」這種概念，這是他的生涯志業，即時在沒有人看到的時候，他也總是一直地努力著。
During the 2013 All-Star break, I remember hearing that Ichiro had showed up to Yankee Stadium to work out, only to find that they were setting up for a concert that night. So he went to Central Park to play catch.
我記得在2013年明星賽期間，曾聽說一朗出現在洋基球場，準備練習，卻發現球場正在進行晚上演唱會的準備工作，結果他就要中央公園去進行傳接球了。
Fast-forward to October 2014, a few days after I retired. I had gone back to Yankee Stadium to clean out my locker. Some of the staff was there but the stadium was quiet. We hadn’t made the playoffs. Most guys like to take a little vacation right away and then relax until December or January.
時間快轉來到2014年10月，就在我退休後的幾天。我回到洋基球場，準備清空自己的置物櫃，雖然有一些工作人員在，但球場相當安靜，因為我們沒能打進季後賽，多數人該都展開假期，然後一直放風到12月或隔年1月。
As I was cleaning out my locker, I saw Ichiro walking to the cage to hit. I remember thinking, I hope he at least took a couple of days off.
當我在清理置物櫃時，我看見一朗打進打擊練習區，開始練打，我還記得當初想的是，真希望他能多休息幾天。
By that time, Ichiro was pretty much fluent in English. He still traveled with an interpreter, but he didn’t need one most of the time. That meant we got a lot more opportunities to talk.
那時候，一朗的英文已經相當流利，他雖然還是會帶著翻譯，但大多時候是用不到，這代表我們有更多機會可以交談。
I’ll never forget one moment in particular. It was Game 1 of the ALCS in 2012, the game I broke my ankle. I went for a ground ball in the 12th inning — and I heard my ankle pop.
我永遠不會忘記一個特別的時刻，2012年美聯冠軍戰的第一場，我的腳踝骨折了。延長12局處理一個滾地球時，我聽到自己的腳踝發出一個「啵」的聲音。
I came out of the game and went back to the clubhouse for X-rays and ice. The Tigers scored two in the 12th and we lost 6–4. Shortly after the game ended, I moved to a smaller room off the side of the clubhouse to change clothes and gather my thoughts. Ichi and his interpreter came in and sat down next to me. Ichi asked me about my ankle.
我離開比賽，回到球員休息室裡照X光和冰敷，老虎隊在12局攻下2分，最後我們以4比6輸球。比賽結束後不久，我到休息室側邊比較小的房間中換衣服，並試著轉換情緒，一朗和他的翻譯走過來，坐在我旁邊，一朗問我的狀況如何。
“It’s broken. I’m finished.”
「骨折了，我的球季結束了。」
He nodded, but didn’t say anything. I was finished icing my ankle and kind of taking my time. There was no rush to go anywhere. We had just lost and I knew I wouldn’t be able play until the next season. Soon the clubhouse was almost empty. Ichi, his interpreter and I were sitting in the small changing room. Ichi hadn’t even taken off his entire uniform yet.
他點了點頭，卻沒有說任何話。那時候我剛做完冰敷，稍微在打發時間，也不急著去那裡，我們剛輸球，而且我知道自己在下個球季開始前不能下場比賽。很快得，休息室幾乎就空盪盪了，一朗和他的翻譯，還有我，坐在小間的更衣室裡，一朗甚至還沒將他的比賽球衣換下。
Finally, I got my things together and stood up with my crutches to leave. It was only then that I realized Ichiro had been waiting for me. When I got up, he got up and watched me leave.
最後，我把自己的東西都整理好，撐著拐仗準備離開，才知道一朗一直在等我，當我起身時，他也站起來，目送著我離開。
I don’t know if it was a sign of respect. Maybe he was just taking a long time that night. You’d have to ask him. But I like to think I know what he was trying to tell me. After all those short conversations at second base over the years, and the time we spent as teammates, the moment of silence between us that night still sticks out to me more than anything. When I think about who Ichiro is as an athlete and as a person, that’s what I remember.
我不知道這算不算是他向我致敬方式，或許他只是想讓這一晚過得久一點而已，你得要問他才會知道。但我想我應該知道他所想要告訴我的事，過去這些年來，在二壘上所有的簡短對話，以及那些我們當隊友的日子裡，那一晚在我們之間的沈默時刻，對我來說一直是最特別的。每當我想起一朗這個人，或者做為一位運動員，就會想起這段往事。
My hat’s off to Ichiro. He’s a guy who comes around once in a lifetime. No one’s ever seen anybody like him. And to be quite honest, we probably won’t see anybody like him again.
我要向一朗脫帽致敬，他是一個一生中只會遇見一次的那種人，沒有人能像他一樣，說真的，我們應該不會再見到像他那樣的人。
Part of me wants to tell him, “I hope you get to enjoy some time off soon,” but I know he wouldn’t like to hear that. I’m not sure he knows what time off looks like.
在我內心深處，想要告訴他：「我希望你能夠很快地就能享受一些休閒時刻。」但我知道他不喜歡聽這些，我甚至不確定他是否曉得什麼叫做休息。
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