Baseball in America 美国的棒球

Baseball in America 美国的棒球

INTRODUCTION

1. American Sports represent a fabric of American culture. Sports act as a unifying factor between people of all ages. Of all the sports that America has to offer, baseball is considered the pastime of this country. Americans did not always regard baseball and other sports in such a benign manner. Rather, sports during the early colonial times were seen as pagan and devilish things to do. Many elite"' and .wealthy gentry who embodied the Victorian ideals regarded any type of games or sports as ill vices. It was the common people who directly related sports to their religion. On days of religious celebration, early Americans joined together to play games. These folk games were unstructured and unruly; however, the unity that these games brought, created a need for professional sporting games. Folk games provided the foundation of sports. They created a sense of companionship and unison among individuals. These unorganized folk games created the threshold for organized sports and led to the transformation of the players' roles and the role of the audience. Amateurs`'' became professional athletes, and the game an organized business. The game of baseball evolved from the English game of cricket and rounders. It was not until the time of the Civil War that baseball began to be played frequently.

在美国,运动是其文化的组成部分.运动是任何年龄的人所共同的生活因素.在美国人所从事的运动中,棒球被看作是整个国家的娱乐活动.美国人并不总是将棒球和其他运动看作是无害的行为.在殖民初期,运动被看作是异教的古怪的东西,许多社会上的精英和富裕人士都带有维多利亚的观念,把任何类型的运动都看作是邪恶和堕落的行为.是普通民众将运动和宗教联系起来,在宗教庆祝日,早期的美国人聚集在一起开始运动.这些民间的运动缺少组织和规则,然而这些民间运动为专业体育项目的诞生奠定了基础.它们在个体这间培养了友谊和团结的观念.这些无组织的民间活动是有组织体育项目的开端,并导致了运动员和观众角色的转变.业余选手成为了专业运动员,比赛成为商业活动.棒球是从英国的板球和圆场棒球演变而来的.直到内战时期,棒球才渐渐流行起来.

2. However with the transformation of the nation, society and technology, folk games too began to evolve into spectator sports. After the Civil War, baseball became a popular sport and no longer an archaic folk game. Structure and organization were introduced gradually into the game and increased public participation. The sport at first excluded the public, but as economic interests infiltrated.... the game, the need for audiences and spectators arose. The audience of baseball was instrumental in the transformation of baseball. The battling

leagues and team rivalries created a sector for the American public to participate in baseball. The process of the transformation of American folk games into spectator games was due to capitalism, evolution of American society, urban settings, level of player performance, technological advances and the addition of structure and organization to the games; thus, transforming the sport of baseball into a monopolized and professional business.

然而随着国家、社会和技术的转型,民间运动才开始演变成观众参与的运动.内战后棒球非常流行,而且不再是过时的民间运动.组织和机构逐渐参与到这项运动中,并提高了公众的参与性.这项运动最初排斥公众,但随着经济利益的渗透,迫切需要观众的参与.观众是棒球运动变革的一种手段.球队的对抗为美国公众参与到棒球运动创造了前提.棒球作为美国的民间运动向观众参与的运动转型,主要归因于资本主义、美国社会的演变、城市的建立、球员的技术水平、技术的发展以及相关组织和机构的加入.棒球这项运动逐渐演变成垄断性的专业性的商业活动.

THE MYTH 传说

3. Organized Baseball and the Commission have propagated the myth that General Abner Doublday invented the game of baseball. This was an attempt to make baseball an American game. The Com-mission wanted to distinguish baseball as a truly American game that originated in Cooperstown, New York.

棒球组织及其委员会宣称阿博纳?杜伯戴将军发明了棒球这项运动.这试图使棒球成为美国的运动.委员会称棒球起源于纽约的库伯城,从而使棒球成为真正的美国运动.

4. This was a publicity stunt.... in order to create a sense of nationalism around the game in order to make the fans believe that this was their game and it belonged to no other country. It was an attempt to popularize baseball to the highest degree. The legend"'' states that Abner Doubleday at Cooperstown invented baseball in 1839. This myth was generated in 1907 by the Commission of Baseball when Albert Spalding hired his friend, Abraham Mills, to form a commission to investigate the origins 6f the game. These men gathered information from some of the oldest players known to have played the game. Spalding recognized the appeal of patriotism and the dynamics of myth making. Historical myths and legends play a large role in forming national identity and patriotic pride. This myth enabled baseball to break all traces and origins of the game from England. This was in fact a farce"". Scholars and historians both disprove this myth and trace baseball's origins to old English games of rounders and criquet. In 1939, Baseball celebrated its one hundredth birthday and created the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York. In the same year, the United States government created a commemorative stamp, which made 1839 the official birth day of baseball. This enabled Baseball to establish itself as a strange American religion in which people could return to the birthplace of the game to celebrate and remember it. Although this myth was pure falicy, the intent of the myth did enable baseball to distinguish itself as purely American and contributed to the sport becoming America's National Pastime.

这显然是为宣扬棒球所显示的爱国广义而耍的花招,目的是让球迷相信棒球是他们的运动,不属于其他任何国家.这企图将棒球的流行推向最高峰.传说是这样的: 阿博纳?杜伯戴于1839年在库伯城发明了棒球这项运动.这一传说是棒球委员会在1907年杜撰的.那时阿尔伯特?斯伯丁派他的朋友阿布罕穆?米尔成立一个小组,负责调查棒球运动的起源.这些人从老棒球运动员那里搜集信息.斯伯丁意识到爱国主义的吸引力和传说的推动力.历史神话和传说对于形成民族特色和民族自豪感起着重要的作用.这一传说打破了棒球起源于英国的说法.这实际上是一场闹剧.学者和历史学家一致反对这个传说,他们都认为棒球起源于英国的圆场棒球和板球.1939年人们庆祝棒球诞生一百周年,并在纽约的库伯城建造了费姆堂.同年美国政府发行

了纪念邮票,将1839年定于棒球的正式诞生时间.这使棒球成为美国奇怪的宗教节日,人们回到这项运动的诞生地以示纪念.尽管这一传说仅仅是误传,但传说真的使棒球成为美国所特有的东西,这大大推动了棒球成为美国的精粹.

BASEBALL TODAY 今天的棒球

5. Baseball today has been grown by issues such as revenues, advertising, marketing and other economic aspects. The concept of baseball as a sport has been forgotten. Rather it has become a business. Television hurt baseball but the sport has recovered. Organized Baseball has remained a fabric of American culture. It has though lost touch with the common man. Players are obsessed about salaries and stock options instead of playing the game for fun. The audience has still remained a vital part of baseball and the game's success. However, the sport has been tainted. There have been numerous strikes by baseball players against the owners. There have been scandal and drugs and steroids"'' have infiltrated the game, tainting its purity. The game has become revolved around money. Despite such problems, some players have kept baseball in the hearts of all Americans. Through their performance on and off the field, sports heroes continue to impact our daily lives. The errors of the past still haunt baseball and are still seen in the game's modern form, yet the sport of baseball is still intact and remains the nation's pastime. Television has improved and such record breaking events have been captured so that all Americans can enjoy the spoils. Baseball today is no longer a game of mystique that lures' the audiences in. It has become a business and the drama that used to be a part of the game that increased fan participation has been lost. Nevertheless, the game is an American game and is the pastime of this nation. The thrill of the game can still be recognized. Ballparks have become more vital to the sports success in this new era of sports. The numerous fans of baseball have found other sports or activities but the game has continued to spread and keep the public's interest.

今天的棒球通常是和收入、广告、营销和其他经济方面联系起来的.棒球作为一项运动已经被人们所遗忘.相反它变成了商业.电视让棒球受创,然而棒球又复苏了.有组织的棒球运动是美国文化的一部分.然而它与普通人失去了联系.运动员热衷于薪金和股票交易特权,而不是为了娱乐而打球.观众依然是棒球和这项运动取得成功的重要力量.然而这项运动已经被玷污了.棒球球员对抗雇主的罢工现象大量存在着.丑闻、毒品和兴奋剂事件使这项运动受损,玷污了它的纯洁.这项运动与金钱紧密相连.尽管如此,有些球员仍然使棒球深深地印在全美国人的心中.通过赛场上和赛场外的精彩表现,这些运动场上的英雄依旧影响着我们的生活.过去的错误还在困扰着棒球,并在棒球当前的形式上有所体现.然而棒球这项运动依然是完好的,它仍然是国家的精粹.电视技术在改进,打破纪录的瞬间被记录下来,使所有美国人能够享受战利品.今天的棒球不再带有神秘色彩,引诱观众进入其中.它成为了商业活动,歌剧曾经作为这项运动的一部分,增加了球迷的参与性,但现在也没有了.然而,这项运动是美国人的运动,是这个国家的精粹.运动带来的强烈的兴奋依然清晰.在这项运动的新时期,球场对于比赛的成功至关重要.尽管许多棒球球迷发现了其他运动或活动,但棒球这项运动还在继续传播着,吸引着公众的注意力.

CONCLUSION 结论

6. Baseball emerged after the end of Civil War as popular game. The popularity of rivalries fueled

the attraction of the game and caused it to become the national pastime. The sport transformed from being a game of amateurs into a sport played by professionals. With that transformation, the innocence of baseball has been lost. The game of baseball went through many transformations. Once the owners took control, Baseball had its ups and downs. The sport experienced a dead ball era in which pitching was well below the standard of today. Also, with new technological advances in the game, the sport reached its pinnacle. With improved balls, bats, and gloves the sport took off and the dead ball era came to a close. The live ball era increased the role of the audience.

棒球出现在内战结束后,并成为一项流行的运动.竞争和对抗使这项运动更有吸引力,使它成为国粹.这项运动从业余选手参与转变为专业运动员的比赛.随着这一转变,棒球的纯洁性丧失了.棒球这项运动发生了很多转变.当雇主掌控后,棒球经历了起起伏伏.这项运动经历了死球时代,那时投球要远远低于现在的标准.随着比赛中新技术的应用和发展,这项运动达到了巅峰.由于球、球棒和手套的改进,死球时代结束了.现场比赛使观众的作用更加突出.

7. Despite all the atrocities of racism and discrimination and the ugliness of big business and greed, baseball is still the National Pastime. It still holds that status because it is American; it is unique and that aspect will always endure. The sport of baseball has migrated to other nations like Mexico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Japan, and Korea. The popularity has dwindled in the United States due to other social distractions, but the game has been absorbed by other cultures, demonstrating the attractiveness of the sport and the importance of the fans.

尽管存在着种族主义、种族歧视、商业活动的丑陋和贪婪等令人不愉快的事情,棒球依然是美国的国粹.它仍然占据着这个地位,因为它是美国的,是独特的,而且将持续下去.棒球这项运动已传播到其他国家,像墨西哥、多米尼肯共和国、古巴、日本和韩国.由于社会上其他娱乐方式的出现,在美国,棒球对人们的吸引力已有所减弱,但是这项运动被其他文化所接受,从而显示了该运动的吸引力和球迷的重要性.