Re: [外電] The Mastermind--Theo Epstein(二)

[ookkla (虎)]

(中間這一個part比較不好懂，有請朋友協助，如果有錯的還請補充)

--

ONE OF HIS friends lovingly describes Theo as a "dick," which covers a
multitude of behaviors. Epstein creates a movable locker room wherever he
goes, where the most valuable currency is the ability to give shit, and to
take it. After a game at Wrigley this summer, he walks across the street to
the baseball operations office. The room is full of proprietary information,
which the Cubs closely guard. "The only thing that is on the record in the
whole office is that picture of Jed up there," Theo says, pointing as
everyone laughs. Hanging high on the wall is an enormous photograph of Jed
Hoyer posing in a field, in front of a turquoise pickup truck, with another
man. Their feet are kicked back, like they're about to kiss in an Audrey
Hepburn movie. It's Jed and his brother-in-law. They married twins, who'd
posed for the same photo moments before. Jed did it as a joke, and it hit
Facebook or Instagram, which meant Theo eventually saw it. Now it's blown up
on the wall.

一個Theo的朋友喜歡稱呼他是”王八蛋”，這綽號涵蓋了多重的行為。Epstein不論走到
哪兒，都會建立一個像是移動式更衣室的空間，在那裡，越會唬爛代表越有價值。今夏一
場Wrigley主場的比賽過後，他通過街道走向辦公室，房間裡佈滿小熊隊嚴密守護的機密
資料，”這邊唯一一個可以公開就是Jed Hoyer的照片，” Theo邊說邊指向吊掛處，大家
都笑了。掛在牆上的是一張Jed Hoyer的巨幅照片，Jed站在綠色貨卡前擺著姿勢，旁邊站
著另一個男人。他們的腳向外踢，就像Audrey Hepburn的電影裡兩人要親吻的姿勢一樣。
這是Jed和他的妹夫，他們的太太是一對雙胞胎，擺著跟老婆一樣的pose以此作為玩笑。
他們將此擺上社群網路後，最終Theo看到，將這張照片放大列印，掛到牆上。


Theo's friends love to tell stories -- stories that define him to them as
strongly as his use of data does to baseball fans. When the guy who wears the
Cubs mascot costume started taking his job a little too seriously, Theo stole
the head and then took a series of dirty photographs. In 2004 during spring
training, he put laxatives in a bowl of hummus. The young guys knew to stay
away from any appetizers Theo brought to the rental house, but an old
baseball hand dug in and paid the colonic price. Nearly three years ago, he
and a bunch of guys celebrated Hoyer's 40th birthday at one of their favorite
Chicago restaurants, called Girl and the Goat. Once the evening got the
better of them, Theo climbed the tall rotating neon goat in the place, nearly
falling, cutting his right shoulder in the process. He posed for pictures
with his wound, laughing at the imagined headlines: "Cubs President Felled by
Curse of the Goat."

Theo的朋友們都喜歡說故事—在他們看來，這些故事描述Theo的精準度，就像棒球迷眼中
他使用數據般準確一樣。當穿著小熊吉祥物的人物對待工作太嚴肅的時候，Theo會偷走玩
偶的頭部，然後拍出一串下流的照片。2004年春訓，Theo把瀉藥參進碗哩，年輕人都知道
不要碰Theo帶來的前菜，但隊上一個老職員不疑有他，抓了一大把來吃，結果付出腹痛的
代價。大概三年前，Theo和一票人到他們喜愛的，一間叫做Girl and the Goat的餐廳慶
祝Hoyer的40歲生日，當他們嗨過頭的時候，Theo爬上店裡閃霓虹燈光的高大旋轉山羊裝
飾，險些摔下，也因此挫傷他的右邊肩膀。他放上一張傷處的照片，笑著並下著標語：小
熊總裁因為山羊魔咒摔倒啦！”

Now, after getting his dig in on Jed's photo, he sees one of his youngest
employees wearing green slacks. Theo grins, pauses and then says, "He's
waiting to win the Masters to complete his suit," and everyone laughs,
including the butt of the joke. The one-liners are always pointed and often
baseball-nerd specific. In 2002, Adam Grossman, currently a Red Sox vice
president, wanted to make a good impression on his first day of work. He wore
his best college-frat-guy clothes, complete with trendy loafers, and
introduced himself to Theo by the batting cage. They shook hands. Theo looked
down at Adam's feet.

在嘲笑完Jed的照片之後，Theo看到一個穿著綠色休閒褲的手下（那是他最年輕的員工之
一），他張嘴笑了，暫停了一會兒說，"他正打算贏得高爾夫球大師賽*，好湊齊整身行頭
呢"眾人都笑了，包括那個被開玩笑的員工。他的尖酸語言總是很有針對性的，通常只有
棒球迷才聽得懂。2002年，現任的紅襪副總裁Adam Grossman，當時想要在第一個上班日
給眾人留下好印象，他穿著一套像是只有自我感覺良好的大學生才會穿的西裝，搭配時髦
的皮鞋，然後在打擊練習區跟著Theo自我介紹。他們互相握手後，Theo看著Adam的腳。
*Masters 這邊指的應該是高爾夫球公開賽，冠軍可套上綠色夾克。

"What would John McGraw say about those shoes?" he deadpanned.
“你覺得John McGraw*要是看到這雙鞋會有什麼感想？"Theo面無表情地說。
*John McGraw 傳奇老球員，最有名的照片是穿著雙皮鞋搭配球衣站在打擊區
Later that season, he stood on a desk and performed a dramatic public reading
of the earnest cover letter Grossman wrote to apply for his job, leaving
Grossman wanting to crawl beneath the floor. Hoyer had to come in behind Theo
and make sure the kid was OK.

那個球季後半段，他還站在桌子上，表演一段演說，朗讀的內容是Grossman應徵職務所寫
的信件內文，讓Grossman恨不得想在地上鑽個地洞。這也使得Hoyer得接著替Theo收拾殘
局，確認Grossman這小子的狀態。

When Theo is mad, he likes to break stuff. Back in Boston, they all remember
one night after a tough loss when he waved around a driver in the office. He
set up a ball with the intention of crushing it down a narrow corridor,
either into an empty office door or, better yet, shattering a window. With
folks crowded around, he gave it a go, and the ball hit a concrete pole, then
caromed at an impossible angle ... straight into the forehead of Ben
Cherington, the VP of player personnel. They heard the moans first. Blood
gushed from the wound. Minutes later, Theo went outside to meet Ben's irate
wife, who'd planned on picking her husband up that evening to move stuff to
their new house. "Don't be mad" is how Theo opened the conversation. Later,
he signed the golf ball and gave it to Ben as a joke.

當Theo氣瘋的時候，他會破壞一切東西。在波士頓的時候，他們都記得一個吞下辛苦一敗
後的那晚，Theo在辦公室揮著高爾夫球桿。他故意把一顆球打向一處狹窄通道，打進敞開
辦公室門內，或者，最好是打碎窗戶的玻璃。當來來往往的人群開始聚集，他決定放手一
擊，那個球砸中一條水泥柱後，反彈飛出一個奇特的角度...然後直接落在球員副總裁
Ben Cherington的額頭。他們先是聽到一聲慘叫，接著鮮血從傷口中冒出，幾分鐘過後，
Theo走到外頭，面對著Cherington盛怒的太太（她正準備來接先生，然後一起把東西搬進
新家去）”別生氣，”這是Theo的展開對話的開場白，隨後，他在高爾夫球上簽名，並且
送給Cherington，當作是一個玩笑。

"He can't shut off The Theo," Grossman says.

“他就是不能停止The Theo的荒謬行徑” Grossman說。

NOBODY IN BOSTON took more shit than Amiel Sawdaye, who came to the Red Sox
in 2002 and is now a vice president of scouting. Sawdaye gave it back harder
than anyone else, sometimes literally trading punches with Epstein, wearing
the boxing gloves they kept in the office to blow off steam. Around the time
Epstein was moving to Chicago, Sawdaye sold his house while buying another
that wasn't nearly ready for a move-in. His plan was to take his family to
spring training, but a medical emergency with one of his children ruined that
plan. He didn't have anywhere to live, so Theo waited to sell his and Marie's
place in Boston so Sawdaye and his family could room for free.

在波士頓，沒人能比Amiel Sawdaye承受更多Theo的垃圾話。Sawdaye在2002年來到紅襪，
現在是球探部副總裁。Sawdaye會比任何人都更認真反擊，有時會用他們放在辦公室的拳
擊手套，跟Epstein來場比劃，以排除雙方的怒氣。當Epstein正準備搬家到芝加哥的時候
，Sawdaye賣掉房子，但新買的住處暫時沒法入住，所以他的計畫是先帶著家人到春訓基
地。不過，Sawdaye的一個兒子碰到一個醫療上的緊急狀況，因而打壞計畫。當下Sawdaye
沒地方可住，所以Theo延後賣掉自己與太太在波士頓的房子，讓Sawdaye與家人可以免費
入住。

Despite the pranks, Theo is often thoughtful and generous. Once, Epstein sent
a banner of Kris Bryant, which had been hanging on Wrigley Field, to Bryant's
father. When a roving minor league consultant, Mike Roberts, lost his wife of
46 years, Epstein invited him on the road with the Cubs -- his first time
ever traveling with a big league club, after a lifetime in the game -- and
the players' wives and girlfriends made sure to deliver food when Roberts was
at home.

儘管有種種不正常的舉動，Theo通常是體貼而且是慷慨的。有一次，Epstein送給Kris
Bryant的爸爸一幅掛在主場上方的他兒子的banner。當小聯盟顧問Mike Roberts失去陪伴
多年的妻子，Epstein邀請他跟著球隊一起客場移動，這是一生都待在小聯盟的Roberts，
第一次跟著大聯盟球隊一起移動。當Roberts在家的時候，球員們的太太與女友會輪流送
食物給他。

He's always had a deep sense of empathy, of knowing what other people are
feeling. For most of his life, he's reflected the energy of the room he's in,
able to shape-shift, or more accurately, not able to not shape-shift. If he's
talking with Kevin Millar or John Lackey, he can be just as filthy as the
crustiest big league ballplayer. With rock stars, he can talk eloquently
about the challenges and risks of fame, or really get into discussions of
gear. With analytics experts, he can go deep on simulation methodology. He
can talk Nantucket real estate with millionaires, yachts with billionaires
and reality shows with the interns. "I don't think I'm a chameleon," Epstein
says one night. "I can feel where people are coming from, what makes them
tick, where they are vulnerable, what makes them feel good about themselves.
I get just as much out of it as they do. I love connecting."

他一直保有很深的同理心，能感受到身旁人們的感受。在大半人生中，他能反射他所進到
的每一個屋子裡的能量，並且將其變形，或是更精確地說，不能夠不做出改變。假設他對
話的是Kevin Millar或是John Lackey，他可以盡可能地像跟聯盟最老油條的球員對話那
般低級。跟搖滾巨星在一起的時候，能夠滔滔不絕地討論名氣帶來的種種挑戰與風險，或
者像個專家一樣評價樂器。跟數據專家在一起的時候，他可以對研究方法深度探討。他能
夠與百萬富翁討論Nantucket當地房地產價格，和億萬富翁討論豪華遊艇或和底下實習生
討論電視當紅實境秀等等。"我不覺得我是變色龍，” 在一個夜裡，Epstein說，”我可
以感覺到人們從何而來，甚麼讓他們變渺小，那裡讓他們更有價值，甚麼能讓他們自己感
到良好。我從裡頭學到的，就和他們自己從裡頭學到的一樣多。我喜歡與人們建立鍵結。
”

It began in part at Fenway, he and his father and twin brother, Paul, often
walking to the park for games. Theo not only remembers but still inhabits
those long-ago moments: his dad holding his hand through Gate A; the sound of
the creaky turnstile; the smell of the brown-mustard packets, the dirt, the
grass. Leslie Epstein let each boy pick three things from concessions, either
spread out or all at once. Theo would go with a Fenway Frank, a pretzel and a
little carton of milk. The company that made the hot dogs was called
Kirschner, which became the Epstein family code word for fans who came to
games but didn't know baseball. If someone sat next to them who treated it as
a social outing, Leslie would say, "K-k-kirschner, boys. Kirschner," and Paul
and Theo would explode in laughter. Some days, the boys would play arcade
games or go candlepin bowling at Ryan Family Amusements, just down the street
from the ballpark.

這有一部份是從Fenway球場開始的，他與他的父親與他的雙胞胎兄弟Paul，常常走路去球
場看比賽。Theo不僅記得並且時常駐足在這些回憶裡：他的爸爸牽著他的手走過A出口。
入場旋轉門嘎滋聲響。零嘴、土壤、草地的氣味。Leslie Epstein會特許讓小朋友選擇三
項想要的物事，可以一次用完或分批使用。Theo會選蝴蝶餅、牛奶和Fenway特有熱狗堡，
其中賣熱狗的攤販叫做Kirschner，這變成Epstein家族的一個密語，拿來稱呼那些來看比
賽卻不懂棒球的人。如果坐在他們旁邊的人，只是把來球場當作交際活動，Leslie會說，
” K-k-kirschner, boys. Kirschner，” Paul跟Theo就會大笑。有些時候，男孩們會玩
紙牌，或是到對街的Ryan Family Amusements打保齡球，那些地方都在球場旁邊。

Twenty-five years later, Theo gave away his first World Series ring to his
father, because seeing his dad stare quietly at it felt much better than
getting it himself. His strongest memory of the 2004 celebration is watching
the other baseball operations people pouring champagne on one another, seeing
the look on Johnny Pesky's face. Such moments are fragile, and the state of
rapture he craves is only achievable in concert with others. The morning
after the Red Sox won in 2004, the team landed and made the familiar drive
from Logan to Fenway. Theo gets chills even now remembering the cars pulled
over on the side of the road and the Red Sox hats sitting on top of
gravestones in a cemetery they passed. An entire city stopped. The living
celebrated being alive, and they also remembered the dead.

25年過後，Theo把第一個世界大賽戒指給他的老爸，因為他覺得看到老爸安靜地盯著戒指
看的樣子，比他自己擁有的感覺很棒。他對於2004年奪冠慶祝最深刻的記憶，就是看著其
他棒球部門的人員互倒香檳的景象，看著Johnny Pesky的樣子。這些記憶是易碎的，他所
渴望的冠軍所帶來的狂喜，和陪伴身邊人們是息息相關的。2004年紅襪奪冠後的第一個早
晨，球隊走過另一個熟悉的旅程，從Logan到Fenway。Theo至今回憶起，還是忍不住起了
雞皮疙瘩，當初車隊停靠在路旁時，旁邊有一座墓園，他看到一個紅襪球帽就掛在一座墓
碑上。整座城市彷彿凍結在那一刻，生者慶賀活著真好，同時，他們也在心中緬懷逝者。

The next title, won three years later in part by homegrown players Theo's
crew found and nurtured -- Lester, Papelbon, Pedroia and Ellsbury, selected
in four successive drafts -- felt deep and satisfying in its own right. He
longs for that again, and a title in Chicago would combine the best of 2004
and 2007. He's after a feeling, even if he knows better than most how quickly
it goes away, and how hard it is to find once it's gone.

他們在三年後贏下另一個冠軍，部分功臣是自家培訓的家鄉弟子Lester, Papelbon,
Pedroia 還有Ellsbury，他們是Theo在四年選秀會的傑作，他感受深刻並且對自己的權利
感到滿足。他又一次對此種感覺渴望，一個在芝加哥拿到的冠軍將會結合2004與2007年的
最佳回憶。他想要重新找回那個深刻感受，儘管，他是再清楚不過，那是多麼容易流逝且
難以找回的。



ON AN EXCEPTIONALLY hot morning in July, Epstein stands outside his office on
the sidewalk near Clark Street, sheepishly explaining why his phone is
shattered. He broke it in a fit of anger when the team slumped before the
All-Star break and hasn't found the time to get a new one.
All teams are more fragile than people want to admit to themselves.

在一個特別熱的七月早晨，Epstein站在辦公室之外靠著Clark Street的走道，羞怯地解
釋為何他的手機破碎的原因。他因為球隊在明星賽前表現極差發火，而將手機摔壞，一直
沒時間去替換新機。所有棒球隊脆弱程度總是比人們願意承認的還多上許多。

"If we have a horseshit month, if we lose this lead, they will be paying
attention to what time I come into the office," he says. "They will be
thinking we got complacent. It's a human phenomenon that there has to be a
reason for everything. There almost never is. Inexplicable shit, like
flipping a coin or the outcome of a baseball game, we need to tell ourselves
a story: This team has great chemistry. This team is tough. You know what?
That shit all matters, but it's never the full answer that people want it to
be. It's why we have stories about the stars in the sky, and the planets and
the seas and gods and mythology. We evolve to a point where we can tell and
understand the stories. Some are real and some are not, but we attach meaning
to all of them."

“如果我們有個戰績很爛的一個月份，如果我們失去領先，他們會注意我何時進到辦公室
，”他說，”他們會覺得我們很自滿。這是人的天性，總是希望替任何事情發生找出背後
原因。這是無法說明的，就像翻轉一個銅板或是一場棒球賽的結果，我們必須催眠自己：
這支球隊擁有很棒的化學效應，球隊很強悍。你知道嗎？那些玩意都有影響，但從來就不
是人們以為地那樣可以解釋一切。但這些從來就不是球迷要的答案。這是為什麼我們要幫
天上的星星編故事，還有那些星球、海洋、神與所有的迷思。我們從能理解並能解說的一
個點去發展。部分是事實，一些不是，但我們把所有的事情都賦予意義。”

This inability to control the most important thing in his life makes him, he
admits, something of a junkie, which leads to a life without balance.
Attempts by other teams to replicate his analytical process are misguided,
because his baseball philosophy in truth comes from a hardwired place in his
psyche. More than an exploiter of undervalued markets or an expert at
predicting which high school seniors might turn into All-Stars, Epstein is
completely unhinged. He obsesses over details, from the draft board to the
recruiting video he made while wooing Jon Lester, complete with a fake World
Series call by the real Cubs announcers, to the time he spent trolling
taxidermy websites to find the perfect stuffed bear for the players'
cafeteria. Last year, while the Cubs were building a new clubhouse, he
hyperfocused on the number of inches between the couch and the ottoman. "I
have dozens of pictures of circular sectionals," he says.

這種對於人生中最重要的事情無法全權掌控的無力感，讓他覺得自己就像個毒蟲，他承認
，這使得生活失衡。其他球隊試著複製他的數據分析，然而全被誤導了，因為他相信的棒
球哲學就源自他的內心。不只是一個市場的得利者，或是預測哪個高中生能變成全明星的
專家，Epstein就是瘋子。他瘋狂執著於最微小的細節，從選秀評估榜，招募Jon Lester
所做的影片，請真的小熊評論員去做一個假的世界大賽宣告，到逛遍網站只為了找到一個
放置在球員用餐區的小熊標本。去年，當球隊準備建構一個新的球員辦公室，他極度專注
在沙發與沙發腳墊之間的距離。”我腦中存在十幾種搭配組合”他說。

Standing on the street between his office and Wrigley Field, as a few fans
hang back waiting for his intensity to fade enough to ask for an autograph --
a popular request is a baseball inscribed with "Reverse the Curse" -- he
describes how they go about researching the backgrounds of people the team
might want as players. For instance, in the Summer of Find Pitching, he gets
a dossier on closer Aroldis Chapman, which includes the allegation of firing
a pistol in his garage after an argument with his girlfriend. But the closer,
according to outside simulations, raises the Cubs' chance of a title to
slightly less than 1 in 4. Epstein is faced with a difficult decision.

站在他的辦公室與球場之間的街道上，幾位球迷在等著他情緒平復，好上前索取簽名，他
們最常遞過來的東西是上頭印有”打倒魔咒”字樣的棒球。他描述他們如何去調查一個想
簽下的球員的背景。舉例來說，今夏尋找投手的時候，他拿到一個Aroldis Chapman的資
料夾，裡面包含Chapman在與女友吵架後於車庫裡開槍的陳述的負面資訊。但是根據模擬
結果，那位終結者能夠提升奪冠的機率高達1/4。Epstein面臨一個艱困的抉擇。

Over the course of days, he collects information, weighs it, then makes a
call. He sends a pitcher and three prospects to the Yankees and acquires
Chapman. Giving up those players will absolutely make the Cubs weaker in the
future, which Epstein knows, but the team needs a closer like Chapman to make
a real October run.

決策過程中，他收集許多資訊，加以評估，然後他打了通電話。他送出一個投手與三個潛
力新秀到洋基，換回Chapman。放棄這些球員等於讓球隊在未來少掉一些競爭力，這些
Epstein知道，但球隊需要一個像Chapman的終結者，在十月做真正的競爭。

The trading deadline, he laments over and over, is a "mindfuck." But his
rationale is cold: The sign in his office still says Find Pitching.
He enjoys it, however, this hunt for information. It's the part of the job
most connected to the questions he asks about himself. He loves the dossiers
the scouts put together, full of details about friends and enemies, with
copies of incriminating photos floating around the internet for stars like
Chapman, and for high school kids, descriptions of their childhood bedrooms.
"They write these background reports that all read like Russian novels," he
says one day. "I'm telling you, everyone's life is a fucking Russian novel if
you dig deep enough. Everyone."

在交易截止日，他不斷地感到折磨，說這是”這真是在逼瘋我”。但他的評斷卻很冷靜：
辦公室裡掛的首要目標就是”找到投手”。然而，他對於收集情報很享受的。這一部分的
工作內容，和他常常問自己的問題十分接近。他喜愛球探把這些資料結合在一起，佈滿所
有關於朋友與敵人的細節，包含批評像Chapman這樣的球星的網路言論的影本，還有高中
球員形容他們兒時臥房的敘述。”他們寫下這些背景調查，讀起來就像俄語小說，”有一
天他說，”我跟你說，如果你挖掘得夠深，會發現每個人的生活都是他媽的俄語小說，每
一個人都是。”


EPSTEIN MIGHT HAVE ended up a writer or a lawyer or a juvenile delinquent,
except for three things that happened around the time he turned 12. In the
spring of 1985, his favorite baseball computer game on the old Apple II,
Micro League Baseball, released a general manager disk that allowed him to
make deals and create rosters. The game was just a year old, the first real
simulator that emphasized strategy and not hand-eye coordination. Theo
created a team of all Negro League players and dominated the computer game.
Later that year, when he was 12, he got his first Bill James historical
abstract, which came out in December of '85. Ten months after that, the 1986
Red Sox lost the World Series, and so Bill James and Micro League Baseball no
longer appealed to him in a purely intellectual vacuum. They gave him a way
to put his broken heart back together, combining the emotional and factual
for the first time into a worldview. One night this summer, he's asked if any
of his success would have happened if he hadn't been 12 in the fall of 1986.
There's a long pause.

如果沒有做現在的工作，Epstein有可能會是一個作家，律師，或是一個少年罪犯。不過
，事情在12歲那年有所變化。1985年春天，他最喜歡的棒球電玩Micro League Baseball
在二代蘋果電腦上安裝，釋出一個總管模式，讓他可以管理球隊，打造自己想要的球員名
單。那個遊戲僅開發一年，是第一款強調模擬經營的遊戲，只在乎佈局策略，不注重遊戲
時的手眼協調能力。Theo創建了一支成員全來自Negro League的球隊，然後打爆電腦。
1985年十二月，當他12歲的時候，他得到第一本Bill James的大作。10個月過後，紅襪輸
掉1986年的世界大賽，所以對他來說，Bill James 與Micro League Baseball再也不只是
單純動腦的休閒娛樂而已。他們給了他一個把破碎的心接合在一起的機會，讓他第一次把
情感跟現實行為結合成屬於他的完整看待世界的方式。今年暑假的一個夜晚，他被問道如
果紅襪1986年沒有失敗，是不是他就不會擁有現在的成功事蹟。他做了一個很長的停頓。


"Probably not," he says finally.

“可能不會吧”他終於回答。

At Yale, he applied for baseball internships and landed in Baltimore, where
he organized a celebration of many of those same Negro League players he got
to know on his computer. His fantasy became real when a position in San Diego
led him back to Boston as assistant general manager. When Billy Beane decided
not to take the Red Sox job, the owners took a chance on the 28-year-old
already working down in the basement.

在耶魯大學的時候，他應徵了一個棒球實習生的工作，並在巴爾地摩落腳。在那裡，他組
織了一個慶祝會，成員是他在在電動裡熟識的Negro League球員們。當一個在波士頓的助
理總管職缺向他招手時，在聖地牙哥工作的他，總算得到一個夢想成真的機會。當時
Billy Beane決定婉拒紅襪的職務，老闆便給了這個28歲，已經在地下室工作的年輕人一
試的機會。

The morning Epstein became the GM, he walked outside his condo near Fenway
and found camera crews waiting, and they followed him to work as he reminded
himself not to trip, concentrating on the steps. Even now in Chicago, he
often tugs at the bill of his cap, a nervous tick left over from when he
became a public figure overnight. "I was emotionally 16 when I was 28 and got
the job," he says, then going on to describe how he acted in high school. "I
was so introverted. I used to follow people home. I just like being anonymous
so much that I would follow people home because they didn't know who I was
and I could watch them. I know how that sounds. I could not exist but
observe. I could put a hat on and follow them."

Epstein成為總管的那個早晨，他走出Fenway的公寓，發現眾家媒體正在等著他，並且跟
著他一路到工作的地方，他不斷提醒自己別跌跤，得專注在自己的步伐上。即使現在在芝
加哥，他常常會拉低帽沿，一夕成名帶來的緊張感，始終緊隨著他，” 我28歲接下這份
工作時，情緒智商上大概只有16歲而已。”他說，接著敘述他在高中時期的行為，”我當
時很內向，常常跟蹤人回家，我覺得這樣沒人會注意到我，我就可以觀察他們。我知道那
聽起來很怪。但我若是不觀察我就無法生存，我會戴上帽子然後跟蹤他們。”

He nailed the news conference and then went to work. A few hours into the
job, his co-worker and childhood friend Sam Kennedy called him.

他結束了一場無可挑剔的記者會，然後開始工作。幾個小時之後，他的工作夥伴與兒時好
友Sam Kennedy打了通電話過來。

"What are you doing?" Sam asked.

“還好嗎？＂Sam問道。

"I'm just sitting here being the GM," Theo said.

“我坐在這兒，變成一個總管了，” Theo說。

Back at home, Marie bought him an ice cream cake to celebrate his new job,
but he stayed so late at the office, the cake melted. That should have been a
warning. Those in the baseball ops team chased a title at the exclusion of
nearly everything in their lives. They rarely left, working 18-hour days.
When they did finally rejoin the real world, they kept talking about
baseball, at Theo's apartment, or at a bar, or at one of the neighborhood
places where they ate over and over again: tacos at El Pelon or chicken-fried
rice at Rod-Dee II. Theo scoured the baseball rulebook for accidental
loopholes to exploit, accepting nothing, even coming up with new ways to
interview managers, like making Terry Francona manage a series simulation
against the smartest data guy in the office. (Francona drew.) They grew up
together, Theo, Jason McLeod, Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington. At the time, only
Cherington was married, although he'd end up divorced. The lines between work
and home disappeared. "There's a real connection," Hoyer says. "We were each
other's families in a lot of ways."

回到家後，Marie幫他買了一個冰淇淋蛋糕當作慶祝，但他待在辦公室待太晚了，所以蛋
糕融化了。那其實是個警示。這些在球團工作的人們追求一個冠軍，幾乎排除人生中的其
他事物。他們很少離開辦公室，一天工作18個小時，當他們重新回到真實生活的時候，還
是在談論著棒球，在Theo的公寓，或是在一個酒吧，或是在一個經常去吃東西的鄰近餐廳
：到El Pelon吃塔可餅，或到 Rod-Dee II吃炸雞配米飯。Theo把聯盟規則手冊讀得滾瓜
爛熟，試著找出其中存在的漏洞並加以利用，對規則從來不存有既定想法，甚至想出新方
法來面試總教練，像是讓Terry Francona和辦公室裡進階數據專家一起進行比賽模擬較量
(結果Francona和對方打成平手)。Theo, Jason McLeod, Jed Hoyer 與Ben Cherington，
他們一同成長，那個時候，還只有Cherington結婚(雖然後來以離婚收場)。介於工作與家
庭的界線消失，”這是真實的連結，” Hoyer說，”我們就是各自的家人”

Everything in Theo's world centered on his office in a basement, far away
from the main Red Sox office on the second floor. That basement wasn't always
used by the Sox. Before, it had been Ryan Family Amusements, where Theo and
Paul Epstein went bowling and played arcade games, so that every morning he
went to work, Theo plugged into the constellation of memories from his
childhood.

Theo世界的中心圍繞著他在地下室的辦公室，遠離紅襪主要的二樓辦公室。那個地下室不
常被球團使用，之前，那是Ryan家族的娛樂室，Theo跟Paul Epstein會在這邊完保齡球或
是紙牌，所以每個他準備開始工作的早晨，Theo總是像從兒時回憶汲取能量與動力。

Those years were the best of his life.

那些年是他人生中最棒的幾年。

Then they won the World Series.

然後他們贏得世界大賽。

Theo called Patriots coach Bill Belichick for advice on how to handle success.
"You're fucked," Belichick told him.

Theo打給愛國者隊的教練Bill Belichick尋求意見，如何持續成功。”你死定了”
 Belichick這樣告訴他。


(待續)

--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc), 來自: 114.45.71.21
※ 文章網址: https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/MLB/M.1480593016.A.EBA.html
推 sonnyissonny: 要偷學愛國者老狐狸心法嗎?XD
推 skittles: 推~想像豆爺打槍John Henry 離開Fenway 然後換Theo走出
→ skittles: 來-＞Moneyball續集幻想中
推 Asucks: 翻譯的非常好! 讚!
謝謝不嫌棄~
推 terry46732: 交易Chapman能使奪冠機率上升四分之一應該改為 上升
→ terry46732: 至約四分之一
→ terry46732: 翻譯得很棒!!
感謝提點  等我把第三篇編輯完再來重新校正一次~
推 Rayshief: 推～
推 lanver1220: 推
推 ted10: 看過這篇 原本想翻 但是最後覺得實在太長就放棄了XD
片段加起來應該翻超過10小時....好險有跟朋友一起
推 scheiss: 他對紅襪的愛絕對是驅使他當初做這份工作的動力之一
推 Roshiel: 推
→ Roshiel: 還以為Theo很理性啊 XD
→ Roshiel: Ben Cherington有沒有打算去小熊呢？
推 triff: 只要是人都有情緒跟感情
※ 編輯: ookkla (114.45.71.21), 12/01/2016 23:31:19
推 Unleashed: 推
推 newest: You're Fxxked.
推 lwifbf: 原來也是暴君類型的
推 edwinsonans: 推