Re: Hampton returns to pre-Rockies form

[RJJ (傳說中的小米)]

by Tim Kurkjian / ESPN The Magazine
原文網址：http://tinyurl.com/9hupv

在勇士隊的先發投手之間有個打擊競賽，由誰開始的呢？當然是 John Smoltz。
他這樣分組：Mike Hampton 和 Tim Hudson 一組，Smoltz、John Thomson 和
Horacio Ramirez 一組。比賽的方式和高爾夫球很接近，每半個球季就是十八
洞。

Hampton 說：「我不會讓他們有任何機會的。我想 John 是為了要挑戰才舉辦
這樣的比賽，不過我看不出來他們有什麼獲勝的機會。不過 John 每天都在打
擊練習區練習，想要變得強一點。你知道他的，對他來說每件事都是挑戰：比
如說是誰能最快把冰塊吃下去。你會看到有人大啃大嚼直到腦袋麻掉。我們目
前贏了三洞，他們贏了一洞，還有一次平手。」

圖片：Mike Hampton 發現在海平面投球比較有趣。
http://espn-att.starwave.com/media/mlb/2005/0505/photo/w_hampton_i.jpg

先發投手之間倒是沒有投球競賽，不過如果有的話，Hampton 也快要爬到頂端
了。在和 Colorado Rockies 簽下了幾乎逆轉了他的投球生涯的合約的四年後，
Hampton 再度成為國聯裡最佳的投手之一。那兩年在歷史上對投手最差的球場
投球的兩年所給他的恐懼和壞習慣已經幾乎消失。現在他在亞特蘭大投球，這
裡是過去十五年來投手不斷重生的地方。而現在還是。在禮拜二的先發之後，
Hampton 的戰績是三勝一敗，防禦率 2.47，在六次的先發裡，他只投出了 11
次的保送。在 2002 年時，他在 Rockies 的前六場先發，他投出了 25 次。

Hampton 說：「這是對自己的信任問題。我現在對我所做的事更有信心了。」
那份信心曾經被 Coors Field 擊潰。他說：「無疑的，在那邊，你會想要有個
合格的先發，而隨便一個人都可以用二壘安打來毀滅你的希望。然後，你會覺
得你需要投得更好，每一球都投得完美，然後球數就落後了。那變成了一種心
理上的問題。短期來說，你可以處理得很好。長期來說，就幾乎是不可能的。」

Hampton 在過去兩年都敢投內角球，而那也是他在休士頓和大都會隊時的投球
方式，但是在 Colorado 的時候卻被他拋棄了。

他說：「你不想受到什麼傷害，所以就越來越投外角低，外角低，外角低。於
是就失去了投內角球的藝術。如果想要在大聯盟中贏球，就不能怕投內角球。」

Hampton 能投出很了不起的伸卡球，但是他的滾地球的比例不像是在休士頓時
那樣的出色。他說：「我不是說我不想讓對手打個滾地球出局，不過在過去的
兩到三年，我投四縫線球的比例比較高。I'm trying to keep them off my
sinker。」

他的復活有很大一部份歸功於他在勇士隊投球，而他們贏了很多比賽，而且有
一個已被證明對投手很有效的計劃 -- 由投手教練 Leo Mazzone 所設計的。
Hampton 說：「Leo 很了不起，不過這全部都是由 Bobby 開始的。他會給人勇
氣。每天我們投球的時候，我們就成為了當天聯盟的最佳投手。」

Hamtpon 也認為他和 Smoltz 及 Hudson 處在同一個球隊是有好處的。他說：「
他們很了不起，所以當第三、四、五號投手就不會一直受到大家的關注。對我
來說就好像可以呼吸到新鮮空氣一樣。我真的很喜歡這種感覺。如果我可以任
選兩個一、二號投手，我會選他們兩個。」

Hampton 還是想要贏得和 Smoltz 之間的打擊競賽。他笑著說：「那天我打了
一支一壘安打，所以我們這個禮拜領先了一分。」

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作者: tradewind (來自南方的貿易風) 看板: Braves
標題: Hampton returns to pre-Rockies form
時間: Mon May  9 20:06:27 2005

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=kurkjian_tim&id=2053661

By Tim Kurkjian
ESPN The Magazine

The Braves' starting pitchers have a hitting competition, organized, of
course, by John Smoltz. He picked the teams: Mike Hampton and Tim Hudson
against Smoltz, John Thomson and Horatio Ramirez. It's run like a golf
tournament. Each half of the year is 18 holes.

"I'll take those teams in a second," Hampton said. "I think John did it
for the challenge, but I don't see them winning. But John is in the cage
everyday trying to get better. You know John, everything is a competition:
who can chew the ice the fastest, you can eat a Slushee the longest without
getting a brain freeze. We've won three holes, they've won one and there's
one tie."

Mike Hampton finds pitching at sea level much more rewarding.
http://espn-att.starwave.com/media/mlb/2005/0505/photo/w_hampton_i.jpg

There is no pitching competition among the starters, but if there were,
Hampton would be near the top. Four years after signing with the Colorado
Rockies, which badly derailed his career, Hampton is back as one of the top
pitchers in the National League. The fears and bad habits he developed from
working for two years in the worst pitching environment in the history of
baseball are mostly gone. Now he's working in Atlanta, a place where pitchers
have thrived for nearly 15 years. It shows. Through Tuesday, Hampton was 3-1
with a 2.47 ERA. In six starts, he has 11 walks. In his first six starts for
the Rockies in 2002, he had 25.

"It's a matter of trusting my stuff," Hampton said. "I'm much more confident
in what I'm doing." That confidence was crushed by Coors Field. "Without a
doubt," Hampton said. "There, you would make a quality pitch, and someone
would whack it down the line for a double. So, you felt like you have to make
a great pitch every time and you get behind in the count. It became a mental
thing. Short term, you can deal with it. Long term, it's almost impossible."

Hampton has been pitching inside the last two years in Atlanta, something he
used to do in Houston and with the Mets, but something he got away from in
Colorado.

"You didn't want to get hurt there, so you went down and away, down and away,
down and away," he said. "You lose the art of pitching inside. You can't be
afraid to go inside if you want to win in this league."

Hampton has a marvelous sinker, but his ground-ball rate isn't what it was
during his best days in Houston. "It's not that I don't want to have ground-
ball outs, but for the last two or three years, I've thrown more four-
seamers," he said. "I'm trying to keep them off my sinker."

His resurgence is due in great part to pitching for Braves, who win a lot of
games, and have a proven program–designed by pitching coach Leo Mazzone–
that works for pitchers. "Leo has been great," said Hampton, "but it all
starts at the top with [manager] Bobby [Cox]. He gives you a boost. Every day
we pitch, we're the No. 1 guy that day."

Hampton feels he has benefited from being in the same rotation with Smoltz
and Hudson. "It has been awesome,'' he said. "The 3-4-5 guys here have stayed
under the radar. That has been a breath of fresh air for me. I've really
enjoyed it. And if I were going to pitch behind any two guys in the league,
John and Tim would be the two guys that I would pick.''

Still, Hampton is out to the win the hitting competition against Smoltz's
team. "I hit a single the other day," Hampton said, laughing. "So we're ahead
by one point this week."

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