馬來寶

Mirabal's Clever Wife

This story is about Carlos Mirabal, but it's at least as much
about Anne Marie Mirabal. Without his wife's critical
contribution, Carlos Mirabal most likely wouldn't have a story
to tell, at least not with a baseball theme.

馬來寶有個聰明的妻子。這個故事是有關馬來寶（前和信洋投），但至少也是他妻子安瑪麗的故事。如果不是安瑪麗決定性的抉擇，現在也就沒有這個馬來寶的故事可說了，至少，不會是關於棒球的故事。

Mirabal, who was briefly a member of the Yankees' organization,
is the closer for the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan's Pacific
League. He played for them last year after having played the
previous three seasons in Taiwan.

馬來寶，曾經短暫的是洋基球團的成員之一，目前是日職太平洋聯盟日本火腿隊的救援投手。去年在火腿總共出賽四十八場，一勝三敗十九救援，防禦率三點六五，在太平洋聯盟所有救援點排行榜中排名第五位。他在加入日本火腿隊之前，曾經在台灣打了三年。（和信）

Before all of that, Mirabal, then an Englewood, N.J., resident,
met his future wife when he was rehabilitating his surgical
right elbow at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York. But
when he married Anne Marie, he gained more than a wife. She
became his agent, his promoter, his career maker

不過在這些之前，當他在紐約的 Columbia Presbyterian Hospital 替自己開刀後的手肘做復健的時候，他認識了他以後的太太，安瑪麗。不過，當他和安瑪麗結婚之後，他不只是了娶了一個美好的女人來當他的妻子，安瑪麗同時也成為他的經紀人，和他投手生涯的伯樂。

"I had a chance to go to winter ball or go to Taiwan," Mirabal
said. "I didn't want to go to Taiwan. I wanted to go to winter
ball. My wife said, `No, you're going to Taiwan.' "

馬來寶後來說，我當時有個機會可以去冬季聯盟發展，或是去台灣打球。我當時不想去台灣，我比較想去冬季聯盟。不過我太太說，不，你要去台灣打球。

Anne Marie, her husband explained, was concerned about the risk
of injury or a poor performance. Winter ball was not guaranteed;
Taiwan was. He would earn $338,000 in the next three years. Once
they were there, she initiated plans for the pitcher to improve
his status.

馬來寶說，當時安瑪麗十分擔心在冬季聯盟出賽會有受傷的風險，以及萬一打不好的副作用。冬季聯盟沒有保障合約，台灣有。他在台灣接下來的三年中的薪水是三十三萬八千美金，當他們到了台灣之後，安瑪麗就開始幫馬來寶設計改善他狀況的諸種計畫。

"In Taiwan the games are on television," Mirabal said. "My wife
taped them. The first two years she set the video camera on a
table and aimed it at the TV. Then she took all the tapes, put a
VCR to a VCR and taped me. She sent the tape to Japan and the
Nippon club had me throw for them and they signed me."

馬來寶回憶說，在台灣的時候，球賽全都是電視轉播，我太太會把我的比賽都錄下來。在台灣的前兩年，她會在茶几上架上攝影機來錄電視上的畫面。然後她會把這些帶子寄去給日本的球團看，然後有一天日本火腿就來對我做測試，然後我就跟他們簽約了。

Mirabal has a contract with Nippon for the next two years. After
that? "I'd like to play back here," he said, meaning the major
leagues. "That's my dream. Right now, Japan is the best thing for
me, but I want to try and come here in the future."

馬來寶跟日本火腿還有兩年合約。那接下來呢？馬來寶說他還是很想回大聯盟打球，那是他的夢想，對他來說，日本是現在最適合他的地方，但是他還是想在未來能夠回大聯盟打球。

His wife will not be orchestrating that move. Mirabal, whose
fastball travels at speeds from 91 to 95 miles an hour, has hired
Jim Turner, an established agent, to execute it. If Turner does
as well as Anne Marie, Mirabal will be relieving for some major
league team in 2003.

不過安瑪麗不用再繼續為他先生的前途如此勞心勞力了。馬來寶，一個球速最快可達九十一到九十五英里之間，並且擁有特殊縱向變化球的右投手，已經聘請了 Jim Turner ，一個有聲譽的經紀人，來幫他處理和達成這個目標。假如 Turner 能像安瑪麗做的一樣好的話，馬來寶或許有可能在 2003 球季能夠替某些大聯盟球隊擔任中繼救援投手的工作，完成他的夢想。

那時候，他應該是三十歲。