Re: [翻譯] Baseball's Best Boss 富比士雜誌封面故事

看板Angels作者ishimaru (shaft)時間15年前 (2009/05/03 21:35)推噓30(30推 0噓 4→)

留言34則, 25人參與討論串1/1

網誌版：http://www.wretch.cc/blog/smallcab/218048 : After a spring training game in march between the Los Angeles Dodgers : and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, a half-dozen fans were waiting : outside in the warm Arizona afternoon sun to catch autographs from : players heading to the parking lot. Back inside Tempe's Diablo Stadium : a crowd, six wide and eight rows deep, waited for Arturo Moreno, the : Angels' owner, to sign baseballs and hats and pose for pictures. : Moreno told his wife, Carole, he should be finished within minutes so : they could drive home together. He stayed for another hour, signing : almost as many autographs for Dodgers fans as he did for Angels fans. 在一場洛杉磯兩支職棒球隊：天使隊與道奇隊的春訓比賽之後，六位球迷在亞利桑那午後的陽光下的停車場外等著球員出來以向他們索取簽名。而在球場裡面，有另一大群的人在等著 Arte Moreno--天使隊的老闆--替他們在棒球以及球帽上簽名並合影留念。Arte 告訴他的妻子 Carole 他應該只要幾分鐘就可以結束這些活動，然後他們就回家；他足足又在那邊待了一小時，而他簽給道奇隊球迷的總數跟天使隊球迷的差不多。 : Not very often does a professional baseball team owner get more fan : attention than his star athletes, and even less often does the owner : give it back, especially to fans of another team. Moreno is not your : typical owner, save for the fact that he's wealthy (worth $800 million : by forbes estimates). From the day he bought the Angels from Walt : Disney Co. in 2003, he has changed the team's image and become in many : ways its face. In the process he has turned what had been a team with : a small-market mentality into one of the sport's most valuable : franchises. 一般來說，要看到一個球隊的老闆比他手下的球星還要受到球迷的矚目是不太常見的；而要看到那個老闆如此親切的回應，尤其是對敵對的球迷也一視同仁就更難得了。Arte 不是那種一般人印象中的老闆，除了他很富有這一點之外(富比士估計他的財產超過八億美金)。從 2003 年他從迪士尼買下了天使隊之後，他將球隊的形象以及其他很多地方都做了相當大的改變。在這個過程中，他將本來是小市場經營方式的天使隊打造成了運動界中最具有價值的球團之一。 : Almost everything Moreno has done has been in the service of winning : over fans and, as he says, "putting butts in seats." The Angels, with : the best record in baseball last year, offer the third-cheapest visit : to the park. He has cut ticket and food prices at Angel Stadium and : dropped the price of draft beer from $8.50 to $6.50. Most teams charge : $20 or more for souvenir caps. The Angels charge $7. In his first : spring training in Tempe, Moreno couldn't understand why a section of : great seats between third base and left field always remained vacant : while people crowded into the section farther out in left field. : Moreno walked over to the ticket vendors, who told him that people : always asked for the cheapest seats. The outer section was $6. So : Moreno cut the empty $12 seats to $6. "Now they're the first to go. : Should it have been $8? Maybe. But now their butts are in there. : They'll go buy a beer or a dog. We got them in the stadium." 幾乎每件 Arte 所做的事情都是為了球迷著想，用他的話來說，就是想辦法"讓他們的屁股黏在球場的座位上"。天使隊去年在 MLB 擁有最佳的例行賽戰績，但他們的入場券是全聯盟第三便宜的。Arte 將入場券以及食物的價格都調降了，而啤酒的價錢從 8.5 美金降到了 6.5 美金。大多數球隊的紀念球帽都要價 20 美金以上，天使隊的只要七美金。Arte 在 Tempe 的第一次春訓中，他很不能理解為什麼三壘到左外野區域的位置比較適合欣賞球賽卻沒有人坐，反而大家都擠到左外野最遠的地方去。他去問了賣票處的人，得到的回答是：大家都希望買最便宜的入場券，而最遠的地方票價是六美金。於是 Arte 馬上把本來要價 12 美金的好位置票價砍到六美金。Arte 說："現在大家都會擠著去坐那裡了。應該調成八美金嗎？也許吧。不過現在這樣，大家的屁股就都黏在那邊了。接著他們就會買杯啤酒，吃根熱狗。我們把球迷們留在球場裡了。" : Attendance at Angel Stadium in Anaheim was 2.3 million in 2002, the : year they turned a wild card into a World Series victory over the San : Francisco Giants. The stadium has cleared 3 million a season ever : since. Last year's 3.4 million put them second to the Yankees in the : American League. 2002 年是天使經由外卡拿下世界大賽冠軍的一年，當年的觀眾總數大約是 230 萬人。從該年開始，每年天使球場的觀眾總數都超過了 300 萬。去年的 340 萬紀錄是美國聯盟的第二高，僅次於洋基隊。 : By charging fans less, Moreno makes more everywhere else. The team has : gone from a $5.5 million operating loss in 2003 to an operating profit : (in the sense of earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation) of : $10.3 million. Revenue has gone from $127 million to $212 million. The : team now has an enterprise value of $509 million, almost three times : what Moreno paid for it. In that time the Angels have more than : doubled stadium sponsorship revenue to $26 million and cut a $500 : million, ten-year deal with Fox Sports Network to put all 162 Angels : games on television, up from 90 before. 藉由降價的策略，Arte 在其他各方面都大賺了一筆。在 2003 年，他就成功的將球隊盈虧從 550 萬美金的損失扭轉成 1030 萬美金的毛利。總收入從 1.27 億暴增至 2.12 億，現在球隊的估計總值為 5.09 億，是當年 Arte 買下球隊時出價的幾乎三倍之多。對球場的贊助達到了 2600 萬美金，並與福斯電視公司達成了一筆五億美金的十年合約，讓他們轉播每一場天使隊的球賽。 : Moreno commutes to Anaheim from his home in Phoenix for most games. : He wanders the stands, mingles with fans and occasionally checks to : see how well the restrooms were cleaned. Scot Shields, a relief : pitcher who has been with the team since 2001, recalls his second : encounter with Moreno. During spring training in 2004 he asked about : Shields' 2-year-old daughter. "There's not too many owners who'd do : that," he says. After pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed in a car : accident in April, Moreno flew coaches and players to the funeral in : Maryland between games. Arte 幾乎每一場球賽都會從他在鳳凰城的家中趕到安納罕的球場觀賞。他會去逛球場的攤子，跟球迷們打成一片，偶而也會去檢查廁所清掃的完不完善。Scot Shields 這位從 2001 就待在天使隊的重要後援投手，想起了他與 Arte 的第二次接觸：在 2004 年的春訓比賽中，Arte 問起了 Shields 的兩歲小女兒。"沒有很多老闆會跟你這麼熟的。"Shields 說。在 Nick Adenhart 的悲劇車禍發生後，Arte 將全隊上下都帶去了他在馬里蘭州的葬禮。 : At the Dodgers spring training game Moreno sat a row back from : Angels manager Mike Scioscia, with a cooler of cold beer beneath his : seat. He leaned in between innings to ask Scioscia how many pitches : Dustin Moseley had thrown. When the Angels' Robb Quinlan smacked a : home run in that Dodgers game, Moreno stood up to clap and looked : around for Quinlan's father, who had made the drive down to Arizona : from Minnesota. 在與道奇的春訓比賽中，Arte 坐在天使隊的教練 Mike Scioscia 後一排，他的座位底下擺了一冰櫃的啤酒。攻守交替的時候，他向前面的教練問到當天的投手 Dustin Moseley 投了多少球。當天使隊員 Robb Quinlan 擊出一支全壘打時，Arte 站起來用力鼓掌，並且向 Quinlan 從明尼蘇達趕來看球的父親道賀。 : Moreno, according to former team general manager William Stoneman, : sees costly free agents as an investment, not a corporate expense. : Under Moreno the Angels' payroll has climbed from $79 million in 2003, : twelfth in the league, to $119 million, sixth. : Stoneman put the payroll over budget when he signed Kelvim Escobar, : Bartolo Colón and Jose Guillen in 2004. Then Vladimir Guerrero's : agent called. Stoneman thought the Montreal Expos' rising star was out : of reach but told Moreno anyway. "We didn't talk for even ten minutes. : He said, 'We've got a chance to get Guerrero? Go for it.' It was the : quickest negotiation I've ever seen." 天使隊的前任 GM William Stoneman 說，Arte 將自由球員簽約視為一項投資而非球隊的支出。2003 年天使的薪資總額就從 7900 萬美金(第十二高)爬升至 1.19 億美金(第六高)。 Stoneman 在 2004 年簽下了 Kelvim Escobar、Bartolo Colon、 Jose Guillen 等自由球員之後，他們的薪資已經超過了預算。而這時候，Vlad Guerrero 的經紀人來了電話。Stoneman 本來想說考慮到這位在博覽會發跡的明星要求的高薪，應該是沒有機會得到他了；不過他還是知會了 Arte。後來他說："我跟 Arte 大概講不到十分鐘吧；他說，我們有機會簽下 Vlad Guerrero？快上阿！這是我見過最快的一次談判了。" : Moreno, 62, grew up in Tucson, the oldest of 11 children. Arte and his : brothers were Yankee fans because that was the only team on TV in the : 1950s. He played baseball in high school, did a stint in Vietnam and : got a bachelor's degree in marketing from the University of Arizona. : His first job was with billboard mogul Karl Eller. Moreno left in 1984 : for a Phoenix upstart, Outdoor Systems, and, together with Outdoor : founder William Levine, built it into the nation's largest billboard : company. It was sold to Infinity for $8.7 billion in stock in 1999. : Moreno got his first taste as a baseball team owner in 1985 with the : Salt Lake City Trappers, then an independent league team. The group : that bought the Trappers for $180,000 had a blast running it and sold : it in 1992 for $3 million. In 1998 a much wealthier Moreno helped : launch the Arizona Diamondbacks and eventually wound up with the : second-largest stake but failed in his attempt to take it over. He : perked up when Disney hired Lehman Brothers to shop the Angels during : the 2002 season. Moreno followed the team throughout the year and was : Disney's guest at the playoffs and World Series. For $184 million, it : was his. 今年 62 歲的 Arte 是家中十一名兄弟姊妹的長子。他們以前是洋基隊的球迷，因為當時電視裡只轉播洋基的球賽。他在高中就接觸棒球，在越南服役後，在亞利桑那取得了 marketing 的學位。他的第一份工作是在告示牌大亨 Karl Eller 的手下工作。在 1984 年他轉投另一家新興的告示牌企業 Outdoor Ststems，並成功將其帶上了巔峰。在 1999 年該公司以 87 億美金售出。 Arte 第一次嚐到當棒球隊老闆的滋味是在 1985 年，他買下了當時還在獨立聯盟裡的 Salt Lake Trappers。當時的買價是 18 萬美金，而在 1992 年，它增值到了 300 萬。1998 年，Arte 協助亞利桑那響尾蛇隊的成軍。他本來持有第二高的股份，但是沒能完全搶下經營的權利。之後在 2002 年中當迪士尼雇用了萊曼兄弟來出售天使隊時，Arte 再度活躍了起來。他跟著球隊走過了下半個球季，在季後賽時成為了迪士尼的座上客。最終這筆交易以 1.84 億美金成交；Arte 正式成為天使隊的擁有者。 : Early on he saw a clear opportunity to apply the principles of the : advertising business to baseball. Repetition and reach work wonders. : Here was a baseball team in the middle of the country's second-largest : media market of 17 million people that had put itself in a small box : labeled "Anaheim." Moreno and the executives in the Angels' front : office, many of whom he brought over from his ad days, seared that : Angels red logo into the minds of fans across swaths of southern : California. That meant crimson-red advertisements on billboards and : bus stops and ridding the team store of other clubs' merchandise. On : the field they replaced the "Anaheim" spread across players' chests : with "Angels." 從一開始，Arte 就看到了他運用行銷手段的好機會。他手上的球隊位在全美國第二大的媒體市場中，有一千七百萬的人口，但他們的隊名卻是畫地自限的"安納罕天使隊"。Arte 跟他許多從告示牌生意一起走來的老班底馬上就將天使的鮮紅標誌深深烙印在南加州所有球迷的心中。他們的做法就是在所有的告示牌跟公車站牌上面漆上大紅色的大幅廣告，並將球隊商店裡所有其他球隊的商品通通扔掉。在球員們的球衣上本來的"Anaheim"標誌也全部都換成"Angels"。 : Before he had considered making a bid for the team Moreno checked with : his attorneys to make sure the stadium lease with Anaheim allowed for : a name change. They assured him it would be fine. (After all, the team : was born as the Los Angeles Angels in 1961 and played as the : California Angels until Disney bought it in 1996.) : In 2005 he switched the name to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The : city of Anaheim sued, saying the change violated the spirit of the : lease agreement. Fans showed up to games with T-shirts reading "We are : not L.A." and "The Anaheim Angels of Anaheim." This past January, two : court rulings and three years later, the city dropped its fight, : leaving the Angels with the unwieldy Anaheim at the end of its name. : Moreno will be free to do what he wants when the stadium lease allows : him to opt out in 2016. Moreno says he'll be happy as long as the team : continues to pull 3 million a year into Angel Stadium. The club might : start a series of cable shows or create a southern California version : of the New York Yankees' Yes Network. 在出價買下球隊之前，Arte 就跟他的律師們作過確認，他有權利替這支球隊改名。律師們向他保證不會有問題。(畢竟在 1996 年他們也有從加州天使隊改名的先例。) 2005 年時 Arte 成功的將球隊更名為"Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim"。安納罕提出了告訴，認為這違反了他們租賃的條款。部分球迷也穿上了"我們不是 LA"、"Anaheim Angels of Anaheim"來表示抗議。不過在三年的訴訟過後，安納罕決定放棄，讓 Arte 可以使用這個不方便的隊名。當租約條款讓 Arte 可以在 2016 年選擇跳出合約時，他就可以自由使用。Arte 說，只要每年都有三百萬人次進場看球，他就很開心了。而接下來球隊可能開發一系列的有線電視節目，或者開發一個像洋基隊 YES network 的加州版本。 : Neither idea is a priority right now, with the economy challenging the : Angels' ability to draw 3 million fans a year. By late March the club : had sold only 2.3 million tickets. Moreno is already cranking up group : specials like $3 tickets for kids on Tuesdays and lower prices for : games against teams that rarely pack the stadium, like the Kansas City : Royals and Baltimore Orioles. "Our goals are no longer financial," he : says. : The Angels had a 100--62 record last year and have dominated their : division, but they have yet to return to the World Series. Moreno says : his goal now is another championship. "Make that championships," he : says, correcting himself. 但是由於現在的經濟影響到了觀眾的進場欲，這兩個想法可能都不是眼下最重要的課題。到三月底為止，球隊僅售出了 230 萬張球票。Arte 已經開始商討一些對策，像是每週二推出售價三美金 (！)的兒童票，以及對上其他小市場球隊(皇家、金鶯等)時的特價促銷活動。"我們現在已經不是以賺錢為目標了"Arte 這麼說。去年天使隊在 162 場比賽中拿下了 100 勝，在美聯的西區可以說沒有太多對手，但是他們卻無法進入世界大賽。Arte 說，他的目標將是另一個世界大賽的冠軍。等等，Arte 糾正道，"冠軍"要用複數形。 : Those aspirations took a blow this off-season when first baseman Mark : Teixeira signed with the Yankees and closer Francisco Rodriguez, one : of baseball's best relief pitchers, joined the New York Mets. Tony : Reagins, general manager, and others in the front office say the : club's minor league depth and free agent additions should ease the : loss of Teixeira and Rodriguez. The Angels picked up Brian Fuentes : from the Colorado Rockies to fill Rodriguez's spot and then signed : Bobby Abreu, a 35-year-old outfielder from the Yankees, for $5 million : for one year. 在今年開季前，當他們的明星一壘手 Mark Teixeira 去了洋基隊，而剛破單季救援成功紀錄的 Francisco Rodriguez 落腳大都會後，這個遠景變的有點像在自嗨。現任的 GM Tony Reagins 認為從小聯盟體系以及自由球員市場之中，可以補上這兩個空缺。他們馬上簽下了前落磯隊的終結者 Brian Fuentes，以及前洋基隊的外野手 Bobby Abreu。 : At the spring training game against the Dodgers, three young women : dressed in a mix of Dodgers blue and Angels red posed for a picture : with Moreno. Michelle and Ericka Carrizal and their cousin Giselle : Gonzales made the six-hour drive that morning from Los Angeles to see : the two teams they have rooted for since they were children. The : closest they get to pinpointing why they say they love Moreno is that : the centimillionaire seems "like one of us." That he has Mexican : ancestry has little to do with it. By making games affordable and : taking an obvious delight in mingling with fans, Moreno has broadened : both the Angels' popularity and his own. Thanks to him, Michelle says, : she can drive to Angel Stadium on a whim. "Dodgers games are : superexpensive" in comparison. 在與道奇隊的球賽中，Michelle Carrical、Erica Carrical 以及 Giselle Gonzales 三位開了六小時的死忠洛杉磯女球迷，穿著紅(天使)藍(道奇)混合的衣服與 Arte 合影。據她們的說法，她們愛死了 Arte，因為這位億萬富翁"看來就跟我們一樣"。主要的原因並不是 Arte 的墨西哥血統，而是他將票價降低為人人可以負擔的標準，與球迷親切互動的特性，因而同時把天使隊與他自己的名聲與人氣大大提升了一番。Michelle 說，因為有 Arte ，她們才能隨時想來看球就可以來。比較起來，道奇隊的球票"貴到爆了"。 : "You can wake up on a Saturday morning and think, 'What's going on : today? Hey, the Angels are playing, let's go,'" she says. "It's that : affordable." : Moreno's true competition, he says, is the sunshine. "你可以在星期六一早起來想著今天要做什麼？阿對了，天使隊今天有球賽，我們去看吧。這價錢就是這麼平易近人。"--Michelle Arte 說，他真正的敵人，就是那天的太陽實在太大了啦。(完) -- 有幾個小地方可能翻譯的不是很順，尚祈不吝指教 (倒) 但是有這樣一位老闆真的會讓人以身為天使隊球迷為榮...:D -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 118.169.230.31

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