[新聞] No stigma attached to wild card

看板NY-Yankees作者leddy (耿秋)時間16年前 (2007/10/03 12:52)推噓7(7推 0噓 2→)

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No stigma attached to wild card By PETER ABRAHAM THE JOURNAL NEWS (Original publication: October 2, 2007) 重點: 外卡資格的爭議性 1. 就像任何一位有棒球潔癖的一般, 當Joe Torre1990年代初期首次聽到大聯盟提議增加外卡資格時，他並不喜歡這個構想。那時Torre是聖路易紅雀隊的總教練。對他而言給排名第二的球隊另一個進到季後賽的機會，將讓棒球季後賽的制度變得太像籃球或曲棍球的比賽。Torre表示: "你會認為打了162場比賽的球季後，應該是最好的球隊才可以進到季後賽。因此我一開始反對這種新制度，但是增加外卡資格讓你九月看到很多精采有意義的比賽後，我想很多人開始改變當初的立場。" 2. 在當洋基的總教練後，Torre在1997年也因外卡制度而獲利，那年洋基在美聯東區雖然贏了96場但仍落後巴爾地摩金鶯隊而排名第二。洋基取得外卡資格後卻在五場分區競賽輸給了印地安人隊。之後洋基則連續九年拿到美國東區冠軍，這記錄也在今年球季終止，但外卡仍然給了洋基今年可以安然進到季後賽的機會。 3. 以外卡資格進到季後賽有點不光采? 是怎麼的不光采? 最近五次世界大賽冠軍的得主有三隊就是經由外卡進到季後賽。2002年世界大賽由天使打敗巨人時，更是由兩個外卡球隊進行的爭戰。2003年取得外卡資格的馬林魚隊雖然只贏了91場且落後分第一名的勇士隊十場，但馬林魚隊卻在世界大賽中打敗了洋基隊。最好的例子則是 2004年贏了98場取得外卡資格的紅襪隊，紅襪隊在讓令人回味不已的七場美聯冠軍系列賽打敗了贏得101場取得分區冠軍的洋基隊，之後紅襪隊在世界大賽以四連勝橫掃紅雀隊取得冠軍。 4. 2004年是紅襪隊球員現在則在金鶯隊打球的Kevin Millar表示: "拿到外卡的球隊並不是一隻打得不好偷偷溜進季後賽的球隊，即便他們沒有比一些取得分區冠軍的球隊打得好，但拿到外卡的球隊仍是值得進到季後賽的球隊。外卡是個很好的制度，這樣的制度可以讓紅襪和洋基這兩個強隊同時進到季後賽。" 5. 假如沒有外卡增加進到季後賽的可能性，洋基一開始打出21勝29敗他們的球季大概差不多結束了。但是Torre幾乎每天提醒洋基的球員儘可能拿到更多的勝利，再看看與前面球隊的差距。隊長Jeter表示: "我們從來沒有提過外卡，我們只是設法追上紅襪隊。但我們知道至少在勝差上追近紅襪時，我們在外卡也會很有機會。" 這真的就這樣發生了，洋基隊從來都沒有追上紅襪隊，即便他們在九月曾兩度追到剩下一場半的勝差，但最終還是沒法追到。但在那之後，洋基卻穩穩地掌握外卡競賽領先的地位。Bobby Abreu表示: "外卡給了你希望，因為一當你們進到了季後賽，一切都不重要了。每一隊的紀錄都將歸零立場都是一樣，大家都有贏球的機會。" 6. 由於外卡球隊近年在季後賽實在打得太成功，很多棒球的人士相信應該讓外卡球隊在取得世界大賽冠軍上增加更多的難度。其中一個提議是每個聯盟應該先有兩個外卡球隊，這兩支球隊必須先競賽後才能進到分區競賽，比賽的方法是一場決勝負，或三場系列賽決勝負(豈不季後賽變四輪)。另外的想法則是只給外卡球隊一場主場，就像現在球隊極力爭取的，外卡球隊不該有主場優勢，那就改變一下只給外卡球隊一場主場(這提議去年大聯盟人員似乎就在考慮了)。Torre說: "我可以確定假如大聯盟提議再增加另一個外卡的球隊，每一個人會說他討厭這個構想，但五年內他們就會承認他們喜愛這個新制度。外卡制度已經對棒球競賽產生好的影響，這是無庸置疑的。" Like any baseball purist, Joe Torre did not like the idea of the wild card when he first heard it proposed in the early 1990s. Torre was managing the St. Louis Cardinals at the time. To him, the idea of adding a second-place team to the postseason made baseball too much like basketball or hockey. "You would like to think that over a 162-game season, the best teams will emerge," Torre said. "I was against it at first. But when you started to see so many games in September that counted for something, I think a lot of people came around to the idea." As manager of the Yankees, Torre benefited from the wild card in 1997 when the Yankees finished second to Baltimore in the American League East despite winning 96 games. They lost a five-game series against Cleveland. The Yankees went on to win nine consecutive American League East titles. That run ended this season. But the wild card was there to provide a comfortable landing. Stigma? What stigma? Three of the last five World Series champions entered the postseason via the wild card. The run started with the Angels in 2002, who beat the Giants in a World Series matching two wild-card teams. The Florida Marlins beat the Yankees in the 2003 World Series despite winning 91 games and finishing 10 games behind the Atlanta Braves. The best example came in 2004 when the Red Sox were the wild card despite winning 98 games. They beat the 101-win Yankees in a memorable seven-game American League Championship Series, then swept the Cardinals in the World Series. "It's not like we were a bad team that snuck into the playoffs," said Kevin Millar, who played for the Red Sox that season and now plays for the Orioles. "Most of the wild-card teams are deserving teams, if not better than some teams that did win divisions. It's a good system if both the Red Sox and Yankees can get in because they are both good teams." Without the wild card as a possibility, the season might have been over for the Yankees after their 21-29 start. But Torre reminded his players on nearly a daily basis to try and finish with as many wins as possible and see where that left them. "We never talked about the wild card, only trying to catch Boston," team captain Derek Jeter said. "But we knew that if we at least got close to Boston, we'd have a shot at the wild card." That's exactly what happened. The Yankees never caught Boston but twice crawled to within 1 1/2 games back in September. By then, they were in firm control of the wild-card race. "It gives you hope," Bobby Abreu said. "Because once you are in the playoffs, it doesn't matter. Everybody is 0-0 and the same. Anybody can win." Because of the success the wild-card teams have had in recent seasons, many in baseball believe their path to the World Series should be made more difficult. One proposal is that each league should have two wild-card teams. They would then play for the right to advance to the division series. Some formulas have a one-game showdown, others a best-of-three series. Another idea is to give the wild-card teams only one home game. As is stands now, all they are denied is home-field advantage, and that can turn in one game. "I'm sure if they added another wild-card team, everybody would say they hated the idea, then in five years they would admit they loved it," Torre said. "It has been good for baseball, there is no denying that." Reach Peter Abraham at pabraham@lohud.com and read his Yankees blog at yankees.lohudblogs.com. -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 140.130.155.141 ※ 編輯: leddy 來自: 140.130.155.141 (10/03 12:56)

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