Last Saturday evening, my husband and I went to Forest River
Park in Salem to watch our son’s Little League baseball game. It was a beautiful spring evening: blue sky
with calm sea air surrounded by lush trees.
Before the game started, we strolled around the park to enjoy the
peaceful atmosphere. By 7:15 pm, we were
back in the bleachers to watch the game.
Throughout the evening, I saw my son with other kids always happily
running out of the dugout to where he was supposed to be. He did the batting, had the strike, base
hits, and runs batted in… Certainly he
was enjoying the game. The children
looked happy and so did the parents and grandparents watching the game. As the game continued, the sky got dark and
the lights around the field lit up. When
the game was over we had all had a good time and my son’s team had won.
This is my son’s first season of baseball. It is also my first season to watch baseball
games -- the America’s favorite pastime.
I remember before I came to the US about 26 years ago, I was preparing
for my TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). In one sample test I did, the listening
comprehension part was a baseball commentary.
I was totally lost on the passage and thought that wasn’t fair. At the time there was no baseball in Beijing
and I had no knowledge about the game at all.
I thought that I would have to go to America to learn about baseball in
order to take the test. Luckily, the
real test I took didn’t have anything on baseball and I got good enough scores
to qualify for study in the US.
After I came to the US, I watched one major league baseball
game in Dallas. It was fun and gave me
the impression that baseball is not just a sport but also a social entertainment:
people sitting out doors in the summer
time, eating all kinds of snack food, watching a leisurely game, and enjoying
the social company. However, this
season with my son playing the game, I’ve started to learn about the terminology,
rules, strategy, and techniques. They
are complicated! If someone tested me
for English listening comprehension with a baseball game commentary now, I
could still very easily get lost.
Now America’s pastime has spread to China. There are
baseball teams in Beijing, both professionals and youth leagues. There is an official website on Chinese
Baseball Association: http://baseball.sport.org.cn
. The photo of the Beijing youth
baseball league at the Bird’s Nest in Beijing is from the website. It states that youth baseball promotes “happy,
healthy, cooperative baseball culture”.
It also quotes: “Baseball is a complex sport. From the gaming conflict, it cultivates youth
with characteristics of bravery, persistence, intelligence, flexibility, quick
reaction, and decisiveness. It also
cultivates collectiveness and team spirit.”
“棒球这项运动具有浓厚的游戏性，在激烈的对抗中强调协调配合，能培养青少年勇敢顽强、机智灵敏，坚毅果断的性格，也能培养团结一致的集体主义精神和团队精神。”
“鸟巢杯”少年棒球邀请赛的成功举办有助于让更多的孩子和家长认识棒球运动，扩大棒球项目的知名度，这对促进全民健身，传播“快乐、健康、合作”的棒球文化、提高青少年身体素质也有着积极的意义。
Below are some of the Chinese terms for baseball games:
|
English
|
Chinese
|
English
|
Chinese
|
|
baseball
|
棒球
|
baseball game
|
棒球赛
|
|
balk
|
投手犯规
|
ball
|
坏球
|
|
base
|
垒位
|
base on balls
|
四坏球上垒
|
|
batter
|
击球员/击手
|
batter's box
|
击球区
|
|
bench or dugout
|
队员席
|
bunt
|
触击球
|
|
called game
|
中止比赛
|
catch
|
接住
|
|
catcher
|
接手
|
catcher's box
|
接手区
|
|
coach
|
教练员
|
dead ball
|
死球
|
|
defense or defensive
|
守队或守队队员
|
double header
|
连赛两场
|
|
double play
|
双杀
|
force double play
|
双封杀
|
|
reverse force double play
|
封触双杀
|
dugout
|
队员席
|
|
fair ball
|
界内球
|
fair territory
|
界内地区
|
|
fielder
|
守场员
|
fly ball
|
高飞球
|
|
force play
|
封杀
|
forfeited game
|
弃权比赛
|
|
foul ball
|
界外球
|
foul territory
|
界外地区
|
|
foul tip
|
擦棒被接球
|
ground ball
|
地滚球
|
|
home team
|
主队或后攻队
|
infielder
|
内场手
|
|
infield fly
|
内场高飞球
|
in flight
|
飞行状态
|
|
inning
|
局
|
interference
|
妨碍行为
|
|
league
|
联盟（协会）
|
line drive
|
平直球
|
|
live ball
|
活球
|
manager
|
经理(总教练)
|
|
out
|
出局
|
outfielder
|
外场手
|
|
penalty
|
罚则
|
pitch
|
投球
|
|
pitcher
|
投手
|
the pitcher's pivot foot
|
投手的轴心脚
|
|
play
|
比赛开始或继续比赛
|
quick return pitch
|
急投
|
|
run or score
|
得分
|
runner
|
跑垒员
|
|
safe
|
安全
|
squeeze play
|
抢分触击
|
|
strike
|
好球(击)
|
strike zone
|
好球区
|
|
suspended game
|
改期续赛
|
tag
|
触及(触杀)
|
|
throw
|
传球
|
tie game
|
平局比赛
|
|
triple play
|
三杀
|
umpire
|
裁判员
|
|
wild pitch
|
暴投
|
wind-up position
|
正面投球
|
