特别广播英语第 352 课：Take Me Out to the Ball Game
历史上最激烈的战争 ─ 美国大联盟-1

As much a part of an American summer as ice cream and school vacations, baseball has a grip on the national psyche unrivalled by that of any other sport. 盛夏时节，棒球在美国人心目中的地位，足以同冰淇淋和学校暑假媲美，更是其他运动所望尘莫及的。

The game evolved from obscure origins into the huge, multimillion-dollar industry it is today. 这项运动的起源不甚清楚，但流传至今已成为几百万资本的大产业。

The first recorded baseball game took place in 1845, but the sport did not take off until the early twentieth century with the birth of the National and American Leagues and the World Series. 有正式纪录的第一场棒球赛始于1845年，但要说到真正的盛行还是在二十世纪初国家联盟及美国联盟成立，“世界大赛”（两联盟冠军赛）诞生之后。

It was the golden age for pitchers, and home runs were hard to come by against throwers like Cy Young and Walter Johnson. 初期是投手们的黄金时代，在赛·扬及沃尔特·约翰逊等强投手中，全垒打很少出现。

Offense regained the initiative in the 1920s, when legendary hitter Babe Ruth stamped his explosive presence on the game and blazed the trail for the five-decade domination of the New York Yankees. 到20年代，进攻一方再次赢得主动。传奇击球手贝比·鲁斯爆炸般席卷球场，并为纽约扬基队开创了长达五十年的霸主地位。

After the Second World War came a period of transition for baseball. 二次世界大战后棒球面临转型期。

The majors opened up to ethnic minorities, big name teams the Dodgers and the Giants moved to the west coast from their New York roots, and the leagues eventually expanded to four divisions of six teams each. 大联盟取消了种族政策，知名球队如道奇和巨人告别发源地纽约，大举迁至西岸，两联盟后来也扩张成四个分区，各六支球队。（现为六 个分区共三十支球队。）

Recent years have seen serious strain put on fan loyalty, with skyrocketing salaries and two damaging player strikes. 近年来，球员的天价薪水和两次破坏严重的球员罢工给球迷的忠诚度带来严峻考验。

But spectacular batting displays by the likes of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, along with top quality pitching from Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and Greg Maddux have kept the spectators coming and the cash flowing through America's favorite sport. 幸而杰出重炮手如麦圭尔和萨米·索萨的全垒打竞争，加上顶尖投手罗杰·克莱蒙斯、蓝迪·约翰逊、佩德罗·马丁内斯及格雷格·马达克斯的精湛表演，吸引球迷回笼、钞票回流，美国人对棒球的热爱有增无减。