美文欣赏

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对我同样重要的另一个信仰就是，我的能力在球技中得到了证实。如果我不能投球，那我的名字与声誉都将毫无意义。对我而言，我觉得，任何赞誉之词都是对我付出努力的回报。

I Don’t Play To The Grandstand
Bobby Doerr

It seems to me that what any man’s beliefs are depends upon how he spends his life. I’ve spent a good part of mine as a professional baseball player and the game that I play for a living is naturally a very important thing to me. I’ve learned a lot of things on the baseball diamond about living — things that have made me happier and, I hope, a better person.

I’ve found that when I make a good play and take my pitcher off the hook, it’s just natural for me to feel better than if I made a flashy play that doesn’t do anything except make me look good for the grandstands. It works the same way off the ball field, too. Doing a good turn for a neighbor, a friend, or even a stranger gives me much more satisfaction than doing something that helps only myself. It’s as if all people were my teammates in this world and things that make me closer to them are good, and things that make me draw away from them are bad.

Another belief very important to me is that I am only as good as my actual performance proves that I am. If I cannot deliver, then my name and reputation don’t mean a thing. I thought of this when in the season of 1951 I told my team that I would not play in 1952. I reached this decision because I realized that I wouldn’t be able to give my best performance to the people who would pay my salary by coming through the turnstiles. I don’t see how anyone can feel right about success or fame that is unearned. For me, most of the satisfaction in any praise I receive comes from the feeling that it is the reward for a real effort I have made.

Many ball players talk a lot about luck and figure that it is responsible for their successes and failures, on and off the field. Some of them even carry around a rabbit’s foot and other good-luck charms, or they have superstitions they go through to make sure things are going the way they want them to. I’ve never been able to go along with people who believe that way. I’ve got a feeling that there’s something deeper and more important behind the things that happen to me and whether they turn out good or bad. It seems to me that many of the things which some people credit to luck are the results of Divine assistance. I can’t imagine an all-wise, all-powerful God that isn’t interested in the things I do in my life. Believing this makes me always want to act in such a way as to deserve the things that the Lord will do for me.

Maybe that’s the most important thing of all. Doing good in order to deserve good. A lot of wonderful things have happened to me in my lifetime. I’ve had a long, rewarding career in organized baseball. The fans have been swell to me, and I’ve always liked my teammates. But what really matters is that I’ve got just about the best folks that anyone could ask for. Doing what I can to make things more pleasant for my father and mother, and for my wife and our son has been one of the things I have enjoyed most because it seems to be a way for me to pay back something of what I owe them for all the encouragement and pleasure they’ve given me.

I guess the best way to sum it all up is that I’m happy to be around and I’d like to be able to make other people glad of it, too.

参考译文

我的信仰

　　博比.多尔
　
　　
在我看来，一个人的生活方式决定着他的信仰。我生命中最美好的时光之一就是做职业棒球手的那段时期。那时我以棒球为生，因此，对我来说，打好每场比赛自然非常重要。在棒球场上，我学到了很多生活道理。它们让我更快乐，让我希望成为一个更优秀的人。我发现，当我打了一场好球，令投手脱离险境时，那种感觉自然比哗众取宠要好。在球场外亦是如此，比起只给自己做事，帮助邻居、朋友或甚至陌生人会给我带来更大的满足。似乎世界上所有的人都是我的队友，好的事物让我与他们更亲近，坏的则让我远离他们。
　　
对我同样重要的另一个信仰就是，我的能力在球技中得到了证实。如果我不能投球，那我的名字与声誉都将毫无意义。1951年春天，我告诉队友们我将不会参加1952年的比赛时，我就是这样想的。我之所以下定决心离开，是因为我意识到，自己再也无法将最佳的球艺展示给那些穿过十字转门付钱看我比赛的人们。我无法了解，一个人怎能心安理得地接受不劳而获的成功与名望。对我而言，我觉得，任何赞誉之词都是对我付出努力的回报，这种想法让我觉得很满足。
　　
许多棒球手喜欢大谈特谈幸运与形象对他们赛场内外成败的影响。为了确保事事顺利，他们有些人会带着兔子脚或其他的吉祥物，或者甚至举行一个小小的仪式。对于有那些信仰的人，我始终无法与他们相处。我觉得，在我身上所发生的事情，无论结果好坏，都有着更深刻、更重要的意义。在我看来，人们归功于运气的很多事情都是神灵相助的结果。我无法想象，万能的上帝对我生活中的一切行为丝毫不感兴趣。这个信仰让我始终希望自己的行为能够无愧于上帝的恩赐。
　　
也许，最为重要的事情是，行善以求善报。我的一生经历了很多奇妙的事情：在漫长且有组织的棒球生涯中，成就斐然，拥有越来越多的球迷，并始终为我的队友所喜爱。但是，最为重要的还是我拥有了人人梦寐以求的家人。我最大的享受之一便是，尽我最大的努力让我的父母妻儿更快乐，因为通过这一方式，我似乎能够回报他们所给予我的鼓励与欢乐。
　　
我想，最能概括这一切的一句话就是：我被快乐围绕着，也希望可以使身边的人生活快乐。