中英對照版》超狂新人Alonso解讀低潮：水逆啦！

標題：

Mercury Met? Alonso's ROY run out of this world

He might actually be onto something

被水星堵到？（譯者註：Met為meet（遇到）的過去式，跟大都會隊的英文Mets諧音）Alonso為何勇奪最佳新人獎 要在世界之外找答案

但或許他真的找對原因囉

原文連結：https://www.mlb.com/news/alonso-benefited-from-mercury-coming-out-of-retrograde

Baseball players represent a particularly superstitious portion of the population.

棒球選手尤其是群眾中比較迷信的一群

They have to stride to the plate to certain songs and walk on and off the field in just the right way.

他們走近本壘時（進到打擊區）要放特定的歌曲，進出內外野也有既定的方式。

Some even refuse to wash their clothes while on a hot streak, which could get gross pretty fast in the middle of summer.

有些球員甚至在狀況火燙時拒絕洗球衣，尤其又碰上盛夏，很快就會令人覺得噁心。

Mets slugger Pete Alonso is no exception to this rule.

大都會隊強棒Pete Alonso（註1）也不在例外之列。

After winning the Home Run Derby in July, the rookie found himself in a bit of a slump.

去年7月他贏得全壘打大賽後，這位菜鳥發現他陷入打擊低潮。

As he studied up on the issue, it wasn't due to a few bad bounces or a change in approach at the plate.

不過他研究了一下，認為不是因為恰逢狀態不佳，或打擊姿勢跑掉了。

No. He was slumping because Mercury was in retrograde -- 

以上皆非，他陷入低潮是因為水星正在逆行（水逆，Mercury was in retrograde）——

the time in Mercury's orbit when it appears, from our vantage point on Earth, to have changed direction.

也就是從地球的角度看，水星改變運行軌道方向的期間。

Fortunately, by the time Alonso reached this discovery, Mercury was about to come out of retrograde.

幸好，Alonso發現這個原因後，水逆就快要結束。

And wouldn't you know: According to fellow Met Dom Smith, the rookie had a phenomenal day at the plate the day Mercury came out of retrograde.

而且你猜到了嗎？根據Alonso的大都會同事Dominic Smith（註2）說，水逆結束那天，這位菜鳥（Alonso）的打擊表現超凡。

Which meant, naturally, that Alonso wouldn't stop shouting about Mercury in the clubhouse afterward.

也就意謂著，Alonso理所當然地不會停止在球隊高聲分享他的水逆理論。

Is Alonso onto something? An initial investigation raises doubts.

Alonso（對於他的低潮）真的找到對的線索了嗎？初步調查啟人疑竇。

Mercury came out of retrograde on Aug. 1. The next day, Alonso went 2-for-4 with a double -- a fine game but nothing "berserk" as Smith claimed.

水逆是在8月1日結束的，隔天Alonso 4打數2安打，包括一支二壘安打，是表現得還不錯，但也不到Dominic Smith聲稱的「打瘋了」。

Nevertheless, there appears to be some truth to this story. 

不過，關於這個故事還是有一些真實性的。

Instead, the date I think we should be focusing on is Aug. 15, when Mercury ended its post-retrograde period.

事實上，我們應該特別注意的日期應該是8月15日，那天水星才正式結束他後期的「重影」期（註3）。

In other words, this is when it started to appear to return to its normal orbiting speed from Earth.

換句話說，水星在此刻，相對地球而言，才正式回到正常運行軌道的速度。

That night, Alonso went 5-for-5 with a home run and 6 RBIs.

那天晚上Alonso打出5支5，包括一支全壘打及6分打點。

So, there you have it. Even the holder of the rookie home run record is subject to the "laws" of astrology.

所以，這樣你知道了吧。即便新人全壘打紀錄的保持者，也臣服於星座的定律。

註1：2019新人年、初登板年，就打出53支全壘打，120分打點，勇奪新人王。53支全壘打為全聯盟最多，也是新人年紀錄。

註2：大聯盟資歷2017年至今，都在大都會打球，左打一壘手、左外野手。2019年197打數，11全壘打，打擊率.282，有長足進步。

註3：水星逆行結束後，還會進入為期約兩週的後陰影期（Post-shadow Period），也就是「水星重影期」（Mercury Retrograde），可以理解成水逆即便結束，造成的影響可能還會有一些像「宿醉」的延續。