VOA标准英语2010年-Baseball Can Get Complicated

（单词翻译）

And it can be downright incomprehensible if you don't understand English

Ted¹ Landphair | Washington, DC 09 August 2010

Never shy about expressing his opinion, Ozzie Guillén got the whole world of sports talking when he complained about a double standard involving interpreters for some foreign-born players.

The Chicago White Sox baseball team is managed by a jovial² but outspoken³ Venezuela native, Ozzie Guillén.

A 15-year major-league player and seven-year manager, he sometimes erupts into animated⁴ and profane⁵ tirades⁶ against umpires, reporters - even his own team.  There is often a sly twinkle in his eye as he does so, and Guillén is well-liked throughout the sport.

But recently he got serious and angry and touched a nerve that sent teams around baseball scrambling⁷ to explain themselves.

mcclouds, Flickr Creative Commons
Nine of the Chicago White Sox' 25 players, shown here at attention during the playing of the U.S. national anthem⁸, are Latinos. None is of Asian heritage.

Guillén complained that Major League ballplayers from Asian countries get preferential treatment over those who come from Latin America.

He noted⁹ that most, if not all, Asian players who speak little or no English are assigned personal interpreters, who follow them around and help them communicate with managers, coaches, teammates, the media, and people outside the game, such as waiters in restaurants.

Guillén said Latin players, by contrast, must fend¹⁰ for themselves, picking up English from other Latino ballplayers and coaches.  In game situations, the White Sox manager said, this can leave a player who has poor English skills standing¹¹ silent and not understanding key instructions. 

kpa.sports, Flickr Creative Commons
Seattle Mariners¹² superstar Ichiro Suzuki has played baseball in America for 10 years. He speaks passable English with friends and teammates but still uses an interpreter in interview settings.

Asian players, meantime, have an interpreter to help them, right on the bench.

Baseball officials explained this apparent double standard by noting that players from Japan, Taiwan, and Korea are often mature stars who come directly to play at the highest level with no chance to learn English.

But Latins, who make up 20 percent of Major League players, often start at low levels and work their way up over many years, during which they are presumably picking up English.  Baseball's hierarchy¹³ pointed¹⁴ out that most teams offer English classes to anyone who wants them.

The tempest over Guillén's remarks has subsided¹⁵ to a simmer, but they opened the door to provocative¹⁶ discussions about the treatment of all minority baseball players and coaches.