VOA文化艺术2024--Finally, a World Series for Baseball

Baseball has long called its championship the World Series¹ although it only involves teams playing in the United² States and Canada.

It started in 1903 when the Pittsburgh Pirates³ of the National League beat the Boston Americans of the American League for the championship. But the first official World Series, as it is known⁴ today, was in 1905 between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Athletics⁵.

Since then, the New York Yankees have won 27 World Series titles, more than any other team. This year, the Yankees will face the Los Angeles Dodgers⁶ for what sports fans believe will be a World Series seen around the world.

The competition is a best-of-seven-game championship. That means⁷ four wins in the series are needed to become the champion.

This year's series might have everything that sports fans could want. It is a competition between teams from the two largest cities in the U.S. It is a competition between the two best teams in baseball. And the contest involves two of the biggest baseball stars, Shohei Ohtani of Japan and Aaron Judge of the U.S.

Both players have already won the Most Valuable Player Award or MVP, given to the best player in the National League and the American League. Ohtani has won it twice and Judge once. The two are likely to be named MVP in each league again this year.

Ohtani joined the Dodgers earlier this year with a record 10-year contract⁸ valued at $700 million. After receiving the largest contract ever in team sports history, Ohtani hit 54 home runs, stole 59 bases, and led the National League in almost all offensive⁹ numbers.

Talking to reporters on Tuesday, October 22, Judge called Ohtani "the best player in the game." He added¹⁰ that Ohtani "hits for average, he hits for power, the speed."

But Judge himself holds the American League record with 62 home runs in 2022. This year, he leads all of baseball, hitting 58 home runs. And he also leads all of baseball, both American and National Leagues, in offensive numbers, including 144 RBIs, 133 walks, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.

As expected, Ohtani led the Dodgers to the best record in the National League, and Judge captained the Yankees to the best record in the American League. The two best players, though, have a lot of help.

The Dodgers have two former MVPs, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, in the lineup. The Yankees have just one former MVP in Giancarlo Stanton. But they also have Juan Soto of the Dominican Republic, who is often called a "generational talent" in the game.

The first game of the 2024 World Series will start on Friday, October 25. The games are sold out meaning all tickets have been sold. But, for those who still want to watch the game in person, it is possible to pay more than $1,000 for a seat or up to $10,000 for the best seats in the reselling market StubHub.

Others can watch the television broadcast that is expected to set a record for people watching in Ohtani's home country of Japan.

After the Dodgers beat the New York Mets to get to the World Series, Ohtani told reporters, "The goal was to get this far."

As for Judge, "getting a chance to play on the biggest stage and in the biggest moment, I think that's going to be pretty cool to watch," he said.

Words in This Story

home run -n. to score in baseball by hitting a fair ball out of play

(stolen) bases -n. (pl.) the number of times that a batter¹¹ who has reached a base has moved to another base, closer to home, when someone else is batting

RBI (runs batted in) -n. the number of times a player has scored or caused a teammate¹² to score

walk -n. to reach base without being credited¹³ with a hit

slugging percentage -n. a measure of the quality of hits a batter has

lineup -n. the official list of players who start a baseball game

talent -n. a skilled player

1 series   

n.连续；系列

参考例句：

• The students have put forward a series of questions.学生们提出了一系列问题。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

2 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

3 pirates   

n.海盗( pirate的名词复数 )；剽窃者；侵犯版权者；非法播音的人（或组织）

参考例句：

• Children dressed (themselves) up as pirates. 孩子们假扮成海盗。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The pirates treated their captives with barbarity. 海盗们残暴地对待他们的俘虏。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

5 athletics   

n.运动，体育，田径运动

参考例句：

• When I was at school I was always hopeless at athletics.我上学的时候体育十分糟糕。
• Our team tied with theirs in athletics.在田径比赛中，我们队与他们队旗鼓相当。

6 dodgers   

n.躲闪者，欺瞒者( dodger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a crackdown on fare dodgers on trains 对火车逃票者的严厉打击
• But Twain, Howells, and James were jeeringly described by Mencken as "draft-dodgers". 不过吐温、豪威尔斯和詹姆斯都是被门肯讥诮地叫做“逃避兵役的人。” 来自辞典例句

7 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

8 contract   

n.合同，契约，婚约；v.使缩短，感染，订约

参考例句：

• The terms of the contract are acceptable to us.我们认为这个合同的条件可以接受。
• I'm under contract to teach here for one year.我按照聘约要在这里教一年书。

9 offensive   

adj.令人不快的，侮辱的，攻击用的；n.进攻

参考例句：

• His mode of doing business is offensive to me.他干事情的方式叫我很不喜欢。
• If all else fails,I will take the offensive.如果其他方法不行，我将采取攻势。

10 added   

adj.更多的，附加的，额外的

参考例句：

• They have added a new scene at the beginning.在开头他们又增加了一场戏。
• The pop music added to our enjoyment of the film.片中的流行音乐使我们对这部电影更加喜爱。

11 batter   

v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员

参考例句：

• The batter skied to the center fielder.击球手打出一个高飞球到中外野手。
• Put a small quantity of sugar into the batter.在面糊里放少量的糖。

12 teammate   

n.队友

参考例句：

• He is a great teammate.他是一个伟大的队友。
• He missed the ball passed from his teammate.他没能接住队友传来的球。

13 credited   

v.记入贷方；信用

参考例句：

• Cook is credited with discovering Hawaii. 人们把发现夏威夷的功劳归于库克。
• The cheetah is generally credited as the world's fastest animal. 猎豹被公认是世界上跑得最快的动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》