繼之前對國家聯盟沒有採用DH制度開砲後，這個禮拜洋基的小老闆Hank Steinbrenner再度對聯盟目前的分區制度發表他的不滿意見。
There has been plenty of discussion about so many large-market teams being in playoff contention this season. But some small-market teams have been in the running all season. The Rays are the best example of that.
已經有許多關於本季如此多的大市場球隊打進季後賽的討論。但是也有些小市場球隊整季都在競爭行列中。光芒隊就是最佳的例子。
This is when the topic of revenue sharing usually comes up. That’s a system I don’t particularly like. It’s a socialist system, and I don’t agree with it. Does it work? It depends on your point of view. But is it right? Is it even American? I’d argue no on both of those points.
利潤分配這個議題經常被提出。這是我特別不喜歡的體制。它是屬於社會主義，我無法贊同。它行得通嗎?這將因個人觀點而異。那它是正確的嗎?甚至在美國都是嗎?這兩點我都不認同。
But if you want to talk about things that infuriate me about the game today, revenue sharing doesn’t top the list. The biggest problem is the divisional setup in major league baseball. I didn’t like it in the 1970s, and I hate it now.
但是如果你想談論現在讓我感到生氣的比賽，利潤分配不是最主要的。最大的問題是大聯盟的分區制度。我在1970年代時就不喜歡這個制度，現在則是恨透了。
Baseball went to a multidivision setup to create more races, rivalries and excitement. But it isn’t fair. You see it this season, with plenty of people in the media pointing out that Joe Torre and the Dodgers are going to the playoffs while we’re not. This is by no means a knock on Torre — let me make that clear — but look at the division they’re in. If L.A. were in the A.L. East, it wouldn’t be in the playoff discussion. The A.L. East is never weak. Ask the teams that finished behind us all of those seasons. I’ll say it right now: Boston should have made the playoffs in 1978. We beat the Red Sox in that one-game playoff, but they still had a better record than the Royals, who won the A.L. West. And that’s one of many examples.
大聯盟為了創造更多的競爭與刺激而走向數個分區的制度。但是這一點也不公平。你見到許多人在媒體上指出Joe Torre與道奇隊即將打進季後賽，但是我們卻沒有。這絕非是對Torre的貶損 — 讓我解釋清楚 — 瞧瞧他們所處的分區。如果道奇隊屬於美聯東區，哪麼道奇隊將不在季後賽競爭行列中。美聯東區總是競爭激烈，去問問這些球季排名在我們後面的球隊。我現在想說: 1978年紅襪隊應該要能進軍季後賽的，但是它在那唯一的一場季後賽比賽中被我們打敗了，但是他們的季賽成績卻比美聯西區冠軍皇家隊優異。這是其中的一個例子。
I’m happy for Joe, but you have to compare the divisions and the competition. What if the Yankees finish the season with more wins than the Dodgers but the Dodgers make the playoffs? Does that make the Dodgers a better team? No.
我為Joe感到高興，但是你必須比較分區與競爭對手。假設洋基隊在球季結束時勝場數多於道奇隊，但是道奇隊卻能夠打進季後賽?這代表道奇隊是一支比較強的球隊嗎?不。
We play 162 games to determine the best teams, but why even bother if an 83-win team wins the World Series? Why not just play 30 games and then have a long playoff season? Otherwise, baseball’s regular season becomes almost as useless as hockey’s regular season.
我們藉由162場比賽來決定最佳球隊，但是如果一支83勝的球隊贏得了世界冠軍?那麼為什麼不要只打30場例行賽而改打長期的季後賽呢?大聯盟的例行賽變得幾乎和曲棍球例行賽一樣的無用。
The divisional setup is not right by any definition of logic. But the sports media rarely deals with logic — so you never read about this.
由各方面的邏輯來看，分區制度是不正確的。但是運動媒體卻很少討論邏輯 — 所以你不曾讀到相關報導。
So, what should be done? Have an A.L. and an N.L. and put the top four finishers from each in the playoffs. You’d still have eight teams and the same number of playoff rounds. The Yankees still wouldn’t be in the postseason this year in my setup, so it’s not sour grapes. It’s just the smart way to do things. Unfortunately, we don’t do that. But we should because — here comes that word again — it’s logical.
那麼該怎麼做呢?聯盟分為國家聯盟與美國聯盟，由兩聯盟分別戰績最佳的四支球隊打季後賽。如此同樣有八支球隊進行季後賽，回合數也相同。今年洋基隊在我所說的制度下仍然無法打進季後賽，所以這不是酸葡萄心理。這只是用聰明的方法來做事情而已。不幸的是，我們卻沒有這麼做。但是我們應該這麼做，因為 — 老話一句 –這樣才符合邏輯。
The one saving grace in the current six-division setup is the wild card. Without it, we’d have a complete disaster because a deserving team from each league would be kept out each season. You can’t keep a strong second-place team out of the playoffs just because it finished behind a dominant first-place team. And if a wild-card team wins the World Series, great. It got there because it had a great record, not because it won a weak division.
目前六個分區制度唯一的可取之處就是外卡。如果沒有外卡，那麼一隻應打進季後賽的球隊卻年年被擋在門外，這就真的是個完全失敗的制度了。你不該讓一支優秀的球隊只因為排名第二而無法打季後賽。如果一支外卡球隊贏得了世界冠軍，太棒了。這不是因為他是競爭力較差的分區的冠軍，而是他真的擁有不錯的戰績。