Angrily， the manager in the movie 1)Bull Durham asserts， “This is a simple game. You throw the ball! You hit the ball! You catch the ball!”

I wish baseball was that simple， but many of its 2)nuances go unnoticed. I see baseball as a complex and complicated sport on many levels， much like life. In fact， I find that elements and lessons in life， like foresight， instinctual and repetitious response， success and failure， communication， and trust intermingle with the fundamentals of baseball—a parallel to life in many ways.

One day， following an amiable disagreement with my friend over which Major League team is the best， I said with little thought， “Baseball seems to resemble mimic life sometimes.”

“Yeah，” he agreed. “You can get lucky， but it all comes down to whether you can or can’t catch a 3)fly ball， hit a 4)curveball， whatever. That way you can affect the whole team and what happens in a game.”

Then， our conversation paused for a moment before 5)heading off on a tangent， but this thought was still in my mind a few days later when I spoke with another friend.

“What is it about baseball that appeals to you， Joey?” I asked.

“Baseball has human error in it，” he responded after a moment. “Players make mistakes. 6)Umpires are bound to make a wrong call and there’s no instant replay. You can’t go back and change a call.”

“Yeah， true. You can’t go back and change what happened…whether it was right or wrong.”

As I prepare physically and mentally for a game of no particular importance， I reflect on life and on baseball. I had made the trek from the car to the ballfield countless times， bat bag and other equipments 7)weighing me down.8)Cleats click on the pavement， transitioning to a nearly inaudible 9)thud with each step on the grass， its sweet smell overwhelming my nostrils with every breath.

A cool， crisp breeze 10)kicks up a cloud of dust. Pristine chalk lines reach out from 11)home plate to the 12)outfield wall. Stopping， I reminisce. My blood， sweat and tears have 13)saturated these grounds， from age five to my current 16. A feeling

of existence， like a second life， full of lessons， growth， and memory reside on and within this

simple patch of grass and dirt.

But it’s game time. Anxiety melts away as I take my position at second base. I plan between every pitch， going over every possibility: If the ball’s hit here... there... then I move... throw... Once the ball’s 14)in play， it’s too late to think. I have only seconds to react， yet time seems to stretch into a state of slow motion. It comes down to that practiced， repeated， instinctual motion of response， field and throw the ball. Then I realize life comes， in spite of my plan， and I must act and react in the moment.

As the 15)inning ends， new challenges await me.

Bat firmly in hand， I stand in the 16)batter’s box by home plate as I dig and grind my back foot into the dust， scrutinizing each pitch—high or low， inside or out， fastball or curve. Looking for the pitch to hit， I wait and swing， knowing both success and failure.

I know my chances. It seems almost odd that 17)batting 300 (an average of three hits for every ten

18)at-bats) is a desired statistic， which means the other seven at-bats conclude with one more out made and my space reclaimed on the

19)dugout bench. Yet with each

at-bat there’s another opportunity to beat the odds， the nine defensemen， to watch that white， laced 20)sphere soar through the sky or skip across the ground. With each success or failure， there’s another at-bat， today or the next game， to do better or worse， and all I can do is embrace that with hope and desire.

By now the lights above the field shine instead of the absent sun， and the game still continues. A new batter steps up， and another pitch

21)barrels in. A deep fly ball. I yell to the outfielders， “Back! Back!”

They 22)sprint deeper， calling and yelling with urgency and assertiveness， “Mine! It’s mine! I got it!”

One ultimately wins the contest of position and vocal assertion， and the ball lands securely in his glove， then relayed into the 23)cut-off next to me， and back to the pitcher. Maybe he gets a nod or “Nice catch，” but an understood or verbal communication seems to be in every move， every play， even between pitches.

I receive signs when I bat or run bases as hand gestures， vocal aid and direction during plays， a nod of acknowledgement for a job well done. Without this vital communication， teamwork just wouldn’t be possible and the game wouldn’t work. I’m not able to read minds. Although there is trust that each person will make their play， catch， hit， and throw the ball， I need to talk and communicate; collisions， missed plays， and errors are all born from silence and misunderstanding. So this game mumbles on.

Following the final “out”， bat bags are repacked in preparation for another day. I stare， transfixed， at an empty field once again， no longer 24)manicured to perfection. The lines are blurred， the grass is no longer patterned. The sounds， lessons， and images remain in my mind long after the lights turn off， leaving this 25)haven to glow in the 26)iridescent glow of the moon. This sport—this place—is more to me than a few simple

swings of the bat， throws across the diamond， or routine 27)grounders. It seems to have a life all its own.

在電影《百萬(wàn)金臂》里，經(jīng)理人生氣地喊道：“這只不過(guò)是一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的比賽。你只要投球！擊球！接球！”

我希望棒球真的那么簡(jiǎn)單，但他忽略了其中許多細(xì)微之處。我認(rèn)為，從不同角度來(lái)說(shuō)，棒球這種體育運(yùn)動(dòng)非常復(fù)雜，與人生酷似。事實(shí)上，我發(fā)現(xiàn)人生的眾多元素和教訓(xùn)，比如預(yù)測(cè)、本能而重復(fù)的反應(yīng)、成敗、交流以及信任，都與棒球的基本要素交織契合——在許多方面棒球與人生都極其相似。

一天，我和朋友談?wù)撃闹绹?guó)職業(yè)棒球隊(duì)最優(yōu)秀，我溫和地表達(dá)了自己的不同看法之后，不假思索地說(shuō)：“有時(shí)候棒球如同人生的縮影?！?/p>

“對(duì)啊，”他贊同地說(shuō)道，“你可以交上好運(yùn)，但是最終還是要看你能不能接住一個(gè)騰空球，擊中一個(gè)曲線球什么的。這樣，你就可以影響整支球隊(duì)和比賽的賽況。”

然后，我們的談話停頓了一會(huì)兒，就轉(zhuǎn)到另一個(gè)話題上了，但是直到幾天后我和另一位朋友聊天時(shí)，我對(duì)人生與棒球的想法仍然盤踞在腦海里。

我問(wèn)他：“喬伊，你認(rèn)為棒球最吸引你的是什么？”

“棒球存在著人為的錯(cuò)誤，”他過(guò)了會(huì)兒回答說(shuō)，“球員會(huì)犯錯(cuò)，裁判也會(huì)判錯(cuò)，而且當(dāng)場(chǎng)沒(méi)有鏡頭回放。你不可能回到過(guò)去，改變判罰。”

“是啊，確實(shí)如此。無(wú)論對(duì)錯(cuò)，你都不可能回到過(guò)去，改變已經(jīng)發(fā)生的一切……”

在為一場(chǎng)無(wú)關(guān)緊要的棒球賽做身心準(zhǔn)備期間，我思索著人生與棒球。無(wú)數(shù)次，我背著沉重?zé)o比的球袋和其他裝備，艱難地從車?yán)镒叩角驁?chǎng)。腳上的釘鞋在人行道上“咔嗒咔嗒”地響，進(jìn)入草坪后，每一步隨即變得幾近低沉無(wú)聲，同時(shí)我的一呼一吸都充滿了草坪的芳香。

一絲清涼的微風(fēng)拂起一團(tuán)煙塵。純白的粉筆線從本壘向外場(chǎng)擋墻延伸。我停下腳步，陷入回憶。從五歲到現(xiàn)在十六歲，我在這地方灑下了多少血汗和熱淚啊。就這么一塊普通的草坪和土地凝聚了我的存在感，充滿了教訓(xùn)、成長(zhǎng)和回憶，一如我的第二人生。

但是比賽開(kāi)始了。我一站上二壘，焦慮隨之煙消云散。在每次投球之前，我都會(huì)設(shè)想好在每一種情況下要怎樣做：如果球被擊到這里……那里……我就要跑

向……扔球……球一旦發(fā)出，就來(lái)不及細(xì)想了。我只有幾秒鐘的時(shí)間反應(yīng)，但是時(shí)間似乎延續(xù)成了一系列的慢動(dòng)作。最終是熟練、重復(fù)、本能的反應(yīng)動(dòng)作，在場(chǎng)上奔跑，扔球。這時(shí)，我意識(shí)到生活前行，不管之前我是怎樣計(jì)劃的，我都要立即作出反應(yīng)，采取行動(dòng)。

一局結(jié)束了，還有新的挑戰(zhàn)等著我。

我站在本壘的擊球員區(qū)里，雙手緊握球棒，同時(shí)把往后伸的腳蹬進(jìn)土里，使勁踩穩(wěn)，并且仔細(xì)觀察每次投球——高球或低球，向內(nèi)或向外投，快球還是曲線球。我用目光搜尋著投出的球，等待著球的到來(lái)，然后揮棒一擊，我知道我可能成功，也可能失敗。

我自知成功的機(jī)會(huì)。擊球率有0.300（即平均每10個(gè)球能擊中3個(gè)）是很不錯(cuò)的成績(jī)了，聽(tīng)上去很奇怪吧，也就是說(shuō)再上場(chǎng)擊球7次，然后再多出場(chǎng)一次，我就又要回到休息室坐著了。但是每次上場(chǎng)就是一次扭轉(zhuǎn)劣勢(shì)的機(jī)會(huì)，一次打敗九個(gè)防守隊(duì)員的機(jī)會(huì)，同時(shí)，藉此能夠再度望著那個(gè)縫著條紋的白球飛躍天空或者在草坪上彈跳。每次成功或失敗之后，都有再次上場(chǎng)擊球的機(jī)會(huì)，只不過(guò)是在今天或是下次比賽，打得更好或是更差而已。我所能夠做的，就是滿懷希望和熱情把握這個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)。

現(xiàn)在，日落西山，球場(chǎng)上亮起了燈，棒球賽仍然進(jìn)行著。另一名擊球手上場(chǎng)了，擲出的球如箭般向他飛去。球被擊飛得又高又遠(yuǎn)。我向外場(chǎng)球員大喊：“退后！退后！”

他們向遠(yuǎn)處飛跑，急切而自信地喊叫著：“我的！我的球！我接到了！”

最終，其中一個(gè)球員先聲奪人，搶位成功，用戴著手套的手把球穩(wěn)穩(wěn)地接住，然后傳到我旁邊的攔截球員手里，球最后回到投球者的手里。表面上其他球員可能只會(huì)向這個(gè)球員點(diǎn)點(diǎn)頭，或者贊一句“接得好”，但是每個(gè)動(dòng)作、每場(chǎng)比賽，甚至投球前后，大家都會(huì)做彼此心領(lǐng)神會(huì)的又或是語(yǔ)言的交流。

擊球時(shí)我會(huì)獲得同伴的暗示——跑壘時(shí)的手勢(shì)，接球時(shí)打氣或指向的吶喊，以及對(duì)完成某項(xiàng)任務(wù)表示肯定的頷首示意。少了這些重要的交流，隊(duì)員根本不可能配合默契，球賽也就沒(méi)法進(jìn)行。我不懂讀心術(shù)。雖然我相信每個(gè)人都會(huì)盡職盡責(zé)，盡力接球、擊球、投球，但是我需要說(shuō)話，需要交流；碰撞、錯(cuò)失機(jī)會(huì)和犯錯(cuò)都源于不肯開(kāi)口和誤解。所以大家都一邊嚷嚷，一邊打棒球。

隨著最后一個(gè)人被判“出局”，比賽結(jié)束了，大家收拾行裝準(zhǔn)備下次比賽。我又一次呆望著空蕩蕩的球場(chǎng)，這個(gè)賽前被修整完美的球場(chǎng)現(xiàn)在已面目全非。白線都模糊了，草地也不再平整。球場(chǎng)的燈熄滅后，這塊小天地在銀月的照耀下閃閃發(fā)光，這時(shí)，球賽過(guò)程中的聲音、教訓(xùn)和畫面仍然久久縈繞在我腦海里。對(duì)于我來(lái)說(shuō)，這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)——這片天地——不僅僅意味著簡(jiǎn)單地?fù)]揮球棒，把球擲到菱形球場(chǎng)的另一頭，或者習(xí)慣性地追逐滾地球。棒球仿佛是有生命的。