By Devon Birdsong | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2024-12-26 23:58:38
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
关于莱恩和变革
1970年4月18日，一位高大瘦削的德克萨斯人登上了对阵费城费城人的投手丘。
没有人知道他即将为纽约大都会队创造一项纪录，也没有人真正关心。从他踏上投手丘的那一刻起，两队的教练都高度警惕。
费城人队的击球手们摇着头，检查着自己的头盔。主裁判迪克·斯特洛(Dick Stello)反复检查着他的装备和面罩。大都会队的捕手杰里·格罗特(Jerry Grote)警告即将上场的击球手不要挤压本垒板，这感觉不仅仅是经典的比赛策略，本垒板周围的观众既害怕又期待。
要知道，这位投手与过去的投手 截然不同 。
在那个安打频频但本垒打寥寥无几的棒球时代（现在被称为“死球时代”），那个时代的投手们所形成的风格主要围绕着迫使击球手将球弱击到地面或轻击到空中。当然，三振出局的情况也有发生，但总的来说，这方面的成功是鼓励弱击的副产品。
因此，追求触击出局成为了接下来50多年里MLB投手期望的竞争规范（并一直保持着）。
然而，这位投手却拥有神赐予的臂膀。尽管身材瘦削，但100英里/小时以上的快速球却是家常便饭；实际上，这是一种期望。其他一些威力较小的球种也在他的武器库中，但正是那颗凶猛的快速球让球员和球迷都既着迷又恐惧。更重要的是，这位年轻人对这种高速球的控制力不足。
诺兰·莱恩(Nolan Ryan)的投球成功理论围绕着完全不让击球手触球。他推断，既然可以直接把球投到击球手够不着的地方，为什么要追求弱击呢？
这种逻辑只有那些能力超群的球员才会想到。对于一个平均快速球速度在100英里/小时左右的投手来说，这是一个合理的结论——尤其是在那个时代，平均快速球速度只有80多英里/小时。而对于其他人来说，这似乎有点疯狂。
球迷和球员在观看维克多·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)在三分线外远距离出手时，也会看到同样的疯狂。一个7英尺5英寸的球员竟然有胆量（和技巧）去侵占斯蒂芬·库里、雷吉·米勒和雷·阿伦的领地，这颠覆了标准的认知。
作为一名20岁的球员，他在麦迪逊广场花园（以及圣诞大战）的首秀中拿下42分、18个篮板和4次盖帽，这令人难以置信。
他出手了16(!)次三分球，更是如此。
但人们很容易忘记，文班亚马仍在摸索这一切。关于他的三分球、篮板球和低位进攻（或缺乏低位进攻）的评论比比皆是。
然而，所有这一切都表明，这是我们从未见过的，而且远非成品。
那天，诺兰·莱恩三振了15名击球手，创造了当时的大都会队纪录。他还送出了6次保送，差点击中4名击球手。他仅在前五局就投了107个球，这对于今天的许多投手来说已经是一整场比赛的投球数了。根据记录，他的几个快速球都飞进了观众席。
然而，他仍然完成了一场只有一支安打的完胜比赛。
这只是莱恩在大都会队的第二个完整赛季。他在接下来的赛季中不断失去和重新获得对球的控制。他保送的击球手几乎和他三振的击球手一样多。1971年，在经历了另一个类似的赛季后，大都会队管理层——对他的投球方式感到困惑，对他的控球能力缺乏耐心——将他交易到了加州，这至今仍被认为是球队（和联盟）历史上最糟糕的交易之一。
自从莱恩退役后的30年里，球速和三振已经统治了美国职业棒球大联盟。追求触击出局成了一门垂死的艺术。仍然有人抱怨他保送的击球手太多。然而，在许多方面，诺兰·莱恩改变了一切。
昨天，维克多·文班亚马和马刺队在与尼克斯队的比赛中惜败，文班本人在最后几分钟错失了一些关键的篮板球。他投了很多三分球。他的失误和助攻一样多。他并没有花很多时间在低位进攻。
话虽如此，某种感觉告诉我，大事即将发生。称之为直觉吧。
要点
- 如果说围绕着杰里米·索汉(Jeremy Sochan)有一个主要的批评，那就是他缺乏外线投篮能力。然而，索汉在这场比赛中表现出色，尤其是在三分线外，他投进了全部三个三分球，其中一个发生在比赛最后阶段的关键时刻。希望这是一个好兆头，因为索汉本赛季的三分球命中率只有18%。尽管我喜欢他的全面性和态度，但我担心如果他在这个方面没有进步，马刺队的前场就不会完全发挥出应有的实力。
- 一个有趣的现象是，扎克·科林斯(Zach Collins)和查尔斯·巴斯(Charles Bassey)都没有在这场比赛中出场，而圣安东尼奥的阵容似乎也没有因此变得更好。由于在那些小个阵容中无法打五外，马刺队多次以一种表明圣安东尼奥的大个子问题现在已经到了迫切需要解决的地步的方式失去了领先优势。希望马刺队能精明地引进一名可靠的替补大个子，因为球队的上限显然受到了这个问题的限制。
- 哈里森·巴恩斯(Harrison Barnes)和德文·瓦塞尔(Devin Vassell)在这场比赛中都表现不佳。巴恩斯从金州勇士队时期开始就一直有些不稳定，而瓦塞尔拿着三当家的薪水，需要开始拿出相应的表现。公平地说，瓦塞尔本赛季受到了一些伤病困扰，但马刺队不能承受两名球员同时低迷，而投篮应该是瓦塞尔的招牌。瓦塞尔在防守端一直相当不稳定，这使得这一切都更加重要。
- 撇开失利不谈，在圣诞大战上看到马刺队真是太棒了。这种感觉很对。这是一年中我唯一一次希望NBA像NFL对达拉斯牛仔、绿湾包装工和底特律雄狮那样拥有节日专属球队。我知道有些年份的比赛可能不会是最有竞争力的，但这是马刺队在圣诞节庆祝活动中占据 rightful place 的代价。无论如何，很高兴看到他们在麦迪逊广场花园给尼克斯队制造了真正的麻烦。
今晚的主题曲：
皇后乐队的 Thank God It’s Christmas
点击查看原文：What we learned from the Spurs loss to the Knicks
What we learned from the Spurs loss to the Knicks
On Ryans and Revolutions
On April 18, 1970 a tall lanky Texan took the mound against the Philadelphia Phillies.
No one knew that he was about to set a record for the New York Mets, and no one really cared. From the moment that he made his way to the mound, managers for both teams were on high alert.
Batters for the Phillies shook their heads and checked their batting helmets. Head Umpire Dick Stello double-checked his gear and face-mask. The Mets’ catcher, Jerry Grote, warned incoming hitters not to crowd the plate in a way that felt like more than just classic gamesmanship, and the crowd around home plate hummed with both fear and anticipation.
You see, this pitcher was a thoroughly different sort from those of the past.
In the hit-happy and homer-less days of the MLB now known as Deadball, pitchers of the era had developed styles that largely revolved around forcing batters to hit the ball weakly along the ground, or softly into the air. Strikeouts had occurred, of course, but by-and-large success in that arena had been the byproduct of encouraging weak contact.
And so, pitching to contact became (and stayed) the competitive norm for pitcher expectations in the MLB for the next 50+ years.
This pitcher, however, had been gifted an arm of the gods. In spite of the lean build, 100+ mile-per-hour fastballs were regularity; an expectation, really. Other, lesser, pitches were in the offing as well, but it was that hellacious fastball that filled players and fans alike with both fascination and horror. And even more so, the lack of control the young man had over the high-velocity offering.
You see, Nolan Ryan’s theories for pitching success revolved around denying the batter contact altogether. Why, he reasoned, should someone angle for weak contact when they could simply throw the ball right past the hitter instead?
It was the sort of logic that occurs to players who have abilities that place them somewhere beyond the pale. For a pitcher whose average fastball hovered in the mid-100s, it was a sensible conclusion — especially in an era where average fastball velocity sat in the high 80’s. For others, well, it would have seemed a bit mad.
It’s the same sort of madness fans and players witness watching Victor Wembanyama pull up well beyond the arc. That a 7’5” player should have the audacity (and skill) to encroach on the territories of Steph Curry, Reggie Miller, and Ray Allen defies standard sensibilities.
That he went for 42 points, 18 rebounds, and four blocks in his Madison Square Garden (and Christmas Day) debut, as a 20-year-old, boggles the mind.
That he took 16(!) threes, even more so.
But it’s easy to forget that Wembanyama is still just figuring this all out. Commentaries about his three-point shooting, rebounding, and post-play (or lack thereof) abound.
And yet, all of it underscores that this is something we’ve never seen, and far from a finished product.
Nolan Ryan would strike out 15 batters that day, a Mets record at the time. He also walked six batters, nearly hitting four others. He threw 107 pitches in the first five innings alone, a full game for most pitchers today. Depending on the account, several of his fastballs went into the crowd.
And yet, he still managed to throw a complete game one-hitter.
It was only Ryan’s second full season with the Mets. He spent the rest of the season losing and regaining his control. He walked almost as many batters as he struck out, and in 1971, after another season of the same, Mets management—confused by his approach and impatient regarding his control—shipped him out to California in what is still rated as one of the worst trades in franchise (and league) history.
In the 30 years since Ryan’s retirement, velocity and the strikeout have come to rule Major League Baseball. Pitching to contact is a dying art. There are still individuals complaining that he walked too many batters. And yet, in many ways, Nolan Ryan changed everything.
Yesterday, Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs lost a tight contest against the Knicks, and Victor himself missed some crucial rebounds in the closing minutes. He took a ton of threes. He had as many turnovers as assists. He didn’t spend a lot of time banging down low.
That being said, something is telling me that big things are coming. Call it a gut feeling.
Takeaways
- If there’s been one dominant critique surrounding Jeremy Sochan, it’s been regarding his lack of outside shot. However, Sochan performed admirably in this one, especially from beyond the arc, hitting all three of his three-pointers, one of which came at a crucial point in the endgame. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come, as Sochan is shooting 18% from downtown on the season. Fond though I am of his versatility and attitude, I worry the Spurs front-court won’t be fully actualized without growth in that area.
- In an interesting development, neither Collins nor Bassey saw time in the contest, and San Antonio’s lineups did not seem the better for it. Without the ability to play five-out in those smaller lineups, the Spurs lost multiple leads in a manner that suggests that San Antonio’s big men issues are now verging on urgent needs. Here’s hoping the Spurs make a shrewd move for solid back-up big, because the team’s ceiling officially feels limited by this issue in particular.
- Harrison Barnes and Devin Vassell both had rough performances in this one, and while Barnes has always been a little streaky going back to his Golden State days, Vassell is being paid as a 3rd option and will need to start performing accordingly. In his defense, Vassell has been banged up a bit this season, but the Spurs can ill afford for both players to be off at the same time, and Vassell’s shooting is supposed to be his calling card. That Vassell has continued to be fairly inconsistent on the defensive end only makes this all the more critical.
- Loss aside, man did it feel great to see the Spurs on Christmas Day. Something about that just feels right. It’s the one time of year that I wish the NBA had banner holiday teams the way that the NFL does with Dallas, Green Bay, and Detroit. I recognize that might not make for the most competitive match-ups some years, but that’s just the price you have to pay for the Spurs to assume their rightful place in the Yuletide celebrations. In any case, it was great seeing them give the Knicks a real handful at the Garden.
Playing You Out – The Theme Song of the Evening:
Thank God It’s Christmas by Queen
By Devon Birdsong, via Pounding The Rock