《中英對照讀新聞》Matsui to skip World Baseball Classic 松井不參加世界棒球經典賽

◎ 鄭寺音

New York Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui will not take part in the inaugural World Baseball Classic in March, the US club announced.

紐約洋基隊宣布，隊中的外野手松井秀喜將不會參加3月間首次舉行的世界棒球經典大賽。

"The best thing would be having both roles, as a Yankess player and a member of the Japanese national team, but I couldn't get shake the worry that I might be neglecting one of them," Matsui said in a statement released by the team.

松井在洋基隊發表的聲明中說：「最好是同時兼顧洋基隊選手和日本國家代表隊員的角色，但我沒辦法不擔心，我可能疏忽其中一個角色。」

"When I decided to go to the United States, I wanted to become world champions with the Yankees. I fear that I might miss out by chasing two goals," he said.

「我決定去美國的時候，我希望能跟洋基隊一起成為世界冠軍。我擔心追求兩項目標，我可能會落空，」他說。

Japan's manager Sadaharu Oh accepted Matsui's decision. "I was disappointed but it's up to him to decide. It was not a surprise that he refused since he had been hesitating for such a long time," said Oh, a former homerun king who manages Japan's Softbank Hawks club.

日本國家隊監督王貞治表示接受松井的決定。「我很失望，但是這件事由他決定。他猶豫了這麼久，拒絕並不意外，」王貞治說。王貞治是前全壘打王，目前是日本軟體銀行鷹隊的監督。

Matsui, who batted .305 with 23 homers and a careerhigh 116 RBI in the past season, was re-signed to a new four-year deal with the Yankess estimated at up to 52 million dollars.

上個球季打擊率3成05、全壘打23支、打點116分創生涯新高的松井，已與洋基隊續約4年，簽約金估計高達5200萬美元。

新聞辭典

skip：動詞，不出席，不參加，掠過。例句：The boy skipped school two days in a row.那個男孩連著兩天沒上學了。

outfielder：外野手。

up to somebody：片語，由某人決定，應由某人負責。例句：The final choice is up to you.最後的選擇在你。