Take Me Out to the Ball Game 歷史上最激烈的戰爭 ── 美國大聯盟

As much a part of an American summer as ice cream and school vacations, baseball has a grip on the national psyche unrivalled by that of any other sport. The game evolved from obscure origins into the huge, multimillion-dollar industry it is today.

The first recorded baseball game took place in 1845, but the sport did not take off until the early twentieth century with the birth of the National and American Leagues and the World Series.

was the golden age for pitchers, and home runs were hard to come by against throwers like Cy Young and Walter Johnson. Offense regained the initiative in the 1920s, when legendary hitter Babe Ruth stamped his explosive presence on the game and blazed the trail for the five-decade domination of the New York Yankees.

After the Second World War came a period of transition for baseball. The majors opened up to ethnic minorities, big name teams the Dodgers and the Giants moved to the west coast from their New York roots, and the leagues eventually expanded to four divisions of six teams each.

Recent years have seen serious strain put on fan loyalty, with skyrocketing salaries and two damaging player strikes. But spectacular batting displays by the likes of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, along with top quality pitching from Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and Greg Maddux have kept the spectators coming and the cash flowing through America's favorite sport.

The nickname "Rocket" might seem a tad incongruous for a man who stands six feet four and weighs over two hundred pounds. For New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens, however, the reference to speed is purely in association with his devastating ninety-five-mile-an-hour fastball.

Born in Ohio in 1962, Roger Clemens first made his name in baseball by pitching for the Texas Longhorns to help win the 1983 College World Series championship. His next step was joining the Boston Red Sox as a first-round pick in that year's draft.

The Rocket carved out an impressive career with the Red Sox, later moving to Toronto before being traded to the Yankees. He is a five-time winner of the Cy Young Award with more than three thousand strikeouts, and in the 2000 World Series, Clemens threw the first complete-game one-hitter in LCS history to help the Yankees overcome the Mets.

Clemens has his share of detractors. Die-hard Red Sox fans are unlikely to ever forgive his departure, perceived as being inspired by financial greed. Last year's World Series triumph was overshadowed by a bat-throwing incident that sullied his reputation, and he has spent more than his share of time on the disabled list.

At age thirty-eight, the Rocket's days in major league baseball are surely numbered, yet he can still overwhelm even the best hitters, who will likely be feeling his power for a while yet.

盛夏時節，棒球在美國人心目中的地位，足以同冰淇淋和學校暑假媲美，更是其他運動所望塵莫及的。這項運動的起源不甚清楚，但流傳至今已成為幾百萬資本的大產業。

有正式紀錄的第一場棒球賽始于1845年，但要說到真正的盛行還是在二十世紀初國家聯盟及美國聯盟成立，“世界大賽”（兩聯盟冠軍賽）誕生之后。

初期是投手們的黃金時代，在賽·揚及沃爾特·約翰遜等強投手中，全壘打很少出現。到20年代，進攻一方再次贏得主動。傳奇擊球手貝比·魯斯爆炸般席卷球場，并為紐約揚基隊開創了長達五十年的霸主地位。

二次世界大戰后棒球面臨轉型期。大聯盟取消了種族政策，知名球隊如道奇和巨人告別發源地紐約，大舉遷至西岸，兩聯盟后來也擴張成四個分區，各六支球隊。（現為六個分區共三十支球隊。）

近年來，球員的天價薪水和兩次破壞嚴重的球員罷工給球迷的忠誠度帶來嚴峻考驗。幸而杰出重炮手如麥圭爾和薩米·索薩的全壘打競爭，加上頂尖投手羅杰·克萊蒙斯、藍迪·約翰遜、佩德羅·馬丁內斯及格雷格·馬達克斯的精湛表演，吸引球迷回籠、鈔票回流，美國人對棒球的熱愛有增無減。

“火箭人”這個昵稱，用在一位身高六英尺四英寸、重逾兩百磅的巨漢身上，似乎有那么點不協調。然而對紐約揚基隊投手克萊門斯來說，“火箭人”純指他火箭般的球速──時速超過95英里的快速球。

克萊門斯于1962年在俄亥俄州出生，1983年就讀德州大學時幫助該校長角牛隊贏得大學聯賽總冠軍，首度在棒球史上留名。他在該年第一輪的職業棒球選秀會中被波士頓紅襪隊挑走，進入棒球生涯的新階段。

克萊門斯在紅襪隊留下了難以磨滅的豐功偉績。后來轉到多倫多藍鳥隊，接著再轉至紐約揚基。他五次獲賽·揚獎，投過三千多次投殺球，在2000年世界大賽，他投出大聯盟冠軍賽史上第一場一安打完封勝，幫助揚基擊潰大都會隊。

然而，克萊門斯也遭到到一些責難。死心眼的紅襪球迷始終不能原諒他的離隊，認定他是見錢眼開。去年世界大賽的勝利也因他向擊球手回擲球棒而蒙上陰影，他的名聲也因此遭致玷污；還有他整季因傷所困，長期名列傷兵名單。

三十八歲高齡的克萊門斯在大聯盟的日子已不多了，但他仍足以壓倒最強悍的擊球手。相信他的球威仍能叱吒球場好一段時光。