Here's hoping the new Eagles are here to stay

　僕は英辞郎を使って英語を読みまくり、インターネットラジオのNHKのラジオジャパン英語ニュースで時事英語を聞きまくってます。（＾＾；
参考「こんな感じで英辞郎を使ってます」

Here's hoping the new Eagles are here to stay

04/08/2005

I recently watched a Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles game at the new team's home stadium in Sendai. Rooting with horns and other noisy musical instruments is banned at the renovated ballpark. It was refreshing to be able to hear from the stands the sound of a bat connecting with a ball.

2005年04月03日（日曜日）付
【天声人語】

　新球団・楽天イーグルスの試合をきのう、本拠地の仙台で見た。新装の球場ではトランペットなど鳴り物を使った応援は禁止である。そのぶんバットの音が客席まで心地よく響いた。

In this game, the Eagles defeated the Seibu Lions, the 2004 Japan Series champion. The way it played out was almost a mirror image of the ups and downs in the world of business: I'm referring to the entrepreneur, who quit a bank to start an Internet business and defeated a railway king who clung to his family tradition. The face-off between the new and old enthralled the fans.

　王者西武を相手に楽天が快勝した。産業界の浮き沈みを思わせるような試合展開だった。銀行を辞めてネット事業にこぎ出した起業家が、先代の遺訓にしがみつく鉄道王を倒す。新と旧の対決に場内がわいた。

When professional baseball made its debut in Japan in the early years of the Showa Era (1926-1989), most teams were sponsored by newspaper or railway companies. After World War II, the movie and automobile industries joined the ranks of baseball club owners, followed by confectionery, soft drink, financial and commercial broadcasting businesses. The real estate and supermarket segments were represented at one time, too.

　職業野球が生まれた昭和の初め、大半の球団が新聞社か鉄道会社を母体にしていた。戦後は映画や自動車などの業種が乗り出す。菓子や飲料に続き、金融や民放も参入した。その間に不動産やスーパーなどが退場した。

In the United States, the Major League baseball season is also now under way.

Team ownership turnover is quite brisk in America. In the past, bankers, brewery tycoons and other well-heeled people purchased teams, but they were eventually taken over by big-name enterprises such as the Walt Disney Co. Baseball teams have come to be regarded as investment opportunities by ambitious speculators. Even long-time fans have trouble nowadays keeping track of who owns their favorite team.

　米国時間の３日には、大リーグも開幕する。あちらの球団は、オーナーがめまぐるしく代わる。かつては、銀行家やビール王など野球好きの富豪が球団を買った。それが次々、ディズニーなど有名企業の手に渡った。近年は、球団を債権のように扱う投資家たちが買収戦に忙しい。ひいきチームの所有者がだれか、長年のファンでも混乱する。

In South Korea, too, the professional baseball season has started. There was a lot of commotion last year over a military draft-dodging scam involving some players.

Pro baseball is also extremely popular in Latin America and Taiwan. Team names such as the Giants, the Tigers, the Eagles are common around the world. They are probably named after those in America, the home of baseball.

　お隣の韓国でもきのう、プロ野球が幕を開けた。昨年は兵役逃れの不正で大揺れだった。中南米や台湾などでもプロ野球は盛んだが、ジャイアンツやタイガース、イーグルスといった球団名は世界各地にある。名前を決める際、本場の米国流にならうところが多いのだろう。

I understand this is the first time in 28 years that a baseball franchise has come to Sendai. While businesses rise and fall as a matter of course, I hope the new team will take firm root in Sendai, unaffected by the national economy and the stock market.

　プロ球団が仙台を拠点にするのは２８年ぶりだという。産業の栄枯盛衰は世のならいだが、景気や株価に左右されず、この地にしっかりと根をおろしてくれたらと願う。

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 3(IHT/Asahi: April 8,2005)