7 Chapter 6 Taking on the Minors

Chapter 6 Taking on the Minors In Class A baseball, in Greensboro, North Carolina, Derek bonded with teammates. He had fun playing. He was named Most Outstanding Major League Prospect by the South Atlantic League managers. Still, he made fifty-six errors. All along Derek had been planning to go back to college in the fall. But baseball was his future. And he knew he needed more training. So after the season, when the Yankees wanted him to stay on for extra instruction, he put college on hold. The hard work paid off. Usually, the Yankees didn't promote players once a season began. But in 1994, Derek moved from Class A to AA to AAA.

在北卡罗来纳州的格林斯博罗，德里克与队友们建立了良好的关系。 他玩得很开心。他被南大西洋联盟的经理们评为最杰出的大联盟前景。 尽管如此，他还是犯了56个错误。 一直以来，德里克都在计划秋天重返大学。 但棒球是他的未来。 他知道他需要更多的训练。 所以赛季结束后，当洋基希望他留下来接受额外的指导时，他搁置了大学学业。 努力工作得到了回报。通常，洋基队不会在赛季开始后提拔球员。 但在1994年，德里克从A级升到AA级再到AAA级。

He wasn't that lost, crying boy anymore. He was making friends like Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera. He was playing hard in the field and getting hits. At the end of the season, he was named Minor League Player of the Year by USA Today and other newspapers.

他不再是那个迷路哭泣的男孩了。 他结交了乔治·波萨达和马里亚诺·里维拉这样的朋友。 他在球场上打得很努力，打得很好。 在赛季结束时，他被《今日美国》和其他报纸评为小联盟年度最佳球员。

In 1995, living in Tampa during the offseason, Derek kept training and improving. In April, he returned to his Triple A team in Columbus, Ohio. Then, on May 28, at 6:00 a.m., there was a knock on his hotel room door. It was the team manager. Yankees shortstop Tony Fernandez had pulled a muscle. "You're going to the big leagues," the manager told Derek. Derek flew to Seattle that morning for a series against the Mariners. In the locker room, he got his first Yankees uniform. On the back was his number: 2.

1995年，德里克在休赛期住在坦帕，他坚持训练，不断进步。 今年4月，他回到了俄亥俄州哥伦布市的aaa球队。 然后，5月28日早上6点，有人敲他酒店房间的门。 是球队经理打来的。洋基队游击手托尼·费尔南德斯拉伤了肌肉。 “你要进入大联盟了，”经理告诉德里克。 那天早上，德里克飞往西雅图参加与水手队的系列赛。 在更衣室里，他拿到了自己的第一件洋基队队服。 背面是他的号码:2。

Derek ran onto the field with the rest of the team. He couldn't believe it. He was sharing the infield with all-stars captain Don Mattingly and Wade Boggs!

德里克和其他队员一起跑到球场上。 他简直不敢相信。他与全明星队长唐·马丁利和韦德·博格斯同场竞技!

UNIFORM NUMBERS IN 1929, THE YANKEES WERE THE FIRST TEAM TO USE UNIFORM NUMBERS, TO HELP FANS KEEP TRACK OF PLAYERS. BY THE 1930S, ALL MAJOR LEAGUE TEAMS HAD THEM. AT FIRST, YANKEES' NUMBERS WERE ASSIGNED BASED ON BATTING ORDER. IF A PLAYER HIT THIRD IN THE LINEUP, LIKE BABE RUTH, HE GOT NUMBER 3. SOME TEAMS MATCHED NUMBER WITH POSITION. THEN CAME ANOTHER SYSTEM: THE LOWER THE NUMBER, THE HIGHER THE PLAYER'S IMPORTANCE TO THE TEAM. AS FOR DEREK HIMSELF, #2 JUST HAPPENED TO BE AVAILABLE FOR HIS DEBUT.

1929年，洋基队是第一支使用队服号码的球队，以帮助球迷跟踪球员。 到了20世纪30年代，所有的大联盟球队都有了。 起初，洋基队的号码是根据打击顺序分配的。 如果一个球员在阵容中打了三垒，比如贝比·鲁斯，他就得三号。 有些队将人数与位置相匹配。 然后是另一个系统:数字越低，球员对球队的重要性就越高。 至于德里克自己，2号恰好可以参加他的首秀。