10 Chapter 9 Spring Training

Chapter 9 Spring Training In early 1946, Jackie was almost twenty-seven years old. It was a time of big changes. On February 10, Jackie married Rachel. A few weeks

1946年初，杰基快27岁了。 那是一个巨变的时代。 2月10日，杰基与瑞秋结婚。 几个星期

later, the newlyweds left for spring training in Daytona Beach, Florida. Jackie felt scared and excited. Now he was playing for the Montreal Royals. The next step could be the major leagues! Jackie understood that being the first black player would be difficult. In fact, just getting to Florida for spring training was a struggle.

之后，这对新婚夫妇前往佛罗里达州的代托纳海滩进行春训。 杰基感到既害怕又兴奋。 现在他在蒙特利尔皇家队打球。 下一步可能是进入大联盟!杰基明白成为第一个黑人运动员是很困难的。 事实上，光是去佛罗里达参加春训就已经很困难了。

The Robinsons flew from L.A. to New Orleans. They had to catch a connecting flight to Pensacola, Florida, then on to Jacksonville. But they were bumped from flight after flight because they were black. They couldn't find an airport restaurant to eat in. They were for "whites only." When they finally reached Pensacola, Jackie and Rachel once again were bumped from flights. White people got the seats instead. So they decided to take a bus the rest of the way. They had to sit in the "for coloreds" back row, the worst seats on the bus. The trip took one-and-a-half days. No matter how tired he felt, Jackie knew he had to be at his best for the first day of training. He walked onto a field with two hundred players. Everyone on the Montreal team was white, except for one black pitcher named Johnny Wright. He was also trying out, but all eyes were on Jackie. Reporters were there, too. "What would you do if one of these pitchers threw at your head?" one asked. "I'd duck!" Jackie answered.

罗宾逊一家从洛杉矶飞过来 去新奥尔良。他们必须赶转机去佛罗里达州的彭萨科拉，然后再去杰克逊维尔。 但由于他们是黑人，他们被一次次地赶下飞机。 他们找不到机场餐厅吃饭。 它们是“白人专用”的。 当他们终于到达彭萨科拉时，杰基和瑞秋又一次被赶下了航班。 白人得到了座位。 所以他们决定坐公共汽车走完剩下的路。 他们不得不坐在“有色人种”的后排，这是公共汽车上最糟糕的座位。 这次旅行花了一天半的时间。 不管他感觉有多累，杰基知道他必须在第一天的训练中处于最佳状态。 他走进了有200名球员的场地。 蒙特利尔队的每个人都是白人，除了一个名叫约翰尼·赖特的黑人投手。 他也在试镜，但所有的目光都集中在杰姬身上。 记者们也在那里。 “如果这些水罐朝你的头扔来，你会怎么做?”其中一个问道。 “我鸭!”杰基回答。

Jackie tried to joke when asked questions like this. But often it was hard to keep a sense of humor. Jackie couldn't stay at the same hotel as the other players. He and Rachel had to stay at the home of a local couple.

当被问到这样的问题时，杰基试图开玩笑。 但通常很难保持幽默感。 杰基不能和其他球员住在同一家酒店。 他和瑞秋不得不住在当地一对夫妇的家里。

Sometimes other teams canceled games. They refused to play against a black player. Some ballparks locked their gates from Jackie and the rest of the Montreal players. Once, a game in DeLand, Florida, was called off. The excuse was that the stadium lights weren't working. But it was a daytime game. No lights were needed. Some players on his own team looked through Jackie like he wasn't even there. At times Jackie was so fed up, he wanted to go home. But he didn't. He kept on practicing and playing. It wasn't all bad. Crowds poured into the stands to watch Jackie bat and try out his new position. Sure, some people came to jeer. But many more people came to cheer. The black sections overflowed. Fans had to be turned away.

有时其他球队会取消比赛。 他们拒绝和黑人选手比赛。 一些棒球场锁上了大门，不让杰基和其他蒙特利尔球员进入。 有一次，佛罗里达州迪兰市的一场比赛被取消了。 借口是体育场的灯坏了。 但这是一场白天的比赛。 不需要灯光。他自己球队的一些球员把杰基看得好像他根本不存在一样。 有时杰基受够了，他想回家。 但他没有。他继续练习和演奏。 也不全是坏事。人群涌入看台观看杰基击球并尝试他的新姿势。 当然，有些人是来嘲笑我的。 但更多的人来欢呼。 黑色部分溢出。 球迷们不得不被拒之门外。