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In the end, the 2)Red Sox apparently decided to spend more than $100 million to get the Japanese 3)pitcher 4)Daisuke Matsuzaka in a Boston uniform for the next six seasons, a daring financial 5)outlay for an athlete who has never thrown a pitch in the 6)major leagues or sampled the mildly 7)insane rivalry between the Red Sox and the 8)Yankees.
For 9)intrigued baseball fans in the United States, Matsuzaka’s relevant statistics are 10)no-brainers: 26 years old, 6 feet, 187 pounds and a 108-60 record with a 2.95 11)earned run average in eight seasons with the 12)Seibu Lions.
But what many fans, the Red Sox 13)front office and even Matsuzaka’s determined agent, Scott Boras, may not realize is that in the eyes of the Japanese, Matsuzaka’s most revealing statistic might be his blood type, which is Type O. By Japanese standards, that makes Matsuzaka a warrior and thus someone quite capable of striking out 14)Alex Rodriguez, or perhaps 15)Derek Jeter next summer.
In Japan, using blood type to predict a person’s character is as common as going to McDonald’s and ordering a 16)teriyaki burger. The association is 17)akin to the equally unscientific use of 18)astrological signs by Americans to predict behavior, only more popular. It is widely believed that more than 90 percent of Japanese know their blood type.
“In everyday life in Japan, blood type is used as a kind of a social 19)lubricant, a conversation starter,” said Theodore Bestor, a professor of Japanese studies and 20)anthropology at Harvard University. “It’s a piece of information that supposedly gives you some idea of what that person is like as a human being.”
“The Japanese tend to have a fairly strong kind of inherent belief that genetics and biology really matter in terms of people’s behavior. So I think the Japanese might be much more 21)predisposed to thinking about a kind of genetic basis for persona-lity than most Americans would.”
Japanese popular culture has been 22)saturated by 23)blood typo-logy for decades. Dating services use it to make matches. Employers use it to evaluate job applicants. Blood-type productsÑeverything from soft drinks to 24)chewing gum to 25)condomsÑhave been found all over Japan.
No one is suggesting that blood type can truly predict whether Matsuzaka will pitch well enough in the major leagues to justify Boston’s huge investment. Like any other pitcher, he will have to stay healthy. And like other Japanese players who have preceded him here, he will have to adjust to a foreign culture and, in his case, to hitters who are bigger and stronger than those in Japan.
A person can have one of four blood types, A, B, AB or O, and while the most common blood type in Japan is Type A, many of the more prominent Japanese players are like Matsuzaka, Type O. That group includes Hideki Matsui of the Yankees, Kazuo Matsui of the 26)Colorado Rockies (and formerly of the 27)Mets, with whom he was a huge disappointment) and Tadahito Iguchi of the 28)Chicago White Sox.
In Japan, people with Type O are commonly referred to as warriors because they are said to be self-confident, outgoing, goal-oriented and passionate. According to Masahiko Nomi, a Japanese journalist who helped popularize blood typology with a best-selling book in 1971, people with Type O make the best bankers, politicians andÑif you are not yet convincedÑprofessional baseball players.
But there are exceptions to any categorization, and in this instance one of them would appear to be 29)Ichiro Suzuki of the 30)Mariners, who has become one of the great hitters in major league baseball since joining the Seattle Mariners in 2001. Suzuki is Type B.
“That makes sense in a way,” said Jennifer Robertson, a professor of anthropology at the 31)University of Michigan who specializes in Japanese culture and history. Robertson added that people with Type B, known as hunters, are said to be highly independent and creative.
And creative would be a good adjective to describe Suzuki at the plate, where he sprays the ball to all fields and sometimes seems to hit the ball to an exact spot. Suzuki set the major league record for hits in a season with 262 in 2004.
“Even in Japan, Ichiro was kind of a 32)maverick baseball player in the sense of being very 33)philosophical and very 34)meticulous,” Robertson said. “People with Type B are individuals and they find their own way in life.”
Can any of these correlations be scientifically supported? The medical community does not think so. Even in Japan, they are accepted on faith.
“There’s absolutely no evidence that you can predict 35)batting average by blood type or that there are different character traits that you can define by blood type,” said Marc Siegel, an associate professor at the 36)New York University School of Medicine. “To me, it lines up with astrology. Some people will say if you’re a 37)Gemini, you’re more aggressive. I know a surgeon that will only operate on certain phases of the moon. But there’s absolutely no scientific evidence.”
再三思量之后，红袜子队终于决定以1亿多美元签下日本棒球投手松阪大辅。接下来的6个赛季里，松阪大辅将身披波士顿红袜子队战袍出战。对一个从未在美国职业棒球大联盟的赛场上登台亮相，也从未体验过红袜子队与纽约扬基队之间那种近乎疯狂的对抗的人来说，这笔转会费可谓是天价了。
对关注球坛的美国棒球迷而言，说出松阪大辅的个人资料自然轻而易举：现年26岁，身高6英尺（即1.83米），体重187磅（约170斤），效力日本西武雄狮队的8个赛季里，曾经获得108胜60负，防御率为2.95的显赫战绩。
然而，许多美国球迷、红袜子队主管，甚至是松阪大辅满怀信心的经纪人史考特·波拉斯可能都没有意识到的一点是，在日本人看来，松阪大辅身上最突出的一点也许是他的血型——O型。按照日本人的标准，O型血的松阪大辅是一名斗士，使得他明年夏天有足够的能力击败亚力士·罗德里格兹，或者是德里克·基特。
在日本，用血型测性格的做法非常普遍，就像人们上麦当劳点日式汉堡包一样常见。这和美国人用没有科学根据的占星术来预测行为有点类似，只是更流行而已。人们普遍相信，九成以上的日本人都知道自己的血型。
“在日本人的日常生活中，血型是一种社交润滑剂，是与人交谈的开场白，”哈佛大学日本研究学系及人类学系的教授西奥多·贝斯特说道，“在日本人看来，从一个人的血型信息，可以略知对方是个怎样的人。”
“日本人天生就坚信，遗传和生物因素对人类的行为有重要影响，因此我认为日本人比大多数的美国人更倾向于相信基因是性格的基础。”
几十年来，血型说一直主宰着日本大众文化。婚姻介绍所利用血型替顾客牵线做媒；老板将血型作为招聘的重要参考依据；与血型有关的各种产品在日本俯拾皆是—从软饮料、口香糖到避孕套等，五花八门，应有尽有。
没有人说血型可以准确预知松阪大辅是否真的能在大联盟中有出色的表现，以证明波士顿红袜子队的巨额投入的确物有所值。与其他所有的投手一样，他得保持健康的体魄；与其他先于他进入美国大联盟的日本运动员一样，他得调整自己，适应全新的外国文化，另外还有一点，他必须学会习惯面对比在日本国内高大健壮得多的击球手。
人类常见的血型有四种：A、B、AB或者O型。日本最常见的血型是A型，然而像松阪大辅等许多优秀的运动员都是O型血，他们包括效力于纽约扬基队的松井秀喜、科罗拉多落基山队的松井稼头央（之前他曾效力于纽约大都会队，但他在该俱乐部的表现让人非常失望）以及芝加哥白袜子队的井口资仁。
在日本，人们普遍认为O型血的人是天生的斗士，因为据说他们自信、外向、目标明确和激情洋溢。日本记者能见正比古1971年出版了一本畅销书，推动了血型说在日本的普及和流行。他认为O型血的人最适合做银行家或从政。也许你不相信，他还说O型血的人会成为最优秀的职业棒球运动员。
当然，任何归类都有例外，人们可能会想到西雅图水手队的铃木一朗。他于2001年加盟西雅图水手队后，成为大联盟最出色的击球手之一，但铃木一朗是B型血。
“从某个方面来说，这是合理的，”美国密歇根大学的人类学教授詹尼弗·罗伯逊说道。以研究日本文化和历史见长的罗伯逊还补充说，B型血的人是“猎者”，他们的特点是具有高度的独立性和创造力。
“创造力”这个词用在铃木一朗身上再适合不过了，他总能把球掷到场地的任何地方，有时甚至能收一矢中的之效。铃木一朗在2004年的一个赛季刷新了大联盟的一个记录，那就是将安打记录突破到262支！
“就算是在日本，铃木一朗也是一个特立独行的棒球运动员，非常沉着，仔细，”罗伯逊说，“B型血的人非常独立自我，他们总会有自己的生活方式。”
所有的这一切是否有科学依据呢？医学界并不认为血型说具有科学性。即便是在日本，它也只是被人不假思索地接受而已。
“没有任何证据表明你可以通过血型推测棒球手的安打率，或者了解一个人的性格特点，”纽约大学医学院副教授马克·西格尔说，“在我看来，血型说和占星是同一回事。有人认为，如果你是双子座的，你会比别人更咄咄逼人。我认识一个外科医生，他只会在月相变化到一定形状时施行手术，但这是丝毫没有科学根据的。”
小资料
棒球比赛规则
打棒球的场地是一个直角扇形区域，直角两边是区分界内地区和界外地区的边线。两边线以内为界内地区，两边线以外为界外地区。界内地区又分为内场和外场。内场呈正方形，四角各设置一个垒位。在尖角处的垒位是本垒，其余依逆时针方向分别为一垒、二垒和三垒。内场以外的界内地区为外场。由本垒到一垒和三垒边线延长所包括的区域，是比赛的有效区域。比赛中，每方轮流作为进攻方或防守方。进攻方每次派一名打击手上场打击，打击手的任务是将球击出之后，从本垒起跑，采取逆时针方向，经过一垒、二垒和三垒，最终回到本垒，来赢取分数。如果三次好球没有打中，或者击出的球被防守方在空中接到，或者在守垒者拿到球之后才跑至该垒，打击手便被判出局。进攻方有三人出局之后，双方交换进攻和防守。在正规比赛的九局中，以获得较多分数的一方为胜方。
注：本文中所涉及到的图表、注解、公式等内容请以PDF格式阅读原文。
In the end, the 2)Red Sox apparently decided to spend more than $100 million to get the Japanese 3)pitcher 4)Daisuke Matsuzaka in a Boston uniform for the next six seasons, a daring financial 5)outlay for an athlete who has never thrown a pitch in the 6)major leagues or sampled the mildly 7)insane rivalry between the Red Sox and the 8)Yankees.
For 9)intrigued baseball fans in the United States, Matsuzaka’s relevant statistics are 10)no-brainers: 26 years old, 6 feet, 187 pounds and a 108-60 record with a 2.95 11)earned run average in eight seasons with the 12)Seibu Lions.
But what many fans, the Red Sox 13)front office and even Matsuzaka’s determined agent, Scott Boras, may not realize is that in the eyes of the Japanese, Matsuzaka’s most revealing statistic might be his blood type, which is Type O. By Japanese standards, that makes Matsuzaka a warrior and thus someone quite capable of striking out 14)Alex Rodriguez, or perhaps 15)Derek Jeter next summer.
In Japan, using blood type to predict a person’s character is as common as going to McDonald’s and ordering a 16)teriyaki burger. The association is 17)akin to the equally unscientific use of 18)astrological signs by Americans to predict behavior, only more popular. It is widely believed that more than 90 percent of Japanese know their blood type.
“In everyday life in Japan, blood type is used as a kind of a social 19)lubricant, a conversation starter,” said Theodore Bestor, a professor of Japanese studies and 20)anthropology at Harvard University. “It’s a piece of information that supposedly gives you some idea of what that person is like as a human being.”
“The Japanese tend to have a fairly strong kind of inherent belief that genetics and biology really matter in terms of people’s behavior. So I think the Japanese might be much more 21)predisposed to thinking about a kind of genetic basis for persona-lity than most Americans would.”
Japanese popular culture has been 22)saturated by 23)blood typo-logy for decades. Dating services use it to make matches. Employers use it to evaluate job applicants. Blood-type productsÑeverything from soft drinks to 24)chewing gum to 25)condomsÑhave been found all over Japan.
No one is suggesting that blood type can truly predict whether Matsuzaka will pitch well enough in the major leagues to justify Boston’s huge investment. Like any other pitcher, he will have to stay healthy. And like other Japanese players who have preceded him here, he will have to adjust to a foreign culture and, in his case, to hitters who are bigger and stronger than those in Japan.
A person can have one of four blood types, A, B, AB or O, and while the most common blood type in Japan is Type A, many of the more prominent Japanese players are like Matsuzaka, Type O. That group includes Hideki Matsui of the Yankees, Kazuo Matsui of the 26)Colorado Rockies (and formerly of the 27)Mets, with whom he was a huge disappointment) and Tadahito Iguchi of the 28)Chicago White Sox.
In Japan, people with Type O are commonly referred to as warriors because they are said to be self-confident, outgoing, goal-oriented and passionate. According to Masahiko Nomi, a Japanese journalist who helped popularize blood typology with a best-selling book in 1971, people with Type O make the best bankers, politicians andÑif you are not yet convincedÑprofessional baseball players.
But there are exceptions to any categorization, and in this instance one of them would appear to be 29)Ichiro Suzuki of the 30)Mariners, who has become one of the great hitters in major league baseball since joining the Seattle Mariners in 2001. Suzuki is Type B.
“That makes sense in a way,” said Jennifer Robertson, a professor of anthropology at the 31)University of Michigan who specializes in Japanese culture and history. Robertson added that people with Type B, known as hunters, are said to be highly independent and creative.
And creative would be a good adjective to describe Suzuki at the plate, where he sprays the ball to all fields and sometimes seems to hit the ball to an exact spot. Suzuki set the major league record for hits in a season with 262 in 2004.
“Even in Japan, Ichiro was kind of a 32)maverick baseball player in the sense of being very 33)philosophical and very 34)meticulous,” Robertson said. “People with Type B are individuals and they find their own way in life.”
Can any of these correlations be scientifically supported? The medical community does not think so. Even in Japan, they are accepted on faith.
“There’s absolutely no evidence that you can predict 35)batting average by blood type or that there are different character traits that you can define by blood type,” said Marc Siegel, an associate professor at the 36)New York University School of Medicine. “To me, it lines up with astrology. Some people will say if you’re a 37)Gemini, you’re more aggressive. I know a surgeon that will only operate on certain phases of the moon. But there’s absolutely no scientific evidence.”
再三思量之后，红袜子队终于决定以1亿多美元签下日本棒球投手松阪大辅。接下来的6个赛季里，松阪大辅将身披波士顿红袜子队战袍出战。对一个从未在美国职业棒球大联盟的赛场上登台亮相，也从未体验过红袜子队与纽约扬基队之间那种近乎疯狂的对抗的人来说，这笔转会费可谓是天价了。
对关注球坛的美国棒球迷而言，说出松阪大辅的个人资料自然轻而易举：现年26岁，身高6英尺（即1.83米），体重187磅（约170斤），效力日本西武雄狮队的8个赛季里，曾经获得108胜60负，防御率为2.95的显赫战绩。
然而，许多美国球迷、红袜子队主管，甚至是松阪大辅满怀信心的经纪人史考特·波拉斯可能都没有意识到的一点是，在日本人看来，松阪大辅身上最突出的一点也许是他的血型——O型。按照日本人的标准，O型血的松阪大辅是一名斗士，使得他明年夏天有足够的能力击败亚力士·罗德里格兹，或者是德里克·基特。
在日本，用血型测性格的做法非常普遍，就像人们上麦当劳点日式汉堡包一样常见。这和美国人用没有科学根据的占星术来预测行为有点类似，只是更流行而已。人们普遍相信，九成以上的日本人都知道自己的血型。
“在日本人的日常生活中，血型是一种社交润滑剂，是与人交谈的开场白，”哈佛大学日本研究学系及人类学系的教授西奥多·贝斯特说道，“在日本人看来，从一个人的血型信息，可以略知对方是个怎样的人。”
“日本人天生就坚信，遗传和生物因素对人类的行为有重要影响，因此我认为日本人比大多数的美国人更倾向于相信基因是性格的基础。”
几十年来，血型说一直主宰着日本大众文化。婚姻介绍所利用血型替顾客牵线做媒；老板将血型作为招聘的重要参考依据；与血型有关的各种产品在日本俯拾皆是—从软饮料、口香糖到避孕套等，五花八门，应有尽有。
没有人说血型可以准确预知松阪大辅是否真的能在大联盟中有出色的表现，以证明波士顿红袜子队的巨额投入的确物有所值。与其他所有的投手一样，他得保持健康的体魄；与其他先于他进入美国大联盟的日本运动员一样，他得调整自己，适应全新的外国文化，另外还有一点，他必须学会习惯面对比在日本国内高大健壮得多的击球手。
人类常见的血型有四种：A、B、AB或者O型。日本最常见的血型是A型，然而像松阪大辅等许多优秀的运动员都是O型血，他们包括效力于纽约扬基队的松井秀喜、科罗拉多落基山队的松井稼头央（之前他曾效力于纽约大都会队，但他在该俱乐部的表现让人非常失望）以及芝加哥白袜子队的井口资仁。
在日本，人们普遍认为O型血的人是天生的斗士，因为据说他们自信、外向、目标明确和激情洋溢。日本记者能见正比古1971年出版了一本畅销书，推动了血型说在日本的普及和流行。他认为O型血的人最适合做银行家或从政。也许你不相信，他还说O型血的人会成为最优秀的职业棒球运动员。
当然，任何归类都有例外，人们可能会想到西雅图水手队的铃木一朗。他于2001年加盟西雅图水手队后，成为大联盟最出色的击球手之一，但铃木一朗是B型血。
“从某个方面来说，这是合理的，”美国密歇根大学的人类学教授詹尼弗·罗伯逊说道。以研究日本文化和历史见长的罗伯逊还补充说，B型血的人是“猎者”，他们的特点是具有高度的独立性和创造力。
“创造力”这个词用在铃木一朗身上再适合不过了，他总能把球掷到场地的任何地方，有时甚至能收一矢中的之效。铃木一朗在2004年的一个赛季刷新了大联盟的一个记录，那就是将安打记录突破到262支！
“就算是在日本，铃木一朗也是一个特立独行的棒球运动员，非常沉着，仔细，”罗伯逊说，“B型血的人非常独立自我，他们总会有自己的生活方式。”
所有的这一切是否有科学依据呢？医学界并不认为血型说具有科学性。即便是在日本，它也只是被人不假思索地接受而已。
“没有任何证据表明你可以通过血型推测棒球手的安打率，或者了解一个人的性格特点，”纽约大学医学院副教授马克·西格尔说，“在我看来，血型说和占星是同一回事。有人认为，如果你是双子座的，你会比别人更咄咄逼人。我认识一个外科医生，他只会在月相变化到一定形状时施行手术，但这是丝毫没有科学根据的。”
小资料
棒球比赛规则
打棒球的场地是一个直角扇形区域，直角两边是区分界内地区和界外地区的边线。两边线以内为界内地区，两边线以外为界外地区。界内地区又分为内场和外场。内场呈正方形，四角各设置一个垒位。在尖角处的垒位是本垒，其余依逆时针方向分别为一垒、二垒和三垒。内场以外的界内地区为外场。由本垒到一垒和三垒边线延长所包括的区域，是比赛的有效区域。比赛中，每方轮流作为进攻方或防守方。进攻方每次派一名打击手上场打击，打击手的任务是将球击出之后，从本垒起跑，采取逆时针方向，经过一垒、二垒和三垒，最终回到本垒，来赢取分数。如果三次好球没有打中，或者击出的球被防守方在空中接到，或者在守垒者拿到球之后才跑至该垒，打击手便被判出局。进攻方有三人出局之后，双方交换进攻和防守。在正规比赛的九局中，以获得较多分数的一方为胜方。
注：本文中所涉及到的图表、注解、公式等内容请以PDF格式阅读原文。