李洛伊.罗伯特.「萨裘」.佩吉 (Leroy
Robert “Satchel” Paige) 出生
1906年7月7日
在巡回行程中,球员必须要在国内四处旅行,且为任何一个愿意接受球员提出薪资要求的球队打球。 (球队也会巡回全国,和各地的球队进行比赛。) 佩吉有时候一年会旅行3万英里,而且一次连续21天上场投球。他在表演赛时登场对抗当时最好的球员,不管是黑人或白人。很多观众都到场看他投球。
佩吉说:「我喜欢和黑人联盟的队伍打球,但是我也喜欢巡回比赛。那让我有机会和各地方的人们打球…。」
佩吉最后还是得到进入大联盟的机会,他在1948年添加克里夫兰印第安人队 (Cleveland
Indian) 。那是杰奇.罗宾森 (Jackie
Robinson) 打破职棒大联盟肤色障碍的后一年,罗宾森后来为布鲁克林道奇队 (Brooklyn
Dodgers) 打球。
In barnstorming, a player traveled across the country and pitched for any team willing to meet his price. (Teams also barnstormed around the U.S. and played against local teams.) Paige sometimes traveled as many as 30,000 miles a year and in one streak pitched twenty-nine days in a row! He played in exhibition games against the best players of the day, black or white. Huge crowds came to watch him.
"I liked playing against Negro League teams," Paige was quoted as saying, "but I loved barnstorming. It gave us a chance to play everybody and go everywhere . . ."
Paige finally got his chance to play in the major leagues as a Cleveland Indian in 1948. That was one year after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball and went to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
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