by Amaury Pi Gonzalez
photo credit: sonsofstevegarvey.com– LA Dodgers announcer Jamie Jarrin (right) with Vin Scully (left) had to interpret for the English media interviewing Spanish players at one time
OAKLAND–Beginning this 2016 season all 30 Major League clubs must have a Spanish translator. All the 30 teams in both leagues have received a joint directive requiring them to hire full-time Spanish translators for this season. This is in conjunction with a new program negotiated between the commissioner’s office and the players’ union, according to multiple baseball officials.
I remember in years past when Ozzie Guillen was managing the Chicago White Sox, he once told me during a pregame interview in Chicago, that all teams should have Spanish interpreters, this way, other players and coaches didn’t have to act (aside from their regular jobs) as interpreters. I remember Guillen telling me, that most teams with Japanese players had Japanese interpreters, so why not for all teams to have Spanish interpreters, since there are way more Spanish players than Japanese. Anybody who spoke with Ozzie Guillen, knows very well he was never lost for an opinion, and he gave it to you without hesitation. Well, Ozzie you were proven right.
Each of the 30 teams will be responsible for hiring these Spanish and English speaking interpreters, not Major League Baseball. This new initiative is called “Spanish Language translator Program.” Around 25 percent of players on the 2015 Opening Day rosters, came from Spanish speaking countries. One of the first guys asked to do his share, was my good friend and Dodger Spanish broadcaster, Jaime Jarrin, during the days of “Fernandomania”as Fernando Valenzuela was the sensation of baseball with the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Jarrin had to do his share of leaving soon after the game ended, when Valenzuela was pitching a game, to translate for the English speaking media, and sometimes even beore Fernando started a game.
I had similar experiences, one was many years ago at the Oakland Coliseum Wells Twombly,(RIP) writer for the SF Examiner, asked me to translate after a game, as well an on other occasions. Most recently, I did a translation in Spring Training for Mark Ibanez, longtime CH 2 KTVU Sports Anchor, as I translated an interview he did with Dagoberto Blanco Campaneris, aka Campy Campaneris, (A’s best ever shortstop)Ibanez asked the question in English, then I would repeat to Campy in Spanish, he would respond to me in Spanish and then I will translate to English for Ibanez. When Alfonso Soriano signed a large contract with the Chicago Cubs, I did a translation for a national sports publication, the writer was in New York, Soriano was in the Dominican Republic and I was in Northern California, and it was conducted on a 3-way telephone conference call, I remember it was in the off season, after Soriano signed that contract and I believe it was a cover article for that popular publication.
Translating is serious business, especially today with so many media outlets, plus the internet. If only Roberto Clemente, who was much misunderstood with the regular baseball media could see this…what would he say? Well, I do not think he would tell you, that now I do not have to learn English, after all Roberto was a very serious man and very honorable and did everything with class and distinction, but he was misquoted in more than one occasion during his brilliant Hall of Fame career.
A person that translates in baseball must understand all the baseball terminology, so everything is translated properly,
just like in court the person that translates must understand the legal terminology, or in a doctors office the translator must know about medicine. It is a job, there is no doubt about that. It was bound to happen as more and more baseball players coming to the US are from Latin America, and a lot of them play in the US and then return to live in their respective countries after the season, so we must appreciate this as a good thing that baseball is doing. Of course, and -in my opinion- it doesn’t hurt a player to learn English, specially when that player lives 12 months a year in the United States.
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