Translating isn’t a perfect science, the best you can do is to express the ideas a person is trying to get across as best you can. When I saw this Jorge Soler interview I remember saying to myself “There are a couple of things in that translation that aren’t quite right.”
Now, normally, I’d leave it at that. But as a Cubs fan that likes to consume everything I possibly can about the team and its prospects, I figured I would translate the interview into what I think is a closer translation.
Here is the original video and a transcript below of my version:
CSN: Congratulations on player of the week.
Jorge Soler: Thank you.
CSN: What did you do in Arizona to get healthy?
In Arizona I was getting better and working hard every day in the training room. And every day even if I couldn’t get on the field, I was hitting in the cage.
CSN: Ever had hamstring issues before?
That started here. I never pulled my hamstrings in Cuba, this is the first time
CSN: What have the Cubs done to keep you healthy?
Well, they put me on a program for my hamstrings, I do exercises every day before starting a game.
CSN: Did working with Manny help you?
[big smile at mention of Manny] Yeah he helped me a lot, he’s a super star and a tremendous person. I was working every day in the cage and he “polished me with some [ideas?bad habits?]” that I/he had. On my swing, he told me to swing down on the ball, not up.
[the gist is that Manny had some tips that helped him clean some things up in his swing, it’s hard to get the exact word he’s using there at the end of the sentence]
CSN: Lots of great players from Cuba, what’s the experience been like?
Jorge Soler:The difference is big, mainly because we don’t know English, and that’s a difficult process. The game is different in Cuba, there are more rules here. In Cuba we don’t have as many rules.
CSN: What did you learn from your troubles in Daytona? [referencing the bat-threat incident]
Jorge Soler: I learned a lot from this experience [big exhale], there are rules here and you have to follow them. I have to keep my cool more. I have learned to control myself and focus more. That’s not going to happen again.
CSN: You love baseball
Jorge Soler: Yes I like it [big smile]
CSN: What is it like to be a Cub?
Jorge Soler: I like it a lot, I’m part of an organization that hasn’t won a championship in a while and when we win a championship I want to be a part of that team. And I thank God for the opportunity to be here.
CSN: How long do you think it will take to get from Tenn to big leagues?
I don’t know, I’m going to keep working hard like I have been and leave it all on the field. [sports clichés are a worldwide phenomenon, apparently]
CSN: Who were your favorite players?
Jorge Soler: When I was young, I never had the chance to watch US baseball, but when I was older I liked Manny. I felt so happy because I thought he was a person that was more…I don’t know. [he’s trying to find a positive thing here but can’t quite find the word…it’s cute, he’s gushing] But he’s a tremendous person, he talked to me like nothing. [presumably, the way we would all feel in the presence of a famous person we absolutely adore] All good. The first time I talked to him I was feeling nervous.
CSN: You’ll be in the bigs with little kids looking up to you.
Jorge Soler: [huge smile] I’ll be very happy to be there and signing the balls for the youngster
Commentary
Overall, my impressions of Soler (from this and other interviews) are that he’s a good guy. I know the bat incident in Daytona got him off to a bad start, but still. He’s a young guy coming over from a different country, speaking a new language, and there’s going to be issues like that.
But you see him dropping a little bit of English here and there—he’s trying.
Also, I’ve talked to a lot of Cuban players and watched a lot of interviews with young guys like Soler, and often you get a very detached guy who has put up walls around him to just make their lives easier to manage. I saw a Rusney Castillo interview the other day that was very much like that.
Soler doesn’t have any of that. He comes across as open yet nervous, and I think he’ll go through a period of adjustment with the big-league club that will set him up to be very comfortable come Spring Training. Especially since he’s familiar with some of the guys on the team already.
Good luck Jorge!
The Stretch 