Recent years have seen serious strain put on fan loyalty, with skyrocketing salaries and two damaging player strikes. But spectacular batting displays by the likes of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, along with top quality pitching from Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and Greg Maddux have kept the spectators coming and the cash flowing through America's favorite sport.

近年来，球员的天价薪水和两次破坏严重的球员罢工给球迷的忠诚度带来严峻考验。幸而杰出重炮手如麦圭尔和萨米·索萨的全垒打竞争，加上顶尖投手罗杰·克莱蒙斯、蓝迪·约翰逊、佩德罗·马丁内斯及格雷格·马达克斯的精湛表演，吸引球迷回笼、钞票回流，美国人对棒球的热爱有增无减。

(短文节选,本篇始于：美国大联盟 )