Baseball: A Two-Way Player

Chapter 676 23: Undercurrents Stirring (Part 2)

Baseball and Lin Guanglai almost arrived at third base simultaneously, the field instantly filled with dust, and players on the sidelines as well as the live audience couldn't see clearly which side made it to the base bag first.

The game reached the bottom of the ninth inning, with no outs, a man on third, and one out with bases empty; the difference between these scenarios could mean the difference between heaven and earth, exerting a crucial impact on the outcome of this match.

Thousands of eyes now gathered around the umpire near the third baseline, many Yankees fans stood up from their seats, anticipating the imminent ruling—

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the third base umpire for this match extended his arms diagonally to his sides, palms down, announcing the decision: "Safe!"

"Boom—!!!" Yankee Stadium exploded in a roar, tens of thousands of shouts erupted simultaneously, seemingly drowning out the players on the field; in the Yankees' dugout, many, including their head coach Girardi, also breathed a sigh of relief.

With Lin Guanglai successfully stealing third base, the situation at the bottom of the ninth inning suddenly brightened: no outs, man on third, for the New York Yankees, nicknamed the "Bronx Bombers" and leading the league's 30 teams in home runs this season, the ensuing events became all but certain.

Following Lin Guanglai, Castro stepped up and precisely exploited Dayan Diaz's weak ball quality, sending the ball toward right field, not only bringing Lin Guanglai home for an extra run but also positioning himself at second base.

In the Astros' dugout, A.J. Hinch's face was ashen, yet he did nothing to adjust the lineup:

Dayan Diaz had just been swapped in at the bottom of the ninth and hadn't yet faced three batters, so even if Hinch wanted to change pitchers, he couldn't;

Moreover, the head coach who led the Astros to great success this season already vaguely sensed the defeat—Yankees' hitters had completely lost their minds, and under such circumstances, it seemed that no matter which pitcher was brought in, escaping defeat was unlikely.

Hinch's guess proved correct: Aaron Judge, the fifth batter, mercilessly faced the severely rattled Diaz, and after two pitches, used his superhuman strength to forcefully hit an exceptional inside fastball out to left field, also achieving his 16th home run of the season.

Mere moments after—

"Game over! Game over! The Yankees, with Lin Guanglai and Aaron Judge each hitting two home runs, performed a stunning comeback after trailing 0-9, defeating the powerful Astros 11-10 at home, maintaining their top spot in the American League!"

"In the footage, we can see Derek Jeter also applauding for the players—what could be a better retirement gift for the Yankees' captain than this match? At the beginning of the season, we thought after parting ways with A-Rod and Teixeira, this year would be the time for the Yankees to rebuild from scratch... And who could have anticipated that this young team would simply skip this stage altogether..."

"When Bregman hit that grand slam to extend the lead, Statcast's calculations showed the Yankees had only a 0.3% chance of winning this game—but now, these young players are victors! This is what baseball brings us: never say 'impossible' until the last moment!"

Watching the Yankees players passionately celebrating as if they won the World Series, commentators from various broadcast signals, seasoned in experience, couldn't help but amplify their voices.

Almost immediately after the game concluded, the New York Yankees' media outlet, YES Network, posted a brand-new article on their official website's headline:

On the cover of the article were Lin Guanglai and Aaron Judge standing together, vibrant and spirited; the title was exceedingly simple—

[Welcome to the New Era!]

The author of the article lavishly praised Lin Guanglai and Judge's performance this season, stating that the duo had become the absolute core of this fresh New York Yankees team and should be the foundational stones for the team's next ten years.

In the article, the author even likened the "Lin Guanglai + Aaron Judge" combination to the historic Yankees legends "Babe Ruth + Lou Gehrig," believing that as long as the team's upper management strengthens the team around them, these two young talents can achieve accomplishments comparable to their predecessors—remember, in the 1920s-30s, the legendary "Murderers' Row," with these two core players, helped Yankees capture 3 World Series titles.

In Yankee Stadium, Lin Guanglai and Aaron Judge, who had just shone brightly in the game, also became the darlings of the media, surrounded by a swarm of reporters in the player tunnel.

"Lin, Aaron, can you talk about your feelings on winning this game?"

"Lin, do you have time lately? We'd like to schedule a special interview!"

"Aaron, Aaron, you've already hit 16 home runs, what are your goals for the rest of this season?"

After spending quite some effort handling the frenzy of the New York media, Lin Guanglai did not go straight to the team's locker room.

Although the game was won, he was also quite exhausted, especially that thrilling steal of third base being somewhat dangerous, so he went directly to the therapy room, received a check-up from the team's professional medical staff, and underwent post-game recovery. Along the way, he encountered several staff members, all laughing and high-fiving him in celebration.

In contrast to the jubilant atmosphere with the Yankees, the visiting team's locker room where the Astros were situated was far less pleasant:

"We played an extraordinarily perfect opening, a decent mid-game, and a shitshow of an endgame that should make every one of you ashamed enough to hang yourselves—9 runs, for heaven's sake, a full 9 runs! Tell me, what was going through your minds in the latter half of the game?"

In any level of competition, being overturned with a 9-run lead is an intolerable act, let alone in the Major League.

Hence, as the head coach for the Astros, A.J. Hinch mercilessly performed his "hairdryer treatment," raining down curses on every Astros player—especially Diaz, who appeared at the bottom of the ninth and exploded spectacularly, who was promptly sent back to the Minor League in front of all the players.

The harsh ecosystem of Major League Baseball was blatantly evident: the glitz and glamor of fame are destined only for star players; for the vast majority trying to make ends meet, every performance could potentially influence their entire career trajectory.

After reprimanding his players, Hinch lit a cigarette, retreated to an isolated corner, and answered the call from the team's general manager Jeff Luhnow.

"Andrew, the owner was extremely displeased with this game's outcome, especially unwilling to tolerate a comeback after such a substantial lead... But don't worry, I've managed to calm him down."

"To maintain this roster's competitiveness, we've invested considerably this season, so much that failure is absolutely unacceptable."

"I can tolerate this match's loss, but come season's end, I want to see the team win the division and the World Series title—this isn't a goal; it's what we must achieve! Otherwise, I can't assure you how much longer you'll remain in this position, Andrew..."

"No, no, no, you've misunderstood me... What I mean is, I only value the final result—no matter the means you employ, as long as the championship is ours, everything else is irrelevant, do you understand?"

After Jeff Luhnow on the other end hung up, Andrew Jay Hinch, this head coach who throughout his career in MLB had served for several teams over 7 seasons, never achieving much success before joining the Houston Astros, extinguished the cigarette.

Enveloped in smoke, he seemed to make a decision, his eyes vaguely revealing a hint of ferocity.