Baseball: A Two-Way Player

Chapter 686 28: Perfect Game

"Ball!"

"Ball!"

"Still a ball!"

Lin Guanglai took the baseball passed back from Gary Sanchez at the catcher's seat and looked towards the umpire behind Sanchez, who showed no signs after the three consecutive pitches. Lin Guanglai's brow subtly furrowed.

Simultaneously, startled exclamations erupted from the stands at Angel Stadium: the remaining spectators buzzed with conversation, their concern unmistakable amidst the fluttering glances—after most of the home fans had exited, the remaining spectators in Angel Stadium were, nine out of ten times, fans of either the New York Yankees or Lin Guanglai himself.

Their focus had shifted away from the outcome of the game, considering that a lead of over 10 runs was unlikely to be overturned; now they are focused on whether Lin Guanglai can achieve the perfect game!

This matchup between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels—a game initially deemed ordinary by all, only gaining national broadcast status because of Trout's return from injury—now delighted Fox Sports in charge of the broadcast:

Indeed, before the current at-bat started, Lin Guanglai, who was the starting pitcher for this game, had dispatched 24 Angels hitters, achieving 14 strikeouts—just three outs away from completing the "perfect game" achievement!

Logically, the most challenging phase for Lin Guanglai in his quest for the perfect game has passed:

Lin Guanglai had eliminated the formidable early lineup of Angels including Trout and Pujols. Now he was left to face the relatively weaker hitters, the 7th to 9th batters; for Lin Guanglai, who seemed blessed with divine assistance today, this shouldn't be particularly difficult.

Yet reality has proven otherwise. At the beginning of the bottom of the ninth inning, against C.J. Cron, the first batter up for the Angels, Lin Guanglai, known for his stable control, unexpectedly pitched three consecutive balls—a low-probability occurrence happening at such a crucial moment!

"This isn't the level Lin should be at... So is he tired? But the pitch count only just reached 100, it shouldn't be..." Larry Rothschild, on the third-base side in the Yankees player section, muttered to himself as he reviewed the data in his hands, perplexed by the situation.

"No, it's not Lin's problem." Next to Rothschild, Girardi, who spent 15 years as a catcher in the Major League, immediately identified the crux of the issue.

Girardi shook his head lightly, sighing, "It's all Gary's problem. Although his hitting ability is indeed strong, being a catcher requires more than just good hitting."

"Gary's catching technique hasn't reached the level it should be for catchers on strong teams. In those last 3 balls, if Molina or Posey were catching, they could've stolen at least 2 strikes, but Gary couldn't even manage one. In guiding the pitcher, he's far from reaching Major League levels. That's why I've been advising Brian to find a true catcher during the off-season after this year; Gary is still too inexperienced."

Having spent the most time with the team's catchers, Lin Guanglai naturally understood this as well: after a short honeymoon period with Gary Sanchez at the start of the season, the young catcher's rough catching technique became apparent, forcing Lin to expend more energy as a pitcher and, at times, endure Sanchez's clumsy actions turning edge strikes into balls.

While Gary Sanchez's batting strength might be outstanding, his ordinary catching, guiding, and throwing abilities even made Lin Guanglai somewhat nostalgic for his catching partners in Japan.

But as they say, the relationship between a pitcher and catcher is like a marriage; unless there's a fundamental incompatibility leading to discord, most of the time they have to make it work together. Besides, after sending off veteran Brian McCann, the remaining catchers in the Yankees aren't even as good in these areas as the young Sanchez.

The three consecutive balls had the spectators on edge, worried that what seemed like a guaranteed perfect game might become a "no-hitter"—although the latter also proves the pitcher's prowess, it lacks the former's rarity and prestige.

However, for Lin Guanglai, the 3-0 count wouldn't affect him in the slightest, as he had encountered similar situations before. Even with the perfect game's Damocles sword hanging above, he remained confident in his strength.

After taking a deep breath to relax, Lin Guanglai swiftly opened his eyes, threw the baseball towards home plate.

Even in the later stages of the game, his fastball velocity remained above 98 miles per hour, with only a slight drop in spin rate but still threatening enough, speeding towards the lower part of the strike zone against C.J. Cron.

Facing the pitch, Cron didn't opt for the usual 3-0 tactic of holding his ground to check a strike; seeing the ball slightly below the sweet spot, he decisively swung his bat.