Baseball: A Two-Way Player

Chapter 692 30: A Different All-Star Weekend (Part 2)

In addition, thanks to his relationship with Harper, Lin Guanglai also got to know many of the Washington Nationals' players — in this All-Star game, the Nationals shone brightly due to their outstanding performance in the first half of the season, with five members selected, second only to the Dodgers in number.

Among the Nationals players, the ones who left the deepest impression on Lin Guanglai were naturally their two ace pitchers: one of them, 32 years old this year, is Max Scherzer, a likely Hall of Fame pitcher who has won the Cy Young Award twice; the other is Stephen Strasburg, nicknamed "Young Genius," both are top-level Major League pitchers.

Coincidentally, Lin Guanglai has also been a Cy Young-caliber pitcher this season, so when the three of them came together, it was only natural that they began discussing pitching topics; Lin Guanglai absorbed a lot of insight from the experienced veteran Scherzer, preparing to put them into practice in the upcoming official games.

Following Media Day was the league's official partnership with the government of the All-Star site to launch community outreach projects, assigning the All-Star selected players to local baseball fields to interact with Miami's youth baseball teams.

The purpose of this initiative is to delve into the community, promote the development of youth baseball, and to some extent foster future talent for MLB — after all, among the children participating today, some might one day play alongside Lin Guanglai and these star players or even surpass their achievements.

"I never expected that you, the media-proclaimed bad boy, would be so friendly in front of kids..." Looking at Harper beside him, whose face was full of love and enthusiasm while interacting with the kids, Lin Guanglai exclaimed — it was the first time he'd seen this side of his friend.

"Lin, you little brat, just wouldn't understand the feelings we family guys get when we see kids..." Harper simply shook his head and shrugged in response to Lin Guanglai.

"You're only two years older than me, speaking as if you have lots of parenting experience..." Lin Guanglai felt quite indignant and immediately retorted back at Harper.

Who would have thought, this sentence hit Harper's sweet spot perfectly; seeing the skilled batter chuckle and deliver a home run: "Well, I'm indeed about to become a dad — how did you know I got a message from my wife last night saying she's pregnant?"

Saying this, Harper glanced at Lin Guanglai with a teasing look while continuously mocking the person in front of him: "Oh, I forgot, don't mention wife and kids, and a warm bed, you don't even have a girlfriend, Lin... I mean seriously, with such a good-looking face, how come you don't have a steady partner? You make me kind of worried..."

Lin Guanglai, who had been hit by constant blows, didn't feel like talking much at this moment and just looked at Harper resentfully: "It's not my problem, it's the author's problem..."

The day before the All-Star game started, MLB officially rolled out the red carpet along the entire road leading to the ballpark at the Miami Marlins' home field (yes, you read that right, it really is called that), setting up fan interaction zones—this was also an opportunity for MLB players to showcase their fashion sense.

For instance, Lin Guanglai's teammate Aaron Judge wore a rather formal double-breasted white striped suit, and despite not wearing a tie, it could almost be replicated for a high-end cocktail party;

Another selected player, Luis Severino, dressed in a style typical of African-Americans, apart from the eye-catching big gold chain on his chest, his black suit hugged his frame well and had a hip-hop flair;

As for Harper, who had been almost inseparable from Lin Guanglai these days, he chose to show up bare chest under a casual suit — as he himself said, "After all, Miami isn't cold, and dressing like this shows masculinity."

Lin Guanglai wore a similar laid-back outfit, opting for a light pink casual suit, with a simple white shirt underneath, no tie, and the most classic white sneakers — such an ensemble could easily become a fashion crash, but Lin Guanglai carried it off effortlessly with his looks and physique.

After interacting with fans along the red carpet for quite some time, when Lin Guanglai reached the outside of the venue, the official host from MLB TV stopped him for a simple interview with this rising star — and it was during this interview that Lin Guanglai had the chance to meet his childhood idol—

As Lin Guanglai's interview reached halfway, a familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar voice sounded beside him: "Oops, I seem to have come a bit early?"

The newcomer was about half a head shorter than Lin Guanglai and was wearing the simplest Nike polo shirt and sweatpants, with no sense of fashion; but when Lin Guanglai turned his head to look, his face instantly showed an incredible look of excitement — a look only fans meeting their idols have.

"Ken, my old friend, it's been a long time, can't believe I'm seeing you here!" After being taken aback for a moment, the host showed a warm smile, swiftly pulling the guest into the camera:

Ken Griffey Jr., the 1990s face of MLB, with a career boasting 13 All-Star selections, 10 Gold Gloves, 7 Silver Slugger Awards, and 4 Home Run titles, revered as the "Michael Jordan of baseball," a superstar.

Before suffering from injuries in the latter part of his career, he was once considered most likely to break Hank Aaron's home run record, even surpass the historical top outfielder Willie Mays.

Unparalleled skills, a sunny smile, the most aesthetically pleasing swinging action in baseball, and maintaining untainted integrity in the dark "steroid era," all made Griffey Jr. a childhood idol for a whole generation of baseball fans, Lin Guanglai included.

Despite being born in 1995 and never seeing Griffey Jr. in his prime with the Seattle Mariners, Lin Guanglai still grew up watching this legendary star; once upon a time, even when swinging at bat, he would deliberately imitate Griffey Jr.'s actions.

As a former MLB iconic figure, even after retiring for years, Griffey Jr.'s popularity among fans has never diminished; having entered the Hall of Fame last year with the highest vote count in history, he came to Miami this time to support the league in promotional events.

Meeting his childhood idol for the first time in real life, Lin Guanglai appeared quite thrilled, acting entirely like a devoted fan; while the slightly plumper retired Griffey Jr. showed great affability, even agreeing with Lin Guanglai on a batting coaching session during the offseason.

With everyone gathering, the 2017 All-Star Week officially kicked off:

Scheduled the day before the main event was the appetizer, the widely anticipated Home Run Derby, featuring stars including Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Charlie Blackmon, taking the stage, Lin Guanglai's teammate, and the current season's home run king Aaron Judge seized victory.

Compared to the diverse and colorful pregame activities, the main game the next day wasn't particularly exciting, with every player participating just to show face as the American League beat the National League 2:1 for the win.

The special nature of baseball determines it can't be as visually entertaining as basketball All-Star games, and revamping the All-Star system has been a consideration of MLB in recent years:

Previous years tied World Series home-field advantages to the All-Star game, attracting many to follow it; but ever since last year's World Series incident when the 103-win Cubs had one less home game than the 94-win Indians, that decision was rescinded.

After the All-Star game ended, Lin Guanglai bid farewell to familiar faces and new acquaintances, returning to the usual rhythm of preparation; as the season's officially crossed halfway, it's time to ramp things up!