Baseball: A Two-Way Player

Chapter 729 45: Benches Cleared, Tensions Escalate

As the Lone Star State located at the border between the U.S. and Mexico, Texas ranks second in both area and population in the United States. People here love guns, love freedom, have a bold character, are politically conservative and independent, and exhibit a strong western cowboy cultural character. This unique feature has also created Texans' passion for sports.

In the four major leagues of North American sports, Texas alone boasts a total of 8 teams:

In Major League Baseball, the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros have been traditionally strong teams in recent years, having made multiple playoff appearances and even reached the World Series several times over the past years;

In the NBA, the three Texas powerhouses—San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, and Dallas Mavericks—are almost always strong contenders for the championship every year, each being an absolute powerhouse capable of stirring up the playoffs;

In the NHL, the Dallas Stars have also emerged as a rising force in recent years, clinching the division crown last season;

As for football, the most popular sport locally in Texas, it goes without saying. The Houston Texans, a new team, have gradually emerged in recent years, while the Dallas Cowboys, based in Arlington, boast influence that is not confined to Texas but extends throughout North America, earning the title of "America's Team" beyond dispute.

When the Yankees players entered Minute Maid Park, the home of the Houston Astros, they felt the fevered atmosphere almost immediately:

Just as the Yankees players stepped out of the player tunnel, over 43,000 home fans in the stands swung the support towels distributed by the stadium staff, "welcoming" the visiting team fans with overwhelming jeers;

The camera panned across the faces in the stands, and every Astros fan in the frame shouted at the camera, releasing their excitement in this way—at least for this moment, the entire Minute Maid Park had transformed into a swirling sea of orange, exuding an aura as if it could completely devour the opponents.

Judging by the pre-match atmosphere alone, Minute Maid Park even rivaled a fully-packed Yankee Stadium, signaling that for the Yankees players, this match likely wouldn't be easy.

After the simple pre-game opening ceremony, the game officially began.

The starting pitcher for the Astros today was undoubtedly their ace, Dallas Keuchel—as a pitcher with an average four-seam fastball speed of only 89 miles per hour (143 km/h), Keuchel's ability to earn Cy Young recognition was a testament to his exceptional control.

In fact, Dallas Keuchel is indeed a ground-ball pitcher, primarily relying on an 89 mph average sinker, a 79 mph average slider, and a changeup around 80 mph to confuse batters and induce swings and misses.

For the Yankees, a group of sluggers who often sacrifice contact rate in pursuit of power hitting output, such a pitcher undoubtedly inherently restrains them. This means that in today's game, they need to be more patient.

Amid the eardrum-shattering noise from the Houston Astros fans, Lin Guanglai, the leadoff hitter for the game, stepped into the field ready to bat; however, just as he settled into the batter's box, Astros head coach A.J. Hinch signaled for an intentional walk, sending Lin Guanglai to first base without even a swing.

The Yankees had anticipated such a scenario: as the second batter Judge prepared to bat, manager Girardi signaled Lin Guanglai on first base to decide for himself whether to steal a base—Astros catcher Brian McCann's caught-stealing rate was the lowest among playoff team catchers, so the Yankees certainly wouldn't pass up this opportunity.

It was evident the Astros also realized this, and to prevent Lin Guanglai from advancing to second base with impunity, Keuchel on the mound threw several pickoffs to first base, intending to limit Lin Guanglai's activities around the base.

Just as Lin Guanglai confirmed the baseball had returned to the pitcher and was about to take a few steps toward second base, an unharmonious voice reached his ears:

"Don't waste your effort, we're not gonna give you a chance to steal, Chinito!"

When he turned his head toward the source of the voice, it was none other than Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel who had spoken, even pulling a funny face at Lin Guanglai.

If it was just this, then Lin Guanglai might not have said anything, perhaps treating it as a petty provocation by the opponent and laughing it off;

But the issue was that Gurriel's gesture was an extremely representative discriminatory gesture against Asians in Western cultural context:

He made a slanted-eye gesture toward Lin Guanglai! (Note 1)

Lin Guanglai always believed he was a good-natured person, but this does not mean he can maintain such composure when directly confronted with discrimination—baseball, as a sport, requires mutual respect, and sometimes it also requires a certain amount of aggression and intensity.

Almost immediately after witnessing the opponent's gesture, Lin Guanglai reached out, grabbed the front of that pineapple head's shirt collar, and loudly questioned him;