As the parade slowly moved forward, white confetti simultaneously fell from the sky: This was also a traditional scene during New York Yankees championship parades, where each championship win was accompanied by confetti thrown up by residents along the route, symbolizing the close connection between the team and their fans.

The championship win after eight years filled every Yankees fan attending the event with immense excitement. Just as a journalist interviewed an elderly Yankees fan on site, he expressed:

"We need the New York Yankees to secure a championship for us New Yorkers; we need this championship to boost our economy and morale… Winning the championship is the Yankees' destiny, it has always been their fate, and we have finally returned to where we belong!"

As the floats carrying the players made their way around the city and returned to the city square, the final segment of the celebration officially began:

In front of the millions of fans present, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio presented each Yankees player with a small golden key—also known as the "New York City Golden Key," a historical tradition used to honor those who have made outstanding contributions to the city.

Amid the fervent cheers of the crowd, Lin Guanglai, acting as the player representative, took to the speaking podium and made a promise to the New York fans: "To the fans of New York, I pledge here that by this time next season, I will bring you all here to the square again—let's celebrate once more!"

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"...The 2017 Major League Baseball regular season award winners have been announced: In the National League, the Rookie of the Year was awarded to Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals' ace Max Scherzer took home his third career Cy Young Award thanks to his consistent performance, and the MVP went to Miami Marlins' 'strength monster' Giancarlo Stanton...

As for the American League, Lin Guanglai of the New York Yankees became the season's biggest winner: With his unique role as a Dual Swordsmanship player and top-notch performance in both pitching and batting, he shared the Rookie of the Year honor with teammate Aaron Judge, additionally surpassing Corey Kluber of the Indians and Jose Altuve of the Astros, taking both the AL Cy Young Award and MVP, setting multiple records...

Lin Guanglai is not only the first Asian player in history to win a Cy Young Award, but also, following the footsteps of 2011's Clayton Kershaw and Justin Verlander, another player to achieve the pitching Triple Crown;

Moreover, he is the third player in history to simultaneously win Rookie of the Year and MVP titles, following Fred Lynn of the Boston Red Sox (1975) and Ichiro Suzuki from the Seattle Mariners (2001); and with the addition of the Cy Young Award, he is the first player in history to complete the 'Triple Crown' achievement as a baseball athlete...

Considering Lin Guanglai is only 22 years old this year, with this being his debut season in Major League Baseball, it's foreseeable that as long as he avoids any major career-impacting injuries, his future is bound to be incredibly bright..."

"This is the situation now, everyone. To maintain the reputation of Major League Baseball, regarding the Astros' signal-stealing scandal, I believe we need to treat this matter seriously..." In the MLB league's conference room, then-Chairman Manfred said sternly to the gathered officials in front of him.

This man, who once roamed the corridors of the US legal world and served as an executive for several companies, looked at the overly young face on the screen and slowly opened his mouth: "The Yankees have already demanded more than once that we provide them an account, and have indicated that if the league remains inactive, they will adopt more aggressive measures, including exposing the matter to relevant media and leverage public opinion to denounce us and the Astros..."

Among the executives present, someone was provoked by such behavior and angrily retorted: "What do Steinbrenner and Cashman mean by this? Can I interpret their actions as a threat to the league officials? Aren't they afraid..."

"Ahem!" The executive was interrupted mid-sentence by Manfred's cough, "The Yankees are the most important team in Major League history and form a crucial part of our viewership and revenue streams... With Lin's addition this season, the entire East Asian market has even become more active, not to mention their recent championship win, prestige unmatched—you know what offending the Yankees in this moment entails, don't you?"

"This means if the opposing side partners with prominent figures and current players to expose the Astros' affair to media, then loudly criticize the league's inaction in public, our reputation would suffer a fatal blow—everyone present here, I, you, and your peers, none of us could escape unscathed! We would be drowned by fans' outrage, tied to MLB's pillar of shame for eternity!"

The gathering of executives shivered just imagining such a scenario.

"Now the season is officially over, with the offseason about to commence... My proposal is to announce the league's plan to launch an investigation within the coming days, then within the next month, mobilize all teams to conduct a thorough investigation of the Astros' organizational staff top to bottom—we must quickly provide everyone with an answer."

At this point, Manfred's gaze hardened, immediately revealing his iron-fisted approach: "Is there anyone present who disagrees with my viewpoint?"

Silence prevailed.

"Very good, then let's proceed!"

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The professional baseball offseason had just begun, and as people thought that apart from trades, there wouldn't be any more baseball-related news in the coming months, the MLB league officially dropped a bombshell—

Content from the league's official announcement revealed that the Houston Astros, who had achieved 101 regular-season wins this season and advanced to the AL Championship Series, were accused of using improper means to steal signs during games and benefiting from it, with the Astros officially admitting to such allegations.

In reaction, the MLB league imposed the following sanctions on the Houston Astros:

1. A fine of $10 million USD on the Houston Astros and revocation of their first and second-round draft picks for the next three years (2018-2020);

2. Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow and Head Coach Andrew Jay Hinch, for failing to prevent the team from stealing signs, were banned from all Major League Baseball-related activities for two years starting from the 2018 season;

3. Astros bench coach Alex Cora, as the mastermind behind the signal-stealing incident, was banned from all Major League Baseball-related activities for three years starting from the 2018 season;

4. Due to the necessity of player cooperation during the investigation, the players involved were granted immunity; however, all 2017 registered Astros players must attend league-arranged press conferences to individually apologize and participate in several weeks of community activities starting from the 2018 season, with all income during this period being compulsorily donated;

5. As identified by players as the mastermind, Carlos Beltran was banned from all Major League Baseball-related activities for three years starting from the 2018 season; additionally, the American Baseball Association announced the revocation of his eligibility for the Baseball Hall of Fame;

6. To prevent similar situations from happening again, the league will deploy independent, long-term compliance officers to Major League's 30 teams to monitor all team activities involving technology, video, and in-game communication, reporting directly to the league office.

Without a doubt, the sanctions against the Astros were the most stringent ever imposed on a team by Major League Baseball, causing a massive earthquake throughout the baseball world:

Many players took to social media or in interviews to publicly speak out, condemning the Astros' actions; while fans, even angrier, took to the streets in protest, angrily accusing the Astros of corrupting the purity of baseball.

During this process, some fans who initially had reservations about the Yankees winning the World Series changed their views: The Yankees, while annoying in their eyes for winning, were far better than watching the cheating Astros win the World Series, which would be truly repulsive.

News related to the Astros continued to brew, meanwhile, in places unseen by general fans, an arms race concerning the 2018 season was also in full swing...