Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 625 - 160: Triple Crown Achieved (Part 2)

And after taking office, Kodama Komei implemented a large-scale transformation on Imamiya Kenta, no longer letting him serve as the second batter while giving him more offensive responsibilities and freedom, allowing him to serve initially as the leadoff batter to open up new territories for the team.

Although there was some initial pain during the transition, Imamiya Kenta proved the effectiveness of Kodama Komei's idea with the final results: this season, he achieved double-digit home runs for the first time in his career, and his OPS broke the 0.7 mark, showing significant progress compared to the previous seasons.

The already powerful hitting lineup of the SoftBank team also saw its threat level in offense amplified infinitely in this process, even the tail-end batters were full of competitiveness, and the opponents could easily make a mistake if slightly careless.

Just like the bottom of the ninth inning in this game—

Facing Hiroshima's Shouta Nakazaki, who had achieved 32 saves, Imamiya Kenta was the first to bat and immediately engaged with the opponent, going back and forth for 8 whole pitches, and finally, with great skill and courage, let a high fastball pass, selecting the crucial four-ball walk.

The ninth batter, coming to play as today's starting catcher, Hosokawa Kei, has seen his batting average decline with age, not to mention that the entire game of catching had almost drained all his energy—although small ball tactics have been marginalized in today's SoftBank team, Kodama Komei was not hesitant to use them when necessary, signaling Hosokawa to bunt the runner forward.

With a crisp "pop" sound, the baseball was bunted into play by Hosokawa Kei, and Hiroshima's catcher Ishihara Yoshiyuki, seeing no hope of a quick play at second base, decided to take the safe option and made the play to first base.

At the cost of one out, Imamiya Kenta was advanced to second base, putting him in scoring position and further increasing the pressure on Hiroshima.

Most importantly, the players coming up next were the terrifying leading lineup of the SoftBank team that instilled fear in countless pitchers! Just standing in the batter's box, these batters could exert enormous pressure on the pitcher! 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

As the batters kept coming up one after another, the game was developing as the home team fans hoped—

First batter, Nakamura Akira, hit a single. One out, runners on first and third.

Second batter, Honda Yuichi, struck out. Two outs, runners on first and third.

Third batter, Yanagida Yuuki, walked. Two outs, bases loaded.

A whiff of "Japan's Number One" victory could be sensed, and the SoftBank fans, whose emotions had just cooled down moments ago, were reignited by the current situation, standing up from their seats, ready to welcome the potential victory, with many even starting to celebrate early.

The reason they did so was simple, as the player coming up to bat was—

"Fourth batter, designated hitter, number 21, Lin Guanglai."

"Fourth batter, designated hitter, number 21, Lin Guanglai."

At the same time as the voice of the Yahoo Dome broadcast, there were thunderous cheers and support shouts, the home team fans were shouting words like "hit it out" and "champion," their eyes filled with anticipation and excitement, staring intently at Lin Guanglai walking slowly towards home plate, fearing to miss anything within the blink of an eye.

According to the data, during times when the team was trailing or tied, Lin Guanglai's various hitting statistics showed a great increase, especially in situations with runners in scoring position after he became the fourth batter—it showed from all perspectives that he was an unmistakable clutch player.

And the situation at present was the perfect moment for a clutch player to showcase his power.

As Hiroshima Toyo's manager, Ogata Koichi was probably feeling the most unsettled at this moment:

If it weren't for the bases loaded situation, he would have a hundred percent intentionally walked Lin Guanglai, not giving him any chance to swing; however, with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, intentional walk would be equivalent to handing over the championship, leaving him with no choice whatsoever.

Ogata Koichi looked towards the pitching mound where Shouta Nakazaki stood, and realized that he had no other choice but to rely on their guardian.

Shouta Nakazaki took a deep breath, attempting to calm his heartbeat, but it had little effect—in front of Lin Guanglai, who hit 40 home runs and achieved 20 victories in a single season as a superstar dual swordsmanship player, anyone would feel tremendous pressure.

After a long discussion with the catcher, the Hiroshima pitcher-catcher duo finally established a roughly suitable pitching strategy; tightly gripping the seams of the baseball with his fingers, Shouta Nakazaki pitched the ball towards home plate.

The pitch speed was around 150km/h, but it felt even faster to the batter; nevertheless, Lin Guanglai was not intimidated, and after adjusting his body balance, he swung his bat forcefully at the baseball.

"Crack——!!!"

At this moment, with only a single hit needed to end the game, Lin Guanglai chose to swing with all his might in the opposite direction, the baseball he hit quickly soaring into the sky, flying towards the left field of Yahoo Dome.

Originally, because Lin Guanglai was a left-handed hitter, Hiroshima's defensive setup inclined slightly to the right, and Suzuki Seiya, who was responsible for guarding the left field, reacted first, rushing at high speed in the direction where the baseball was descending.

"Faster, just a bit faster… just a little more, just a little more!" This young batter, who made a mark this season, sprinted all the way to the deep outfield, wishing his speed was faster.

The baseball was getting closer and closer to hitting the ground, and so was Suzuki Seiya to the baseball; in trying to catch it, he even attempted to climb the high and wide home run wall of Yahoo Dome, striving to capture the ball in his glove before it touched the wall.

However, the ball went out.

"Walk-off, grand slam, home run!!! Lin Guanglai did it again!!! In the final at-bat of his Nippon Professional Baseball career, he used a grand slam to put a perfect end to his SoftBank career!!!"

"The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, they are the kings of the 2016 season! They are the dynastic team of three consecutive championships!! A new legend has been born, the domination by the Cosmic Silver continues—where is the limit for this team?!!!!"

...

The 2016 season ended with another sweeping victory by the SoftBank team—Lin Guanglai fulfilled his promise at the start of the season, ending his Nippon Professional Baseball career with a "Japan's Number One" three-peat.

With an outstanding performance over the past few years that seemed almost possessed, he has been considered the best player in Japan today, bar none.

In this season's awards ceremony, he continued to monopolize many honors, particularly achieving the unprecedented triple championship of League MVP and Eiji Sawamura Award.

In history, players achieving a three-peat of either award are not unheard of, such as Ichiro Suzuki from 1994-1996 and Kaneda Shoichi from 1956-1958, both achieved either League MVP or Eiji Sawamura Award three-peats;

Yet someone like Lin Guanglai, monopolizing both awards three years in a row, was unprecedented in the near-century history of Nippon Professional Baseball, solidifying his position as the strongest of his era. (PS. In reality, there is one person who achieved this feat, the answer is simple, you can guess who.)

And shortly after the award ceremony concluded, Lin Guanglai's management team and SoftBank official announced they had initiated the related posting process, granting Lin Guanglai permission to negotiate with Major League teams willing to pay the $20 million posting fee within the next 45 days and determine the next chapter of his career in the US.

The competitive season had ended, but a bigger storm was clearly about to begin.