Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 667 - 19: Leaping Over the High Wall (Part 2)

After adjusting his mindset once again, Lin Guanglai stepped back into the batter's box. He lowered his head and waved the bat back and forth near the home plate a few times before assuming his batting stance, his cold gaze locked onto Kimbrel on the pitcher's mound—This at-bat, I will definitely hit it out!

With a "whoosh," Kimbrel fiercely swung his right arm, and the white ball shot out of his hand, hurtling towards the upper inside corner of the strike zone.

Still a fastball! Even faster and with more spin than the last one!

Seeing the baseball closing in, Lin Guanglai quickly stepped forward with his lead foot toward the home plate. His powerful lower body drove his entire upper body as he swung the bat fiercely in the direction the ball was coming from.

With a "thud," Kimbrel's seemingly sure high fastball was fouled off by Lin Guanglai, flying backward into the stands behind home plate.

In the Red Sox dugout, John Farrell displayed a satisfied smile. In the camera shot, he was covering his mouth with his hand, conversing with the hitting coach beside him, seemingly discussing the offensive strategy for the bottom of the ninth;

Beside him, many of the Red Sox players watched the confrontation on the field with relaxed expressions. With a 0-2 count, many Red Sox players believed that it was only a matter of time before Kimbrel secured the last strike.

Only Mookie Betts, standing in right field, was different. The current star player of the Red Sox looked at Lin Guanglai in the batter's box with a serious expression: He had a vague feeling that this Asian player in the batter's box would likely be their, and his, rival for many years to come.

In the catcher's seat, Sandy León signaled to Kimbrel, aiming to decisively settle the score with Lin Guanglai with a strikeout to end this at-bat; Kimbrel nodded slightly, quickly placing his fingers on the seams accordingly.

The white ball left his hand, spinning rapidly as it traced a shallow arc toward the batter's box.

"As expected, it's the signature breaking ball!" Already on guard, Lin Guanglai's eyes sharpened, fixating on the baseball as he assumed a stance to hit the breaking ball. Seizing the moment, he swung powerfully!

Crouching behind home plate, witnessing everything on the field, Sandy León's eyes widened as he watched the ball's trajectory, thinking to himself, "Oh no, the ball didn't drop enough! A missed pitch!!!"

This thought had just surfaced in León's mind when the next moment, the bat in Lin Guanglai's tightly gripped hand was already on its way.

The loud "thud——!!!" of the solid hit exploded in Sandy León's ears, and Fenway Park, which had been loudly mocking the Yankees and Lin Guanglai, suddenly fell into momentary silence.

"Shit!!!" Previously feeling confident, John Farrell jumped up from the bench in the players' area, intently watching the baseball soaring into the sky, cursing reflexively.

The moment the baseball was hit, Kimbrel on the pitcher's mound trembled violently, then quickly turned to the left fielder Benintendi, who was running back trying to chase the ball.

Watching the soaring baseball, the young Benintendi could only feel bitter: Lacking knowledge of the Green Monster's rebound tendencies, he had suffered throughout this game. Yankees batters, unwilling to challenge Mookie Betts, instead exploited his defensive weakness, hitting several long balls to left field.

In right field, Betts initially intended to provide backup, but as an observer, he saw the ball's trajectory and gradually slowed down, shaking his head involuntarily. Then, he turned his attention back to Lin Guanglai at home plate, becoming increasingly certain of his previous intuition.

The moment he completed his swing, Lin Guanglai felt a surge of joy in his heart: The strong vibration in his palms indicated that the contact with this ball was extraordinary, only achieved by striking the ball perfectly could one feel such a powerful rebound.

He tilted his head back, locking his gaze onto the white ball in the sky. The next second, a brilliant smile spread across his face: He watched the shaky baseball ascend, ascending beyond the reach of the Red Sox defenders and the daunting Green Monster in left field, finally landing with a bang on the viewing deck built atop the high wall.

As the white ball sailed over the Green Monster, the many Yankee fans gathered at Stan Sports Bar spontaneously raised their arms in celebration, their emotions completely ignited.

"Home run! It's a home run!! Isn't this Lin's sixth of the season? He's truly a monster!!!"

"A go-ahead solo shot, and hit right in Fenway Park! Wow, that felt fucking amazing! It's a pity I wasn't there to see it live, otherwise paired with the Boston punks' disappointed faces, I could eat three bowls of rice tonight!" 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Amid deafening cheers, Yankee fans throughout the bar rose from their seats, sincerely applauding their young star player.

With the enthusiastic and rhythmic applause from the television, Lin Guanglai completed his lap around the bases on the field, stomping heavily on home plate, adding one more run for the visiting Yankees—the scoreboard beneath the Green Monster in left field showed a jump in the Yankees' score to 5:4.

Upon returning to the Yankees' dugout, the entire bench rushed over, welcoming Lin Guanglai's return with enthusiastic applause.

"Well done, Lin! I knew you could do it!" Luis Severino was the first to rush up, giving Lin Guanglai a warm hug—Lin Guanglai's home run not only saved the Yankees but also helped Severino, today's starter, avoid a loss, so this brother was genuinely grateful to him.

"Lin, congratulations—you conquered the Green Monster on your first visit to Fenway Park." Aaron Judge also offered his congratulations to Lin Guanglai, though his words carried a mix of envy—after all, while left-handed Lin Guanglai had achieved this feat, Judge, currently topping the home run chart as a right hitter, had yet to do so, feeling a bit of jealousy.

Thus, Aaron Judge made a silent decision: In his upcoming at-bat, he too must send the ball over the wall!

Watching his team members regain their vigor, team manager Joe Girardi was also very pleased: He was delighted not only because his team had regained the lead and likely won the game;

Such victories under adversity benefit this young Yankees team greatly, especially as they head into October and even November, this mindset could take them much further.

Indeed, even though it was still within the first month of the new season, Joe Girardi was already planning for the playoffs: Even though the Yankees hadn't made much impact in the playoffs since their 2009 championship, he had great confidence in this young squad—he was convinced that building around Lin Guanglai and Aaron Judge, and managing the roster accordingly, would yield satisfactory results this season.

"Aroldis Chapman—no problem!!! The Cuban Missile came in and quickly struck out three batters, rendering the Red Sox's mid-to-late lineup completely powerless!"

"With this final strikeout, the first Yankees-Red Sox showdown of the new season officially concluded, as the Yankees ultimately won this rivalry matchup 5:4…"

Hal Steinbrenner cut off the live feed, and the conference room once again fell into silence.

"Perhaps, sometimes investing more is for better returns, right?" he muttered to himself in the dark, as if trying to convince himself.