Maryland, Baltimore.
After the final practice before the Baltimore Orioles' new season regular ga began, a large crowd of reporters had already gathered outside their ho, Oriole Park.
One car after another drove out of the stadium, but the reporters couldn't find the player they most wanted to see, making everyone at the scene slightly anxious.
But soon, when Manny Machado's classic rcedes CL appeared in their sight, the reporters on the scene instantly turned into tigers and wolves, rushing towards where the car ca from. Almost the mont the vehicle was forced to stop, dozens of microphones were shoved in front of Machado.
"Manny, do you have any expectations for the new season's performance of the Baltimore Orioles and your personal performance?"
"Manny, tomorrow you will face the Yankees in the season opener at your ho field. Do you have anything to say about that?"
"Manny, the Yankees have announced that their starting pitcher tomorrow will be Lin, whom they signed during the offseason, and he will also bat seventh. What's your take on this?"
Manny Machado, sitting in the driver's seat, maintained his arrogant deanor, looking down on everything, and casually answered the reporters' questions.
"Winning the World Series and personally taking the AL MVP, those are my goals for the new season."
"Nothing to say, with here, the Yankees can't win."
"Should I have any opinion? Honestly, I still don't quite know who he is—doesn't matter to anyway, I am going to crush him and show him A-Rod's number 13 jersey isn't ant for any random nobody."
After saying these things, Machado rolled up the car window and sped off, leaving behind the reporters who stared at each other, still processing what Baltimore Orioles' top player just said. One by one, their faces revealed contented smiles—well, there's news headline material again.
anwhile, the Yankees, who were also about to start their first official ga of the new season, had just landed in Baltimore—they set off from their spring training base in Tampa a few hours earlier, coming directly from Florida to Baltimore, Maryland, which is also the hotown of the Yankees' historic number one, "The Bambino" Babe Ruth.
Due to the vast distances in the United States, and especially the six ti zones between the east and west, the travel itself poses a considerable challenge of endurance and energy for baseball players, who face a long season with almost daily gas—experiences Lin Guanglai, who has played mainly in Japan, has never encountered.
Fortunately, according to Major League Baseball's official regulations, players listed on Major League rosters have mandatory charter flights with first-class privileges during team trips, making what could be an unbearable long journey a bit more comfortable.
After disembarking, the players gathered in small groups, discussing how to spend the evening; however, just as Lin Guanglai and his group walked out of the VIP passageway, they were besieged by so local reporters in Baltimore.
"Lin, Manny stated in an interview that he would crush you. Are you confident you can withstand his assault?"
"Lin, tomorrow is your Major League debut. How long do you think you can endure under the Orioles' lineup's offense? Shall we guess, five innings with five runs? Hahaha..."
The local reporters blocking Lin Guanglai's way seed quite arrogant, with an undertone of disdain for Lin Guanglai:
Yes, Lin Guanglai perford well in spring training, but it's just spring training—harsh to say, with most teams' main stars absent, the quality of spring training might only reach Triple-A level, or even lower;
Moreover, even if Lin Guanglai is a genius, Baltimore's dia firmly believes that there is no way he could be stronger than their young star, Manny Machado—
The 24-year-old Machado is an all-around super infielder, having hit over 30 ho runs for two consecutive seasons, with an OPS above .85 top-tier level, and has already beco the face of the Orioles at a young age, with many believing he could be a future Hall of Far.
Therefore, they bribed insiders on the flight route, specifically selecting the timing of the Yankees' flight landing to humiliate Lin Guanglai, making it clear that even if you are a superstar in Nippon Professional Baseball, you are worthless in the MLB.
Just as Lin Guanglai was about to say sothing, CC Sabathia beside him spoke up first: "Since when do reporters have no sense of boundaries and professional ethics? If you want a war, I can give you a war!"
Sabathia's imposing speech quickly intimidated the nearby reporters, leaving them too daunted to speak further—while Lin Guanglai might still be an unknown rookie to them, a renowned star like Sabathia was not soone these small tabloids could afford to provoke.
As these few reporters were about to sneak away with their tails between their legs, Lin Guanglai called out to them: "I hope you guys can co to watch tomorrow's ga..."
"I'll give you a proper introduction of myself."
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