Compared to those elite super pitchers, his arsenal of pitch types, which consisted only of a fastball, rapid forkball, and a half-ford slider, was indeed far too shallow.
Though his fast forkball was at an elite level, once his intentions were uncovered and failed to deceive Major League-level hitters, Kousman would be at a loss, forced to concede many hits and runs.
Additionally, his pitching stability was lacking, easily swayed by umpire decisions, leading to emotional outbursts.
These weaknesses were points Lin Guanglai could exploit at this at-bat.
At the start of the showdown, Lin Guanglai resolutely engaged in a battle with Kousman: He naturally ignored obvious bad balls, and any ball that might invade his strike zone was almost always fouled off — back and forth, he tangled with him for a good 5 to 6 balls, and Kousman on the mound visibly grew irritated, causing slight fluctuations in his pitches.
"Ball! Full count, 3 balls and 2 strikes!" The umpire first lightly pointed his right hand, then announced the current situation on the field.
Across a distance of nearly 20 ters, Lin Guanglai couldn't hear what Kousman was murmuring; but judging by his expression and constantly moving lips, it probably wasn't anything pleasant.
"If you keep complaining about the calls, I'll have to eject you from the ga!" It was only after the umpire gave a solemn warning that Kousman returned to the mound.
The stands at Oriole Park stirred with unrest, evidently the umpire's actions also sowhat disgruntled the ho crowd.
This minor commotion in turn sowhat affected the players' ntality; Kousman's emotions, once stirred, beca increasingly agitated, causing his pitching to lack the smoothness it had at the start.
His specialty, the rapid forkball, happens to be one of the pitches that most tests the pitcher's control — imagine a pitcher whose mindset is disrupted by on-field commotion and loses balance, what would his forkball turn into?
Lin Guanglai gave the answer with his bat — facing this mis-pitched ball that was ant to fall out of the strike zone but entered ho plate in the lower-middle strike zone, Lin Guanglai did not hesitate, swinging all-out and making pinpoint contact with the ball.
"Thwack—!!!" A crisp sound exploded in the entire Oriole Park sky, as the ho fans clad in black, white, and orange jerseys fell silent, gazing at the soaring white sphere.
Oriole Park's design closely follows that of Yankee Stadium, especially with the distance from right field to ho plate being a re 93 ters — for left-handed batter Lin Guanglai, it's practically tailor-made!
Amid the Orioles fans' wide-eyed and slack-jawed expressions, the baseball flew out of the infield, finally landing deep in the stands, causing a ripple of waves.
"Hahaha, speak of the devil and he's here! Lin Guanglai, in his career debut at-bat, hits a solo hor with the first run of the ga — the Japanese prodigy declares himself to the world! This is the power of the strongest of the generations!"
Seeing the baseball hit the stands, Japanese comntators were cheering, expressing their excitent and admiration in the most straightforward and sincere language — as if it were them who had just hit the ho run, not Lin Guanglai.
Simultaneously, Arican comntators also praised, integrating Statcast data with various vocabulary: "Launch angle of 27 degrees, exit velocity of 112 miles per hour — Kousman's non-dropping forkball was precisely captured by Lin, no seasoned hitter would miss such an opportunity!"
With the first ho run of his Major League career under his belt, Lin Guanglai was exuberant on the field, his handso face bead brightly — his youthful deanor drove quite a few Arican female fans at ho into a frenzy.
But at that mont, a small surprise occurred:
When Lin Guanglai rounded the bases, returning to ho plate and scoring, the Yankees bench, which should have erupted in celebration, was silent — including head coach Girardi, as if nothing had occurred, completely ignoring Lin Guanglai as he returned to the bench, putting on a blank, indifferent face for the cara.
This behavior left Lin Guanglai, who just hit a ho run, dumbfounded, not knowing what it ant.
"What kind of performance is this from the Yankees? Is there internal discord?"
As so new viewers unfamiliar with Arican baseball culture questioned, suddenly the Yankees dugout erupted.
"Lin, you're a miracle! Career debut at-bat ho run! Amazing, kid!"
"Lin, while pitching so well, you can also hit ho runs, you're truly different from other players!"
"Lin, welco to the Ho Run Club!"
"Lin..."
Lin Guanglai's teammates praised his performance, erging from all corners of the dugout to pat his helt and back, expressing joy and congratulations.
The huge swing in deanor genuinely confused Lin Guanglai, his face showing an expression of "Who am I, where am I?"
"Welco to the Major Leagues, Lin — this is a mont every rookie ho run hitter experiences!" Watching Lin Guanglai on the broadcast, Arican comntators laughed heartily.
In MLB culture, every rookie player who hits a ho run experiences a "cold shoulder" from teammates. This celebratory thod of first suppressing and then elevating is a unique aspect of North Arican sports culture, and to be treated this way by teammates signifies Lin Guanglai has gained their genuine acceptance, affirming he's recognized as part of the team.
"What a sha..." Beside Lin Guanglai, one of the team's key outfielders, Brett Gardner, clicked his tongue, "If your ho run had been hit in the Bronx — then I guarantee you'd imdiately beco the darling of Yankees fans!"
"The youth these days are truly monsters, who was the last to hit a ho run in their career debut at-bat on our team?" Beside Gardner, another long-serving veteran, Matt Holliday, mused while inquiring.
Gardner pointed his finger towards the tall, strong figure in the distant right batter's box, "Hey, he's right there!"
Finishing his sentence, he didn't forget to shout towards ho plate, "Aaron, Lin already hit a ho run, with your preseason form so great, don't let us down!"
Aaron Judge didn't respond, but quickly answered through actions.
Lin Guanglai's solo hor clearly disrupted the Orioles' pre-ga plans, and simultaneously had a significant impact on Kousman's mindset.
Frustrated right from the start of the half inning, Kousman was eager to regain control against batter eight, Aaron Judge, yet his anxiety was used against him by Judge.
"Thwack—!!!" Another sharp crack resounded in Oriole Park, but this ti the baseball flew towards the left-field stands — despite the great distance, it couldn't prevent the strong Judge from reaching the stands.
Another solo hor! Two consecutive at-bats, two young bats going yard!! For the visiting Yankees, this was practically a perfect start!!!
"Yankees fans have every reason to feel happy about the team's present and future — Aaron Judge from 1992, Lin Guanglai from 1995, a perfect one right, one left pair, when they truly fulfill their potential, how many in the league can withstand such an offensive?"
"Perhaps the sky, is their only limit!"
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