The plane landed at Tocun International Airport, and the hot and humid climate of Panama City carried away the last bit of winter chill from New York. Through the window, Lin Guanglai looked out, seeing a lush, vibrant green spreading out before his eyes—not the ticulously landscaped nature of Central Park, but the wild, untad feeling unique to the tropical rainforest climate of Central Arica.
With the official arrival of 2018, the new season of Major League Baseball is about to ignite once more; returning to the baseball field after a long hiatus, Lin Guanglai felt an unprecedented sense of joy.
The influence of winning the World Series is imnse, not to ntion Lin Guanglai also has a face that rivals Hollywood stars in its attractiveness, along with the towering presence of the New York Yankees behind him. All this has greatly enhanced his comrcial value beyond comparison.
In the past few months, Lin Guanglai hardly had a mont to stop, constantly traveling around the world: participating in brand endorsents and ad shoots, working with the team on post-championship promotions, receiving invitations to various variety shows in North Arica and East Asia... Even in New York's celebrity scene, he couldn't avoid indulging in it.
But now, he finally had ti to calm down and refocus himself back on baseball:
A new season was about to begin, and after making a splash in the previous season and garnering almost all honors, Lin Guanglai was destined to beco the target of attention from every team; therefore, he knows he must continue to improve to carve a path through the siege and lead the team in pursuit of the first defense of glory in the 21st century.
This is precisely why Lin Guanglai appeared in Panama during the self-training phase before spring training started:
His purpose is to participate in a charity event held by Yankees legend Mariano Rivera in his hotown, and incidentally, to seek advice from this greatest closer in history on the secrets of the cutter pitch—not just any cutter, but the one revered by many as the Bible, dubbed the "most deadly weapon," Mariano Rivera's cutter.
After retiring from Major League, Rivera returned to his hotown, the Pueblo Nuevo community on the outskirts of Panama City. As the car passed houses with colorful iron roofs and walls adorned with faded baseball graffiti, children with bare feet chased a worn rubber ball on the dusty ground.
"Thanks to Mariano, whether during his career or after retirent, he never stopped giving back to the community..." the driver, in enthusiastic English tinged with a Spanish accent, began conversing with Lin Guanglai.
Pueblo Nuevo used to be a poor fishing village, but now, thanks to Rivera's contributions, it has transford: close to his childhood ho sprawls a baseball field established by Rivera himself, used daily for local kids to enjoy the fun of baseball.
The 48-year-old Mariano Rivera stood right outside the little gate of the field, dressed simply in a white polo shirt and khaki pants, wearing an old Yankees cap—if soone not familiar with baseball saw him, they might rely see him as an ordinary middle-aged man.
"Lin, welco to Panama!" Rivera walked up with a smiling face to warmly embrace Lin Guanglai as soon as he stepped out of the car.
Lin Guanglai took the opportunity to shake hands and greet this historically greatest relief pitcher and future Hall of Far—the hand, apart from the calluses from years of competing, was surprisingly soft, completely unlike a hand that has achieved 652 saves.
Real instruction began the following morning; before formal one-on-one guidance started, Rivera posed a question to Lin Guanglai: "Lin, as far as I know, your range of pitches already includes the cutter, correct? And I've watched videos of you pitching the cutter; it may not be the top tier, but definitely above Major League standards… So, what's the reason you're seeking my help?"
Lin Guanglai answered without much thought, blurting out, "The reason is simple, Mariano—my current cutter can handle most general batters, and sotis, with certain pitch combinations, even defeat elite batters. However, this pitch can't yet help against players like Trout and Harper..."
"Last season's championship naturally made us the center of attention, but neither my teammates nor I will be satisfied with rely one win—our goal is to replicate your late-century three-peat achievent. So, I need to beco even stronger, invincible, and so strong that my opponents can't find the slightest weakness!"
His straightforward remarks, filled with intense emotions, caught even the battle-hardened Rivera's attention.
A while later, a gratified smile appeared on the face of this greatest relief pitcher in Major League history, "Excellent, Lin! You've shown the most critical trait of a baseball player, a Yankee, which is the constant pursuit of victory—so, let's begin!"
"Pitching essentially entails the application of physical laws, hence there's naturally a principle of equivalent exchange," Rivera's voice echoed in Lin Guanglai's ears from the pitching mound, "Generally speaking, to pursue ultimate speed, throwing a fastball exceeding 100 miles per hour, you must sacrifice path movent; conversely, to chase top-tier slider or curveball movent that's imnsely delightful, fastball speed will inevitably decrease..."
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