Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 373 - 23: Explosive Debut

"Nakamoto Ango, the inside pitch, what’s going on with this ball!!!"

"Lin Guanglai, career debut at-bat—he swings!!!"

"The ball flies high, fast, will it, will it?!"

"Ahh—it’s outta here! It’s outta here!"

"Lin Guanglai! Professional career! First at-bat! First pitch! Two-run homer!!!"

"Top of the second inning, when Lin gave up a run, I said this was professional baseball’s welcome ceremony for young players; now it seems I was wrong—it should be this young man declaring his arrival to professional baseball!"

"Nakamoto’s inside pitch barely slipped into the strike zone, but that slight gap was precisely captured by Lin, a truly genius strike!"

"Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks! Two-run home run to left-central field—they’ve taken the lead!"

Not only the commentators in the studio went wild, but also the 40,000 spectators inside Yahoo Dome: before Lin Guanglai’s at-bat, they actually hoped he could bring back Hasegawa Yu from scoring position in his first at-bat—after all, it’s just a hit, shouldn’t be too hard for a genius who hit over 100 homers in high school, right?

But even the most loyal Lin Guanglai fans never imagined he’d hit a home run on his first at-bat, first swing—not to mention, a lead-changing two-run homer! 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

So, as this home run was born, the Yahoo Dome erupted like a volcanic eruption, the temperature from SoftBank fans at that moment could burn someone.

Especially the fan who caught Lin’s home run ball in the outfield stands, smiled with happiness amid envious and jealous gazes—this ball means a lot to the player himself, and the fan knew it was unlikely he’d keep it;

but having caught it, at least he could get some good compensation from the team and player: jersey, season tickets, autographs, photos... just thinking about it, the joy gushed forth.

Amidst the deafening cheers of SoftBank fans, Lin completed a lap around the field, and after stepping his foot on the base upon returning to home, he charged towards his team’s dugout to greet his teammates’ passionate congratulations.

"Well done, Guanglai, you really outshone us veterans, hahaha..."

"Impressive, truly impressive, you’re definitely a monster player!"

Even the always demanding Manager Akiyama gave a rare warm smile, "Well done, now take a good rest, the team will rely on your performance in the next half-inning!"

After patting Lin on the shoulder, sending him back to the dugout, Akiyama Koji turned to Guo Taiyuan beside him, asking:

"What’s up?"

Since Lin hit the ball out of the park, his old partner had a peculiar expression, as if recalling something.

"Oh, nothing, just recalled some not-so-pleasant memories," Guo obviously didn’t want to share his thoughts, and seeing this, Akiyama Koji didn’t press further, turning his attention back to the game.

Though the team now leads by one, it’s not a secure advantage, the lineup should seize the chance while the opposing pitcher is unsettled from the home run to widen the lead.

However, things didn’t go as smoothly as Akiyama anticipated: after Lin’s lead-changing homer, Nakamoto Ango showcased remarkable psychological resilience, quickly recovering and finding his pitching rhythm.

Following Yuichi’s grounder to first was thrown out, and though Imamiya Kenta hit a single, he was caught stealing by Rakuten’s catcher Shima Keihiro.

With the score at 2-1, the teams swapped sides—the next half-inning would again be Rakuten’s opportunity as their fourth batter, Andruw Jones, would take the plate.

During the transition, the studio commentators took this chance to revisit Lin Guanglai’s home run, also revealing what troubled Guo Taiyuan:

"Lin truly is a human record-breaking machine. According to our records, he’s the first high school graduate in the Hawks’ history since 1938 to hit a home run in his first professional at-bat!"

"And if we broaden the range, the last player to homer in their first at-bat for this team was on April 1, 1995, during a Daiei Hawks vs. Seibu Lions game."

"In that game, Daiei Hawks’ Kevin Mitchell hit a grand slam in his first at-bat on opening day—the pitcher he faced then was Guo Taiyuan, who is now SoftBank’s pitching coach, then the starting pitcher for Seibu Lions."

As the batters and pitchers took their places, the top of the fourth inning commenced.

Before heading to the field, Hosokawa Kei walked alongside Lin, teasing him to relax, "Guanglai, I recall you once told me you had the confidence to strike out either Trout or Cabrera—well, let’s see how your confidence stacks up against the nearly 40-year-old Jones now?"