Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 541 - 120: An Auspicious Start

"It’s here! The ghostly forkball that leaves countless batters sighing in despair has appeared at the first at-bat of the decisive climax match!"

When Lin Guanglai struck out Nishikawa Haruki with three consecutive strikes, the West Japan Television studio erupted with cheers from the two commentators who were fervent supporters of the Softbank Team, followed by endless praise.

"Honestly, no matter how many times you watch that forkball, it’s always so beautiful, especially paired with Lin Guanglai’s exceptional control skills; every move looks so graceful — Tadahito Iguchi, as a batter, what’s your opinion on that forkball?"

Asked such a question, Tadahito Iguchi, who personally experienced the taste of facing Lin Guanglai, shook his head with a wry smile.

"If it’s just the forkball alone, top batters might find a solution after one or two turns; but Lin has a diverse arsenal, not only this pitch — the combination with other pitches, delivered unexpectedly, is the true reason for its unbeatable nature."

"It can only be said that this is the strength of Japan’s strongest pitcher today — it’s difficult for Japanese batters to stop him. Let’s look forward to Lin Guanglai facing Major League level hitters..."

While the commentators marveled at Lin Guanglai’s high pitching level, the game continued: having struck out Nishikawa Haruki, the second batter Nakajima Takuya, who usually plays a tactical advancing role, posed no threat to Lin Guanglai, succumbing to a ground ball and getting out at first base.

After dealing with two batters from the Ham Fighters, the atmosphere inside Yahoo Dome reached a high point after the start of the game: many Softbank fans, holding up various support items related to Lin Guanglai, posed in front of the cameras, wholeheartedly cheering for their favorite player.

In this scenario, Dai-Kang Yang, the third batter of the Ham Fighters, casually walked into the batter’s box, and Lin Guanglai’s expression became slightly more serious.

In the completed official matches, the 27-year-old Dai-Kang Yang delivered impressive stats: a batting average of .293, 25 home runs, and 85 RBIs. Multiple statistics topped the Ham Fighters, and he’s currently their star batter.

Considering these were achieved despite being out due to injury for over a month, calling him the best outfielder in the Pacific League isn’t too far-fetched.

Of course, despite Dai-Kang Yang’s impressive stats, he does have weaknesses; his biggest issue is his BB/K ratio is relatively low compared to batters of the same level — this means he’s an aggressive swinger, inclined to chase bad pitches; bluntly put, his plate discipline is poor and he’s prone to strikeouts.

Having faced each other many times, Lin Guanglai is naturally well aware of Dai-Kang Yang’s strengths and weaknesses. For their first matchup in this game, his strategy was relatively simple: don’t give the opponent a chance for a comfortable swing.

In the catcher’s seat, Takeshima Shinya, combining his understanding of his former teammate, signaled for a high-pressure fastball inside — this choice was both a test and an intimidation between power pitching and power hitting, using inside pitches to establish the pitcher’s initial advantage, compressing the batter’s space in the batter’s box, denying the opponent free swing opportunities.

To intimidate Dai-Kang Yang, Lin Guanglai poured all his strength into the baseball; in the batter’s perspective, it seemed the ball had just left Lin Guanglai’s hand in one moment and reached home plate the next — such speed indeed catches one off guard.

On the stands, the sudden gasping from the home audience was audible, and connected to the Eagle’s Vision on-site speed monitor simultaneously reported the speed of this pitch:

km/h!!!

The fastest pitch record in Nippon Professional Baseball was once again broken!

Before the start of this game, the fastest pitch record in Nippon Professional Baseball was 163 km/h, jointly held by Softbank’s Lin Guanglai and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters’ Ohtani Shohei; now, this record solely belongs to Lin Guanglai!

The camera operators responsible for the broadcast understood the moment well; after showcasing the pitch speed to the viewers with a wide shot, they swiftly changed the focus to Ohtani Shohei on the Ham Fighters’ bench:

Assigned by Kuriyama Hideki to the fifth spot as the central batter in this game, Ohtani Shohei gazed intently at his teammate on the field, showing no negative emotions.

Even in the slow-motion perspective of the broadcast camera, the intense rotation and fierce speed of this ball were shocking enough to drop viewers’ jaws, let alone Dai-Kang Yang, who fully experienced the ball’s intimidating presence; but the well-performing player this season didn’t just relinquish the space inside, instead, he adjusted himself and returned to his original position.

Seeing his firm response, Lin Guanglai was not about to go easy on him — that last pitch wasn’t seeking his opinion, the inner space, you must concede whether you want to or not!

In the next moment, another inside high-pressure fastball over 160 km/h headed inside, and unlike regular pitchers who lose control at high speed, Lin Guanglai’s control accuracy was astonishing; he consistently kept this pitch on the edge of the strike zone, right in the batter’s spot where their swing mechanics are awkward.