Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 580 - 140: Hello, World!

For Bryce Harper, who has been participating in junior baseball games across the United States as a "hired player" since the age of 9, he's always played the role of the "child next door" since he started baseball:

From youth baseball to high school and college leagues, he pushed through almost effortlessly: during his amateur days, from catcher to infielder to outfielder, there wasn't a position he couldn't play; he could even pitch at a speed of 154 km/h—as he competed against older players by three or four years, he was still the best.

Even in MLB, it only took him about two years of struggling in the minor leagues before he was promoted to the majors, where in his debut season he posted an impressive .270 batting average, 22 home runs, and a .817 OPS.

With an excellent physique, sharp swing, and outstanding skills, even though he is just starting to make a name for himself in the Major League, the American media and historical superstars like Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr. have already started to compare him.

Like Pujols, Harper was also selected for this trip to Japan, but he originally wanted to pass up this opportunity and spend the remaining time with his family.

After all, to him, the Nippon Professional Baseball was at most the intensity of a Triple-A league—and he could clear such level of games even before he was 20 years old, so there was no difficulty at all.

But now, standing in the batter's box at Ow Mountain Wild Field, Harper was extremely grateful that he didn't find an excuse to pass up this opportunity; otherwise, he wouldn't have encountered such an interesting opponent!

Although he was startled by Lin Guanglai's 165 km/h fastball, Harper did not feel afraid; instead, his gaze became sharper, staring intently at Lin Guanglai on the pitcher's mound, revealing a bloodthirsty impulse.

He gently licked his lips, and if any familiar friends or opponents saw this subtle action, they would know—

Bryce Harper is getting serious!

Feeling the fighting spirit rising from the other side, Lin Guanglai's mouth also slightly curled up: a fully committed major league-level batter is definitely the best whetstone for him—he also hoped to use this opportunity to test his own strength and showcase his value to major league scouts.

In the batter's box, Shima Keihiro signaled the pitch: at the start of the game and with one strike in the count, they didn't rush to strike Harper out, but rather began to test today's umpire's strike zone, collecting details of the opponent's habits for the rest of the game.

Lin Guanglai sent two ambiguous fastballs towards the edge of the strike zone in succession, both of which Harper let pass; the principal umpire did not call any strikes either—it seemed today's internationally qualified principal umpire was rather strict about the strike zone.

After roughly confirming the range, Lin Guanglai simply stopped testing: nodding lightly twice to Shima Keihiro, he indicated that he would go all out next; in the batter's box, the expression on Harper's face also became more serious, as he clearly understood the next few pitches will decide the victory or defeat.

Unlike Lin Guanglai, who was well aware of Harper's various technical characteristics, the Major League All-Stars team did not conduct any pre-match analysis on these Japanese players, and Harper could only rely on the data he collected from this at-bat:

From the current situation, most of the catcher's calls were for fastballs, and it seemed like a starting pitcher relying on speed? Also, the opponent seemed to like pitching to the inside corner, apparently confident in his control.

After some consideration, Harper decided to wait for the opportunity for an inside fastball or breaking ball to send the ball flying.

Raising his leg, twisting, swinging his arm, accompanied by the "swoosh" in the air, the baseball shot out from Lin Guanglai's hand, speeding directly towards home plate; although still a fastball, the trajectory was not for an inside pitch, but aimed high towards the outside corner.

A dull "thud" resounded, as the baseball flew into Shima Keihiro's catcher's mitt; the principal umpire quickly extended his right hand to indicate:

"Strike!"

At this moment, Harper was displeased: the reason he let the ball pass so readily was because, by his judgment, it was a bad ball; however, the principal umpire decisively called it a strike—now the count changed from 3 balls and 1 strike to 2 balls and 2 strikes, a gulf wider than an abyss.

As a result, Harper in the batter's box began to gripe incessantly.

Besides his extraordinary talent, the young star Harper also possessed an extremely fiery temper, especially when encountering disconcerting calls or conflicts with opposing players on the field, his temper ignites instantly—this kind of personality has won him a lot of admiration but also attracted heaps of criticism.

For example, right now, at least in the eyes of Japanese people who revere baseball etiquette, the action of this young American batter was clearly a rather rude behavior; hence, a wave of not too loud or too soft boos arose in the stands at Ow Mountain Wild Field.

"If you don't want to be ejected, you'd better show me some respect!" Only after being sternly warned by the principal umpire did the chattering Harper refocus his attention on the game.