Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 656 - 14: Narrow Roads for Enemies

Maryland, Baltimore.

After the final practice before the Baltimore Orioles' new season regular game began, a large crowd of reporters had already gathered outside their home, Oriole Park.

One car after another drove out of the stadium, but the reporters couldn't find the player they most wanted to see, making everyone at the scene slightly anxious.

But soon, when Manny Machado's classic Mercedes CL appeared in their sight, the reporters on the scene instantly turned into tigers and wolves, rushing towards where the car came from. Almost the moment the vehicle was forced to stop, dozens of microphones were shoved in front of Machado.

"Manny, do you have any expectations for the new season's performance of the Baltimore Orioles and your personal performance?"

"Manny, tomorrow you will face the Yankees in the season opener at your home field. Do you have anything to say about that?"

"Manny, the Yankees have announced that their starting pitcher tomorrow will be Lin, whom they signed during the offseason, and he will also bat seventh. What's your take on this?"

Manny Machado, sitting in the driver's seat, maintained his arrogant demeanor, looking down on everything, and casually answered the reporters' questions.

"Winning the World Series and personally taking the AL MVP, those are my goals for the new season."

"Nothing to say, with me here, the Yankees can't win."

"Should I have any opinion? Honestly, I still don't quite know who he is—doesn't matter to me anyway, I am going to crush him and show him A-Rod's number 13 jersey isn't meant for any random nobody."

After saying these things, Machado rolled up the car window and sped off, leaving behind the reporters who stared at each other, still processing what Baltimore Orioles' top player just said. One by one, their faces revealed contented smiles—well, there's news headline material again.

Meanwhile, the Yankees, who were also about to start their first official game of the new season, had just landed in Baltimore—they set off from their spring training base in Tampa a few hours earlier, coming directly from Florida to Baltimore, Maryland, which is also the hometown of the Yankees' historic number one, "The Bambino" Babe Ruth.

Due to the vast distances in the United States, and especially the six time zones between the east and west, the travel itself poses a considerable challenge of endurance and energy for baseball players, who face a long season with almost daily games—experiences Lin Guanglai, who has played mainly in Japan, has never encountered.

Fortunately, according to Major League Baseball's official regulations, players listed on Major League rosters have mandatory charter flights with first-class privileges during team trips, making what could be an unbearable long journey a bit more comfortable.

After disembarking, the players gathered in small groups, discussing how to spend the evening; however, just as Lin Guanglai and his group walked out of the VIP passageway, they were besieged by some local reporters in Baltimore.

"Lin, Manny stated in an interview that he would crush you. Are you confident you can withstand his assault?"

"Lin, tomorrow is your Major League debut. How long do you think you can endure under the Orioles' lineup's offense? Shall we guess, five innings with five runs? Hahaha..."

The local reporters blocking Lin Guanglai's way seemed quite arrogant, with an undertone of disdain for Lin Guanglai:

Yes, Lin Guanglai performed well in spring training, but it's just spring training—harsh to say, with most teams' main stars absent, the quality of spring training might only reach Triple-A level, or even lower;

Moreover, even if Lin Guanglai is a genius, Baltimore's media firmly believes that there is no way he could be stronger than their young star, Manny Machado—

The 24-year-old Machado is an all-around super infielder, having hit over 30 home runs for two consecutive seasons, with an OPS above .85 top-tier level, and has already become the face of the Orioles at a young age, with many believing he could be a future Hall of Famer.

Therefore, they bribed insiders on the flight route, specifically selecting the timing of the Yankees' flight landing to humiliate Lin Guanglai, making it clear that even if you are a superstar in Nippon Professional Baseball, you are worthless in the MLB.

Just as Lin Guanglai was about to say something, CC Sabathia beside him spoke up first: "Since when do reporters have no sense of boundaries and professional ethics? If you want a war, I can give you a war!"

Sabathia's imposing speech quickly intimidated the nearby reporters, leaving them too daunted to speak further—while Lin Guanglai might still be an unknown rookie to them, a renowned star like Sabathia was not someone these small tabloids could afford to provoke.

As these few reporters were about to sneak away with their tails between their legs, Lin Guanglai called out to them: "I hope you guys can come to watch tomorrow's game..."

"I'll give you a proper introduction of myself."