Chapter 804 77: A Timely Rain (Part 2)

Landing in Denver for the first game, when the Yankees players arrived at Coors Field, they saw a remarkable sight: even though today's visiting team was the renowned New York Yankees, with over 45,000 seats and a maximum capacity of 50,144, Coors Field was less than half full.

The sparse crowds scattered across the stands were like unsightly scars, telling the tale of the Colorado Rockies' struggles over the years.

There was a time when this team could make it to the World Series and cause significant trouble for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants in their division. However, after Arenado was sent to St. Louis and Blackmon gradually aged, this once powerful team lost its vigor and became a shadow of its former self.

Compared to the Rockies, who are beaten year after year, Denver residents now prefer to walk an extra mile to watch the Nuggets play at Ball Arena.

The Denver Nuggets, who just secured the NBA championship last season, are in the spotlight. Nikola Jokic, with his transformative performance, has redefined the center position and is undoubtedly the best player of his generation.

Due to the lack of excitement generated by the opposing team, the Yankees and Rockies game was scheduled for the afternoon. As the clock strikes three, the match between the two teams officially begins.

In the first half inning, neither team's hitters made any progress. Rockies' starting pitcher Austin Gomber, although his average pitch speed doesn't reach the 150 km/h mark, excels in solid control, making the initial confrontation challenging. Both Soto and Judge suffered setbacks on his breaking balls.

With professional advice from the data team and insights from teammates, Lin Guanglai quickly developed a data analysis model in his mind; by the time he took the field as the lead batter in the second inning, he had pretty much figured out Gomber's characteristics.

Lin Guanglai showed admirable patience in the batter's box, refraining from attacking blindly, constantly entangling with Gomber and wearing down his stamina and patience.

Until the count reached a full count of 3 balls and 2 strikes, Lin Guanglai, who had been hiding his true intentions, finally showed his fangs: facing Gomber's outside slider, he stepped ahead, hitting the ball with his bat just before it made a significant move—

The baseball soared high in Coors Field without any resistance, the swift rise appearing weightless. Even the few home team Rockies fans couldn't help but cheer for Lin Guanglai when they saw the ball's trajectory.

The baseball ultimately landed in the left-center field stand, caught by a home team fan; not only did he show off the ball to the camera, but also raised his hand high with the ball running around the outfield stands, inciting roaring laughter from the audience.

"This is Lin's 45th home run this season. If I remember correctly, he achieved this only 1 to 2 days slower than Bonds... For Lin, who is looking to break records, facing the Rockies at Coors Field with nothing to lose is undoubtedly a golden opportunity to catch up on progress. And now, he's off to a great start for this series!"

At the commentary box by the field, the commentator couldn't help but applaud Lin Guanglai, and he represented the majority hoping for Lin Guanglai to break Bonds' record.

Ultimately, although Barry Bonds was a historically formidable hitter, his steroid scandal added a stain to a record that could have elevated him to the pantheon.

If someone absolutely clean and pure could sweep Barry Bonds into history, it would be fantastic for many people!

With Lin Guanglai's outstanding performance giving the Yankees a head start, the visiting Yankees quickly seized control of the game against the Rockies, whose strength wasn't particularly great.

Already bottom of the division and unable to reach the playoffs, the Rockies did not, like other teams, frequently walk Lin Guanglai, allowing him more batting opportunities:

In the top of the third inning, with runners on first and third and two outs, Lin Guanglai once again pierced through the Rockies' right field defense with a powerful swing. Even though the opponent's outfielder tried his best to chase the ball, he still couldn't stop the baseball from flying into the stands for the second time in the game!

Then came the third and fourth times, and in Coors Field, a hitter's paradise, Lin Guanglai, who had been in a slight batting slump for half a month, was reborn from the ashes, delivering a godly performance with four homers in one game, prompting the home Rockies fans to stand up and applaud him.

"From his 40th to his 44th home run, Lin took nearly half a month; but from his 44th to his 48th, he only needed one game... Look at the fans here in Denver, even as opponents, they can't help but stand and applaud—how lucky we are to live in such an era, witnessing such a great player!"

Had there not been so few people in the stands, Lin Guanglai might really have felt he was playing a home game—after all, in any sport, it's rare for the opponent's fans to stand and applaud you.

In the two subsequent games at Coors Field, Lin Guanglai, having regained his form, went all out, pushing his home run count toward unprecedented heights:

In three games in a single series, he hit a total of 10 home runs at Coors Field, breaking multiple long-standing records in Major League Baseball history;

As the New York Yankees left Denver with a proud three-game winning streak, Lin Guanglai's home run tally had risen from 44 to 54—surpassing the career-best record he set in the 2022 season and once again breaking his own record for home runs in a single season by an Asian player.

From this point on, Lin Guanglai's batting form became unstoppable:

In subsequent games, although he didn't produce such explosive performances as he did against the Rockies, his stability was even more impressive.

Even when facing other teams' repeated intentional walks, he seized the one or two opportunities when they came, sending the ball into the stands with a single swing.

With August only halfway through, Lin Guanglai's home run count had exceeded the threshold of 60, closing in on the shared record of the New York Yankees and the American League—held by his teammate Aaron Judge, who set it at 63 homers in 2022.

When Lin Guanglai's home run count reached 64, the entire New York focused on him, and shops big and small on street corners began riding the wave of Lin Guanglai's fame, launching activities related to his challenge for the home run record.

Various betting organizations, following the advice of expert teams, rapidly lowered the odds related to the home run record;

Even Netflix's professional teams went all out, expressing their intention to shoot a documentary on the 2024 New York Yankees and Lin Guanglai, as the platform's upcoming promotional focus.

Clearly, with just over a month left in the season, Barry Bonds' record is no longer an unreachable target for Lin Guanglai:

The Yankees' schedule still has more than 20 games left, and all Lin Guanglai has to do is hit 10 more home runs in those 20-something games.

Is such a task difficult for a player who has been consistently rewriting history since entering the league?

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