Chapter 810 81: Thus, a Legend Is Born (Grand Finale)

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2025 World Series Game 6 showdown. It's still me, your old friend Michael Kay; and next to me is our special guest for today's program, legendary closer Mariano Rivera."

"For the New York Yankees, who are aiming to establish their second dynasty, they're just one win away from completing another back-to-back defense: having arduously defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, led by the seemingly god-assisted Little Guerrero in the divisional series, and then taking down the season's 60-homer super catcher, Carl Raleigh (Cal Raleigh) and his Seattle Mariners in the championship series, the Yankees have managed to secure a 3-2 lead in their World Series encounter against the Dodgers once again."

"This marks Lin Guanglai's sixth World Series journey. Before this, he reached the finals five times and won the championship five times, never having been dragged into a Game 7 by his opponents; simultaneously, this is Lin Guanglai's fourth encounter with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series throughout his career, with no prior defeats, truly living up to his nickname, 'Dodger Killer.'"

"The most recent record between the two sides dates back to last year, in the 2024 season when Lin, playing full-time as a hitter, ultimately hit 77 home runs, breaking the MLB single-season regular-season home run record; under his leadership, the Yankees also made a strong advance to the World Series that year, and after a six-game battle with the Dodgers, they defeated their opponents 4-2 to claim the Yankees' 32nd championship in franchise history."

"And in this season, Lin has returned quite well to the pitcher's mound after nearly two years; having secured 19 wins and achieved an ERA of 2.02 in the concluded regular season, it's considered an extremely outstanding performance for his first season back after TJ surgery."

"For today's game, the starting pitchers deployed by both the Yankees and Dodgers are Lin Guanglai and Yamamoto Yuusen, respectively; the former is already one of the strongest contenders standing atop baseball history, while the latter has also displayed an extraordinary performance in this year's postseason."

"Although they lost Juan Soto during the offseason, they opted to take on Bryce Harper's big contract from the San Diego Padres, who were being rebuilt after the owner's death; the Lin/Judge/Harper combination even strengthens instead of weakening; and as a substitute after Chris Sale's departure, the addition of former ace left-handed pitcher Max Fried from the Atlanta Braves has also supplemented the rotation's strength well."

"In the series' sixth game held in Los Angeles the night before last, although the Yankees were suppressed by Yamamoto Yuusen, who performed outstandingly in the postseason during the first half of the game, their deep pitching rotation and powerful batting lineup precisely captured the Dodgers' bullpens' depth deficiency, managing to seize victory in the critical showdown at Dodger Stadium."

"Tonight, hosting the sixth game in Bronx, let us see whether the GOAT and his Evil Empire will smile to the end, completing the defense; or will the Unicorn-led Dodgers find life at a dead end and drag the series into a Game 7? Let's wait and see!"

...

Inside Yankee Stadium, the home team's fans in the stands are already flushed: in the bottom of the eighteenth inning, the Yankees and Dodgers remain tied in their home game. Whether it's the entire 18 and a half innings or the score of 7-7 has fully showcased the intensity of this game—

Bryce Harper accurately blasted Yuusen in the top of the first inning, hitting a 3-run homer off of him, nearly placing the Yankees halfway towards the championship throne;

However, in the subsequent matchup, the Dodgers players united in heart, displaying an even stronger will to survive due to last year's World Series defeat. They painstakingly managed to score one run off Lin Guanglai through hit connections, and later, in the top of the ninth inning, relying on key player Will Smith's 2-run homer, they found life at a dead end, leveling the score.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Kiké Hernández, guarding left field, accomplished an incredible double play, not only catching Machado's hit just before it landed but also quickly relaying to the second base to eliminate Judge who couldn't return to the base in time.

After that, both teams embarked on a tough battle extending the game: both the Yankees and Dodgers had chances to end the game, but the double consumption of physical strength and energy caused them to miss those opportunities.

Typically, games at this point are actually a battle of star power, seeing who can step up—coincidentally, these two teams are the MLB top ones with the most stars.

After arduously holding off a bases-loaded offense again in the top of the eighteenth inning, the initiative returned to the home-playing Yankees; moments later, as a rustling sound spread from the stands, the Dodgers also changed their pitcher selection on their side—

Due to Tanner Scott, the closer signed for a high fee during the offseason, continuously costing the game amid the bullpen's large gap, Shohei Ohtani voluntarily requested to play, choosing to go on as the closer and attempting to secure one more half-inning for the team.

Coincidentally, in this half-inning, the Yankees' lineup will start from the top again— in other words, a direct confrontation between Lin and Ohtani will take place in the bottom of the eighteenth inning of this World Series game.

The broadcast camera continuously sweeps back and forth between Shohei Ohtani warming up and test pitching on the mound and Lin Guanglai preparing in the batting zone:

Undoubtedly, these two players are among the most outstanding baseball players worldwide in the past decade. Their unique dual swordsmanship identity assigns them great discussion value, which adds a distinctive color to this confrontation.

Lin Guanglai steps into the batting zone, readying his batting stance, his gaze directly fixed on Shohei Ohtani on the mound, only to find that the other is likewise looking at him— their eyes meet above the pitcher's mound and batting zone, sparking flames and lightning.

Do not know why, even though in many past years, Lin Guanglai has faced Shohei Ohtani many times, yet at this critical moment, standing here, what he recalls isn't any confrontation in the Major League, Nihon Professional Baseball or Takayama, but rather that March 15 years ago, in some amateur game held in a baseball stadium in the suburbs of Tokyo.

That was Lin Guanglai and Shohei Ohtani's first encounter, also the imperfect starting point of Lin Guanglai's great career: It was precisely because of that game and meeting Ohtani that Lin Guanglai became determined to pursue pitching and hitting simultaneously, thus creating such a baseball miracle.

Shaking his head slightly, Lin Guanglai completely clears the thoughts flying in his mind; on the mound, Shohei Ohtani with his robust figure sharpens his gaze, and after a fierce arm swing, the baseball shoots out from his fingertips.

This is a fierce fastball, with a velocity definitely exceeding 100 miles!

Yet, even facing such a ball, Lin Guanglai in the batting zone doesn't flinch in the slightest: in his eyes, the trajectory and seam rotation of the ball are clearly visible— towards the baseball flying straight at him, Lin Guanglai simultaneously exerts force with his body, driving the bat in his hand towards the incoming ball's direction.

"Pop—!!!" Almost at the first moment the swing motion is completed, Lin Guanglai promptly tosses the bat out of his hands, glances once, then begins a sprint towards first base.

The baseball flies all the way towards central field, passing over the pitcher's mound, over the infield, over the outfield;

Then falling, falling, falling, finally flying out of the park, completely disappearing.

"Lin Guanglai! A walk-off home run!!!"

-------The End-------

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