April 12, 2054
Chicago, IL – The newest member of the Yellow Springs Nine, Bing-de Zhao, had quite the 2 day stretch, notching three important milestones in his career.
First up, on April 11, Zhao had a 2-home run game, with the second round-tripper being both his 300th homer and his 1000th run scored. "I knew number 300 would come sooner or later. And here we are! Now let's see if I can hit another 300," he added, laughing. "Okay, maybe 400, but still I have a lot of swings left in these arms and I can't wait to do it for the Nine for maybe more than just this season."
It was a great game for the Nine overall, who have started the year on a hopeful 5-5 note. They beat the Black Sox 9-2, lead by Zhao's 2 home runs. The first came in the top of the second, with one out. After fouling off the first pitch he saw, the designated hitter slammed the next into the left field seats for a solo shot, tying up the game. It went 365 feet and went to a Nine fan who'd traveled for the game.
The second home run was in the top of the seventh. After Nazeeb Ragheb doubled to lead off the inning, Burhan Tahir flied out to center, moving his teammate over. Frederick Brisset struck out, leaving Ragheb on third for Zhao's historic moment. The DH cracked the first pitch he saw into left-center field, going 406 feet for his 300 homer and scoring for the 1000th time.
Upon being told it was also his 1000th run, Zhao said, "Huh. I've scored more than [rest unprintable, but allegedly involved a reference to another team's assistant GM.]"
The game briefly paused, even though it was in another team's field, as the scoreboard flashed the news. Fans of both teams applauded, and the entire Yellow Springs dugout came onto the field for a moment to celebrate with Zhao.
"That was a classy move by Dunn [Chicago's GM]," said McMonigal. I know Zhao appreciated it."
There's no news yet on what happened with the home run ball, but Nine officials were working with their counterparts at the Black Sox to make arrangements to get the orb back for Zhao.
On April 12th, Zhao made personal history again, knocking in his 1000th batter. Back at home against the Madison Wolves, the Nine were down in the bottom of the ninth, 5-3. Jeremy Pickens led off with an infield single that died between second and third. Then Burhan Tahir doubled to deep right center, giving the team a thrill. It was time for Zhao, Could he send the home team home a winner? Sadly not. While Zhao couldn't get a hit, he did ground out to first, scoring Pickens, making it a 5-4 game. But that's where the score ended, spoiling his night just a bit.
"I'm really happy to have been in the league long enough to get to 1000 runs batted in," said Zhao after the game. "No matter how much they devalue the stat, it's still important to me – and the guys in the room here. I just wish we'd gotten the victory."
Nine fans would appreciate that, too, but they're confident Zhao has many more home runs in his bat for the rest of the season.
