"The outcome of this game is already beyond doubt..."
As the Yankees players concluded their offensive half of the eighth inning and returned to their dugout with radiant smiles, the legendary Yankees commentator John Sterling remarked this in the broadcast booth.
Although there was still the top of the ninth inning to be played, meaning the Yankees hadn't clinched the World Series championship with absolute certainty, Yankees fans around the world had already begun celebrating:
Just look at the bewildered expressions on the Dodgers players on the field, standing there like statues, the sparkle gone from their eyes — even the Dodgers players themselves likely didn't believe they could defeat the New York Yankees and bring the series back to Los Angeles...
And as the top of the ninth inning arrived with Lin Guanglai taking the mound once more, ready to pitch again, the entire Yankee Stadium of over fifty thousand fans stood up and applauded, cheering for their young star.
