Under the intentional promotion by the media, the conflict in the ALCS Game 1 between the Yankees and the Astros almost immediately became a hot event affecting the entire baseball circle of North America, and even the world. Numerous MLB players who were already in the offseason expressed their opinions on this incident on social media.
Leading the charge were Asian stars in Major League Baseball like Ichiro Suzuki, Yu Darvish, and Tanaka Masahiro. They all united in their stance, siding with Lin Guanglai and defining the incident as a matter involving the dignity of Asian baseball players, demanding an official response from the league.
Lin Guanglai's personal friend, the hot-tempered Bryce Harper, went directly on social media to voice his rage:
[If you think this is just a 'joke,' then you are part of the problem. #WeNeedAnAnswer#]
