1970s 1973 1980s african-american african-american-experience african-american-literature alienation ambition america american-dream american-history american-identity american-literature americana americas-pastime aspiration assimilation athlete baseball baseball-legend baseball-player baseball-prodigy batting-average bestseller betrayal bildungsroman black-culture black-experience black-identity blindness brotherhood calico-joe career career-ending career-ending-injury chicago-cubs childhood childhood-dreams childhood-hero childhood-heroes childhood-idol childhood-trauma civil-rights civil-rights-movement comeback comebacks coming-of-age compassion competition conflict conformity courage cultural-heritage determination disappointment discrimination disillusionment double-consciousness drama dreams existentialism failure faith fame family family-drama family-dynamics family-secrets famous-athlete father-and-son father-son father-son-relationship father-son-relationships fatherhood fathers-and-sons fiction fictional-biography forgiveness freedom friendship grisham guilt harlem harlem-renaissance healing heartwarming hero historical-fiction history hitter home-run hometown hometown-hero hope hopes-and-dreams identity identity-crisis individualism individuality inequality injury injustice innocence inspiration inspirational invisibility invisible invisible-man isolation jazz john justice legacy legendary legendary-player legends literature loss love love-for-the-game love-of-the-game loyalty major-league major-league-baseball major-leagues mentorship modernism moral-dilemma new-york-mets nostalgia novel oppression passion passion-for-the-game perseverance personal-freedom personal-growth pitcher politics power power-dynamics prejudice professional-athlete professional-athletes professional-baseball professional-sports protagonist protest race race-relations racial-discrimination racial-identity racial-stereotypes racism ralph-ellison reconciliation record-breaking redemption redemption-arc regret regrets resilience revenge rivalries rivalry rookie rookie-sensation sacrifice scandal second-chance second-chances secrets segregation self-discovery small-town small-town-america social-commentary social-inequality social-injustice social-justice society southern-united-states sports sports-fiction sportsmanship stereotypes storytelling success surrealism suspense symbolism talent teamwork tragedy trauma triumph underdog underdog-story underground youth