1970s 1973 1980s acceptance ambition america american-dream american-south americana americas-pastime aspiration athlete autobiography baseball baseball-legend baseball-player baseball-prodigy batting-average bereavement bestseller betrayal calico-joe career career-ending career-ending-injury chicago-cubs childhood childhood-dreams childhood-hero childhood-heroes childhood-idol childhood-trauma come-back comeback comebacks coming-of-age compassion competition conflict coping coping-with-loss courage death denial determination disappointment drama dreams emotion emotional emotional-journey emotions failure faith fame family family-drama family-dynamics family-relationships family-secrets famous-athlete father-and-son father-son father-son-relationship father-son-relationships fatherhood fathers-and-sons fiction fictional-biography forgiveness friendship grief grief-and-loss grief-journey grief-literature grief-memoir grief-process grief-support grieving grieving-process gripping grisham guilt healing heartbreak heartwarming hero historical-fiction history hitter home-run hometown hometown-hero honesty hope hopes-and-dreams illness injury innocence inspiration inspirational introspection john justice legacy legendary legendary-player legends life life-after-loss life-events literature loneliness loss love love-for-the-game love-of-the-game loyalty major-league major-league-baseball major-leagues marriage memoir memoir-genre memoir-literature memoir-writing memoirist memoirists memoirs memories memory mental-health mentorship moral-dilemma mortality mourning new-york-mets non-fiction nonfiction nostalgia passion passion-for-the-game perseverance personal-growth personal-journey personal-narrative personal-reflection personal-tragedy pitcher professional-athlete professional-athletes professional-baseball professional-sports psychology reconciliation record-breaking recovery redemption redemption-arc reflection regret regrets relationship relationships resilience revenge rivalries rivalry rookie rookie-sensation sacrifice scandal second-chance second-chances secrets self-discovery self-reflection small-town small-town-america sorrow sports sports-fiction sportsmanship storytelling success suspense talent teamwork tragedy trauma triumph truth uncertainty underdog underdog-story widow widowhood writing youth