1970s 1973 1980s ambition america american-dream american-south americana americas-pastime athlete baseball baseball-legend baseball-player baseball-prodigy batting-average bestseller bestselling-author betrayal calico-joe capital-punishment career career-ending career-ending-injury character-driven chicago-cubs childhood childhood-dreams childhood-hero childhood-heroes childhood-idol childhood-trauma comeback comebacks coming-of-age compassion compelling competition complex-characters confession conflict consequences conspiracy corruption courage courtroom courtroom-drama courtroom-thriller cover-up crime crime-and-punishment crime-drama crime-fiction crime-thriller dark-secrets death-penalty death-row deceit deception determination disappointment drama dreams ethical-dilemma ethics failure faith fame family family-drama family-dynamics family-relationships family-secrets fast-paced father-and-son father-son father-son-relationship father-son-relationships fatherhood fathers-and-sons fiction fictional-biography forgiveness friendship gripping gripping-narrative grisham guilt guilty-conscience healing heartwarming hero historical-fiction history hitter home-run hometown hometown-hero hope hopes-and-dreams injury injustice innocence innocent-man inspiration inspirational intense intrigue investigation john judicial-system justice justice-system law lawyer legacy legal-drama legal-ethics legal-suspense legal-system legal-thriller legendary legendary-player legends loss love love-for-the-game love-of-the-game loyalty major-league major-league-baseball major-leagues manipulation mentorship moral-ambiguity moral-dilemma morality murder murder-mystery mystery new-york-mets nostalgia novel page-turner passion passion-for-the-game perseverance personal-growth pitcher prison professional-athlete professional-athletes professional-baseball professional-sports psychological psychological-suspense psychological-thriller reconciliation record-breaking redemption redemption-arc regret regrets religion religious-themes resilience revenge rivalries rivalry rookie rookie-sensation sacrifice scandal second-chance second-chances secret secrets small-town small-town-america sports sports-fiction sportsmanship storytelling success suspense suspenseful talent teamwork texas thought-provoking thriller tragedy trauma triumph truth twists-and-turns underdog underdog-story wrongful-conviction youth