1970s action action-packed adventure ambition america american-dream americas-pastime artificial-intelligence baseball baseball-legend bestseller betrayal bioengineering biological-experiments biological-warfare biological-weapons biology biotechnology calico-joe capital-punishment career career-ending career-ending-injury chaos chaos-theory character-driven chicago-cubs childhood childhood-dreams childhood-hero childhood-heroes coming-of-age compelling competition confession consequences conspiracy corporate-conspiracy corporate-greed corruption courtroom courtroom-drama courtroom-thriller crime crime-drama crime-fiction crime-thriller cutting-edge-technology danger death-penalty death-row deception determination disappointment disaster drama dreams dystopian ecological-disaster escape ethical-dilemma ethical-dilemmas ethics evolution experimental failure faith fame family family-drama family-dynamics family-secrets fast-paced father-son-relationship father-son-relationships fatherhood fathers-and-sons fiction fictional-biography forgiveness friendship futuristic genetic-engineering genetic-manipulation genetics gripping grisham guilt healing heartwarming hero home-run hometown-hero hope horror injury innocence inspiration intense intrigue john justice justice-system laboratory law lawyer legacy legal-drama legal-ethics legal-suspense legal-system legal-thriller legendary-player legends love love-for-the-game love-of-the-game loyalty major-league major-league-baseball major-leagues man-vs-machine manipulation medical-thriller mentorship moral-dilemma morality murder murder-mystery mystery nanotechnology new-york-mets nostalgia page-turner pandemic passion perseverance pitcher predator prey prison professional-athlete professional-athletes professional-baseball professional-sports psychological-suspense psychological-thriller reconciliation record-breaking redemption regret regrets religion religious-themes resilience revenge rivalries rivalry robotics rookie sacrifice scandal sci-fi science science-fiction scientific-ethics scientific-experimentation scientific-thriller second-chances secrets small-town small-town-america sports sports-fiction sportsmanship storytelling success survival suspense suspenseful talent techno-thriller technological-advancements technological-thriller technology texas thought-provoking thriller thriller-novel thrilling tragedy triumph truth twists-and-turns underdog unpredictable wrongful-conviction youth