1970s ambition american-dream americas-pastime authenticity baseball baseball-legend bestseller betrayal calico-joe career career-ending-injury character character-building character-development character-driven chicago-cubs childhood childhood-dreams childhood-hero childhood-heroes coming-of-age compassion competition confession conscience consequences conspiracy corruption courage courtroom courtroom-drama courtroom-thriller crime crime-fiction crime-thriller david-brooks death-penalty death-row deception determination disappointment discipline drama dreams empathy ethical-behavior ethics failure faith fame family family-drama family-dynamics family-secrets fast-paced father-son-relationship father-son-relationships fatherhood fathers-and-sons fiction forgiveness friendship gripping grisham growth guilt healing heartwarming hero hometown-hero honesty hope human-nature humanity humility identity injury inner-journey inner-strength inner-transformation innocence inspiration inspirational integrity intense intrigue introspection introspective introspective-journey john journey justice justice-system law lawyer leadership legacy legal-drama legal-ethics legal-suspense legal-system legal-thriller life-lessons love love-for-the-game love-of-the-game loyalty major-league major-league-baseball major-leagues manipulation maturity meaning-of-life meaningful-life mentorship moral moral-development moral-dilemma moral-philosophy moral-values morality murder murder-mystery mystery new-york-mets nonfiction nostalgia page-turner passion patience perseverance personal-development personal-growth personal-transformation philosophical philosophy pitcher prison professional-athlete professional-athletes professional-baseball professional-sports psychological-suspense psychological-thriller psychology purpose reconciliation record-breaking redemption reflection regret resilience revenge rivalry rookie sacrifice scandal second-chances secrets self-awareness self-discipline self-discovery self-examination self-help self-improvement self-reflection selflessness small-town small-town-america societal-norms societal-values soul-searching spirituality sports sports-fiction sportsmanship storytelling success suspense suspenseful talent texas the-road-to-character thought-provoking thriller tragedy transformation triumph truth twists-and-turns underdog values virtue virtue-ethics virtues wisdom wrongful-conviction youth