Athletic Competition

Many of the most important characters in The Art of Fielding work to prove their value--to themselves and to others--through competitive sports. Henry, for one, struggles to live up to the example of excellence set by his idol, famed shortstop Aparicio Rodriguez; as the narrative progresses, Henry also faces a crisis of self-doubt that is set off by a mishap on the baseball field. Without the certitude and confidence that baseball had given him, he loses control over every other aspect of his life; the rest of his existence, from his family to his friendships to his schoolwork, is intimately bound up with the self-image of calm command that Henry had cultivated as a shortstop.

Nor is Henry's competitive nature (with the judgments it entails) confined to the baseball field. One episode that reveals the true extent of how competitive Henry can become is the...