Bernard Malamud The Natural

This is a book about heroism- of sorts. Roy Hobbs has an immense natural gift for playing baseball. He could become one of the greats of the game, a player unmatched in his time- a hero. But his first hard-won big chance ends violently, at the hands of a crazy girl, and then it is years before he gets another shot. At last, in a few short seasons, or never , he must acheive the towering reputation that he feels is his right.