Baseball
This might not be a book about baseball—characters are off the field far more often than they're on it—but baseball plays a huge role in their lives. First and foremost, Henry's entire life is...
Herman Melville & Moby Dick
If you don't think that baseball and Moby Dick have anything in common, well… okay, you're right. But for sheer literary allusion's sake, The Art of Fielding is chock-full of references to M...
Coffee Mugs
Cup of JoeAfter exchanging oral favors, Owen and Affenlight rinse their mouths out with coffee. Owen fetches the coffee and always uses the same two mugs: "KISS ME, I'M IRISH for [Owen], IF MOMMA A...
Gatorade Bottles filled with Pee
Henry's depression reaches its height when he starts storing his pee inside Gatorade bottles. He doesn't want to leave Pella's bedroom except to watch TV and do dishes. Even so, he won't leave to p...
Barfing
If Henry accidentally drank one of his own pee-filled Gatorade bottles, we'd have yet another instance of barfing to add to a long list in The Art of Fielding. Henry makes himself throw up so he'll...