ay, suddenly appeared in the field to talk with Ray and to play baseball. As the book progressed, Ray continued to receive messages. After each new message, Ray was called upon to further his journey. This journey involved traveling to various cities around the United States, as well as facing issues within himself that he has successfully hidden from for years. He built the field to fulfill his unfulfilled dreams of the past. The one thing that Ray was missing in his life was that he never went to a live baseball game with his father. He also did not get to spend much time with him. Ray explained how he was never able to go to a live baseball game when he said, “We were always going to go to a major-league baseball game, he and I. But the time was never right, the money always needed for something else” (13). Ray would do anything to see his father again so he built his field. When Ray heard the announcer say, “Catching and batting eighth is Johnny Kinsella,” it was the happiest moment of his life. He described his happiness when he said, “My breath escapes like air hissing from a tire. I stare down to where he crouches, warming up the pitcher. My class B catcher who played in the minors in Florida and California. My father. My dream has been fulfilled, my request granted” (168). The reason for his journey, and the path to follow were never clearly manifested to Ray Kinsella. Blind faith and perhaps a bit mythically guided of insanity were all that drove him to continue on his journey. Throughout his journey, Ray never once knew where the next piece to the puzzle was located. Only at the end of his journey was it at last made clear to him the purpose for his quest. Years ago, when Ray was an adolescent, he had a falling out with his father that he never resolved. After the death of his father, John Kinsella, Ray was overcome with a sense of guilt and emptiness due to the fact that the ho...
