Lynn Sweet
A Language Arts teacher in Illinois who decides almost on a whim that he will take the extra role of being the school's baseball coach. Instead of pushing the kids, he often shows them his own opinions, encouraging them to "step up to the plate" because out of desire for play. Over the course of the novel, the reader learns that Coach Sweet's work is effective: he helped discover a real life natural, Steve Shartzer.
The principal
Lynn lives in a highly political environment, and when he gets the job as baseball coach at his local high school, it all goes well, until the principal notices that by giving Sweet the job, he has positioned Sweet as a leader in the community, but Sweet's political views are different than the principal, so the administration of the high school, led of course by this man, pressure Coach Sweet to instill more Republican values. They feel he is making the kids into hippies.
Steve Shartzer
This real life baseball player is a young kid on Coach Sweet's team. They not only play baseball, they also do life together, talking for instance. They share ideas, and since their relationship is oriented around success in a specific endeavor, Coach Sweet has what some might consider an ethical influence on young Shartzer. In other words, by using a real life character, the novelist shows Coach Sweet's skill for helping a player reach their potential.
