Sheppard is an occasional college-level instructor of classical literature and a longtime baseball fan. His book underscores the parallels between the actors in Homer’s Odyssey and the men at the plate, on the mound, and in the field. There is bravery, trickery, perseverance, skill with ancient weaponry, drama, and heroism. Men face one another in grueling duels until one of them retires in defeat. Armies compete against each other under the heat of the sun for a day, a season, and sometimes for years. Only, Sheppard’s descriptions of Odysseus and his travails never quite crosses paths with the great men of the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox. A fantastic idea that didn’t quite reach fruition.