 While the story is an adaptation of the book by  Bernard Malamud (qv) the plot has been changed for movie to be  more "uplifting". Several characters and symbols are heavily  influenced by the writings of Homer and Greek mythology (as can be  seen in the line "Have you ever read Homer?"): Roy Hobbs = Odysseus  (trying to "find his way" [home]) Max Mercy = Vulcan, God of Fire  and Forging (he can "make or break you" and always seen in Red/Brown  clothing) Pop Fisher = Zeus, King of the Gods (his uniform is #1 and  both the oak tree and lightning bolt a la the Wonderboy bat are his  symbols) The Judge = Hades, God of the Underworld (always in the  dark a.k.a. death, and the dead were "judged" in the underworld)  Memo Paris = Kalypso, a sea nymph (she held and distracted Odysseus  from returning home. Odysseus had an affair with her. Kalypso means  "I will conceal" in Greek) Iris Gaines = Penelope, wife of Odysseus  (the love of Odysseus that he had been separated from during the  Iliad and Odyssey, roughly 20 years while she raised their son)