santiago's fascinaton for baseball

Ernest Hemingway's lifelong fascination with baseball finds its ultimate expression in The Old Man and the Sea. This work brings together many of the commentaries that contributed individually and collectively to our understanding of baseball's role in the fiction. They exhibit the extent of Hemingway's familiarity with the sport and its participants; provide needed historical annotation on players and managers; explore the complexities of Santiago's relationship to Joe DiMaggio; identify for the first time the actual games and events underlying the fictional account; and enable interested readers to determine for themselves the aptness of baseball to Hemingway's theme of courage and determination. (1)

The old man spends a lot of time discussing baseball, manager and players. It's something he shares with Manolin, and it's something that for Santiago, is a symbol of determination, courage, and survival.

"Throughout his trial at sea, Santiago’s thoughts will return to DiMaggio, for to him the baseball player represents a kind of triumphant survival. After suffering a bone spur in his heel, DiMaggio returned to baseball to become, in the eyes of many, the greatest player of all time." (1)