Baseball as King Arthur's quest

Rating: 10/10 (15 December 2016)

Of course I love the scene at the end where Robert Redford's fated Roy Hobbs wins the all-important pennant game by smashing the baseball into the floodlights. It is one of the great scenes of American sporting cinema.
But my favourite scene is previously when Glenn Close as his genuine love interest, as opposed to the evil character of a modern Morgan la Fay, so well-played by Kim Basinger, stands up in Wrigley Field magically willing him to break his poor batting run. Her character tranfuses strength into him, giving that scene an Arthurian, chivalric resonance. But then so has the whole film that glorious mythic quality.
I am also thinking of Field of Dreams, here. What is it about baseball which so lends itself to films of mythic power?
In this film some elements of its success can be readily identified: Barry Levinson's direction, the star power of the actors and, of critical importance, the power of Randy Newman's score. But then it also has a magic over all that, unanticipated by its makers.