I don't know if it's harder but when you're playing a real person you want to honor their memory - even if they're a criminal or someone that the public loathed. That can be challenging.
“It's a terrible thing to go through life thinking that you have a rock on your side when you haven't.”
“The only real happiness a ballplayer has is when he is playing a ball game and accomplishes something he didn't think he could do.”