Well it is the same writter: Mitsuru Adachi. I have'nt seen Cross Game, but i think that it might be more focus on baseball than Touch. I would say that baseball is not the main subject of Touch (even if it's very important for the anime) and prefers to focus on the psychological aspect.
Is the most underrated anime i've seen outside of Japan. It is one of the top ten of selling Manga ever and strangely it is not that known wroldwide as others like slam dunk.
However it's a big reccomandation, absolutely insane story!