Cal Ripken

Author: Cal Ripken, Jr.
Publisher Format: Hyperion books, Listening Library (audio) 2:50 hrs, 144 pages
Year of publication: 2011
Subject: sportsmanship in youth sports and life
Setting: Anytown USA
Genre: YA fiction
Source: public library download
Rating: 3.8 of 5
Recommended: for young and not so young readers who love baseball

I grew up in Baltimore - home of the Baltimore Orioles and world famous shortshop Cal Ripken, Jr.  So this was a no brainer for me when it popped up on the new list on the show more library download program.  It's a short but fun book geared to young readers who are moving from the non-competitive levels of baseball into Little League or higher organized forms of the game.

The story centers on Connor Sullivan, a talented Babe Ruth league shortstop who has great difficulty accepting his imperfections. Whenever something goes wrong--he fails to hit the ball, he drops a ball he should have fielded, etc-- an explosion is sure to follow. Even being removed from the game and threatened with suspension from further play does not seem to help him control his "hot head."  Worried about troubles at home-- his father is out of work, his mother is working double shifts to try to keep the roof over their heads, and neither seems to have much time to spare for him--Connor is ashamed to share any of those concerns with his coaches or teammates, so the internal pressure ends up escaping in Vesuvian explosions.

Enter Melissa Monroe - A GIRL - who is a reporter for the school newspaper. Is she friend or foe? Will her stories about Connor and his antics make things worse? Or will her "interviews"- allowing Connor to talk about the external pressures in his life--help Connor to understand his behavior?

This one is geared to grades 5-9, but is an enjoyable read for anyone in the family who loves the National Pastime. The baseball clichès abound, and you can smell the grass and the hot dogs, and hear the crowd roar. A perfect short, sweet, summer read. show less

The story begins with an 8th grader named Cody Parker, who has just moved from Wisconsin to Baltimore because his dad was promoted to detective. Cody is a big boned kid but others see him as overweight, which causes problems for him. He decides to try out for the town’s baseball team and the coach puts him in the position of right fielder. Cody feels that only fat kids and nerds get put into right field because there is no action. He is determined to prove himself better than Dante the show more third baseman by hitting homeruns during practice and actually takes over for him. Angry for being replaced, Dante teases Cody for being fat and bullies him at school. He even sabotages his locker with stolen school supplies. Cody must prove his innocence and find the true burglar or face possible suspension and being kicked off the baseball team. With the help of a few friends, (especially a new tough girl named Jessica) he is able to get out of trouble and clear his good name. Cody ends up making some really good friends and his team wins the championship going undefeated all season.

In my opinion, “Super-Sized Slugger” was surprisingly good and I feel it deserves a rating of 4. It does have a lot of baseball terms, which I did not understand completely but the story was inspiring. The character of Cody was strong and determined to overcome obstacles such as: his weight, being bullied, moving to a new place and making new friends. It also had a good message about standing up for what’s right. He was not only a role model but also a team player because he realized that any action good or bad could affect his team. I recommend this book to anybody who likes a heartfelt story about overcoming stereotypes. show less

While "Get in the Game" is listed as a self-help/business on the cover, it reads like a mini-autobiography of Cal Ripken, Jr. Ripken, with the assistance of Donald T. Phillips, writes about eight elements that he attributed in not only making a difference in his legendary baseball career but also his successful transition to business. Within each of the eight chapters detailing each element, Ripken shares stories and situations from his early life and baseball career that are examples of the show more featured element. At the end of the book, Ripken his a brief overview of his post-baseball life and how the eight elements have influenced his transition into business. At less than 300 pages, the book reads quick but is very thought provoking. show less

I enjoyed reading this book. This biography included many overall facts about Cal Ripken Jr’s baseball career, but the major focus of the book was his 1988 season with the Baltimore Orioles. I liked the selection of this particular season: the one in which the Orioles lost the first 21 games straight. When writing about an athlete as celebrated and talented as Cal Ripken Jr. it would be easy to simply write positives, and the decision to focus on this struggle instead made the story more show more meaningful to read. The meaningfulness of the text was highlighted on the last page with the words: “winning is easy on a person, but you learn more from losing. you learn to keep trying, each day a little harder than the day before”.
The depicted time period highlights a sore period of Cal Ripken Jr.’s career. The book, however, includes information regarding Ripken’s positives and strengths, though, so that readers do not walk away with a skewed and inaccurate image of Ripken. The first page of the book includes a large header that reads “Iron Man Cal” and details Ripken’s feat of playing in 2,632 straight games in his career, his World Series wins, as well as his 1983 title of Most Valuable Player of the American League. The author’s decision to preface this story of loss and struggle with Ripken’s many achievements creates a nice balance for readers.
The message of the story is: losing teaches you a lot. show less