Out at Home

Cal Ripken, Jr.'s All Stars

by Cal Ripken Jr.

Mickey Labriogla is the best catcher in the league. He's got a cannon for an arm, calls a great game, and blocks the plate like a bulldozer with shin guards. But when a hotshot new pitcher joins the Dulaney Orioles, Mickey wonders if it isn't time to find another position--or maybe another team.

Zoom's the most arrogant player the Orioles have ever seen. But even Coach Labriogla, Mickey's dad, seems in awe of the kid's talent and willing to overlook his insufferable behavior. When Mickey and Zoom find themselves rivals for the attention of the mysterious Abby Elliott, who works the concession stand, any chance the two teammates can get along goes out the window.

As the Orioles head to a seemingly-inevitable showdown in the new "Super-Regional" against Zoom's old team, the powerful Laurel Yankees, the clash between Mickey and Zoom threatens to break the team apart--and derail a championship season.

Praise for Hothead

". . . just the ticket for readers who've worked their way through Dan Gutman and Matt Christopher but are still a little shy of Matt de la Pe a and Carl Deuker. " --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Written with Ripken's obvious knowledge of the game, Conor's story rings true, with plenty of good baseball action. If Conor's not always in good spirits, the novel is, with likable characters, lively baseball action and the usual dreams of playing in the big leagues-in Conor's case, at Camden Yards. Ripken and Cowherd, like Conor and his Babe Ruth League Orioles, make a winning team. " --Kirkus Reviews

Genres: Realistic Fiction

223 pages, Paperback

First published March 3, 2015

About the author

Cal Ripken, Jr. was a shortstop and third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles for his entire career (1981-2001). Nicknamed “The Iron Man” for his relentless work ethic and reliability on the field, Ripken is most remembered for playing a record 2,632 straight games over 17 seasons. He was a 19-time All Star and is considered to be one of the best shortstops professional baseball has ever seen. In 2007 he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Since his retirement, Ripken has worked as President and CEO of Ripken Baseball, Inc. to nurture the love of baseball in young children from a grassroots level.

Reviews

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Out at Home by Cal Ripken Jr. is a good book that could be a little better with some changes. The main character is the best catcher in the league Mickey Labriolga. The setting is at a baseball field and at the park. There is a group of friends who always go everywhere together and they think they are the best of all time. They end up picking up a player and his name is Zoom. He is very weird and the whole team doesn't want to allow them into their friend group. They all get very mad at the coach because everybody is there on time except for Zoom and he doesn't say anything to Zoom. In the end they end up coming together and winning the league championship.

I think that the book is pretty good because the important and interesting parts were focused on a lot and the parts that weren't interesting weren't as focused on. For example on page 94 it says "Just like that it was Rays 3, Orioles 2." This quote shows that the author is really focusing on the baseball games and less on the background and out of game stuff. Another reason I thought the book was pretty good is because the author was very descriptive and it was very easy for me as a reader to understand what was going on. For example on page 95 it says "Mickey punched a fist in the air and jogged out to high-five his pitcher." This shows exactly what Mickey is doing and you can picture this in your head.

Overall, I think this book is pretty good. The author does a good job of the characterization of the characters. There are very many interesting parts but there are still a few boring parts. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend. I would 100% read another on of these book if a different version came out.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mickey Labriogla is a 12 year old catcher that is the best in the league. After the season started a new kid came into town with the nickname of Zoom. He is a pitcher that came from one of the best training camps in the United States. After practicing with the team he earned his spot at pitcher. All of the team including Mickey is confused because the coach mickeys dad is treating him different. All of the games went well them making it to the championship against the yankees. The theme of this book is to treat people the same. Throughout the book Mickeys dad has treated him different for example he lets zoom get to the warmups late, practice late, and treat the kids bad. Until during a game coach had enough and yelled at him. After that Zoom was treated the same. A static character in the book is Mickey. In the book he stays that same with his attitude, skill, and friendship. A dynamic character in the book is Zoom. He changed his attitude and his friendships during the book. I rated this book a 4 out of 5 stars because I feel like it could have been more entertaining and engaging.

[Bowen Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my fourth choice book fourth quarter. The main character is Mickey. Mickey is a great baseball player on the Orioles team. In the middle of the baseball season, the best player in the Orioles team called Gabe got injured and left the game. Without Gabe, the Orioles struggled. The Orioles players weren't happy. Mickey texted Gabe to see if he is coming back and Gabe didn't know. Later, a new player named Zach came to the Orioles team. Zach wanted to be called Zoom. Luckily, Zoom was a good player. Zoom made the team play well in the rest of the baseball season. Zoom had to go to somewhere on the first day on his team. The Orioles played the Twins on the first day. The Orioles won the Twins easily. The Orioles played the Indians and almost lost at first but won at last. The Orioles practiced before playing the Yankees which everyone was happy when they were practicing. Sadly, the Orioles lost the Yankees by one. Overall, the Orioles played pretty good and the season was over.

[Hunter Peiser · Rating 4 out of 5]

*****SPOLIER ALERT*****

The book Out at Home is a book that is written by former Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. The book Out at Home is about Mickey Labriogla and how he is the best catcher in the league. He has a great arm, calls a great game, and blocks the plate very well. At one point in the book this new star pitcher joins the Dulaney Orioles and Mickey starts to think about switching to a different position or maybe even a new team. The new pitcher Zoom is the most arrogant player the Orioles have ever seen but coach Labriogla (Mickey's dad) is willing his behavior. Later on when Mickey and Zoom start to get along but then those 2 threaten the other team to break apart and derail a championship.

I really enjoyed the book but I do like other sports books better so that's why I gave it a rating of 4 stars but I would highly recommend the book if you love baseball.

[Favour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though his writing style is very specific and the conversations the kids have don't sound like what actual 12-13 year olds sound like, it was still good. It wasn't my favorite (really more into Corey and Cody's stories), but I really liked Mickey. He didn't go through any huge character development, and he didn't need to. He was already pretty great.

On another note, I hated Katelyn the entire time. Just because she was the only girl on the team didn't mean she had to threaten and put the guys down when they made a small mistake or didn't know something. Poor Hunter.

[SweetonBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out at home is a really good book. When Mickey, a catcher for the junior team orioles has a new pitcher named zoom everything goes downhill. Zoom is an arrogant, selfish and rude pitcher. The only problem is he is fantastic. He carried the team and when the coach (Mickey's dad) has enough of his arrogance he gets in a lot of trouble. The Orioles need Zoom and whether Zoom knows it or not he needs the Orioles. I would recommend this book to people who like sports and to people who like a light read.

[Theresa Inkley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read with my 8 year old.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mickey is the catcher for his local team, the Orioles. They're a good team but when their pitcher goes down with an injury, it looks like their season may be over. That is until a new kid moves into the neighborhood. Zach "Zoom" is the best pitcher any of the kids have ever seen, but his attitude puts a serious hurt on the teams' spirit. Can Zoom get it together in time for the big game?

I actually genuinely enjoyed this book and it doesn't have the ending you would expect. I would definitely recommended this book for ages 8-12.

[Kanyon Rosson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book "Out At Home" was an amazing book. Mickey was a catcher for his local team, the Orioles. His baseball team beats the Indians to face off in the championship game against the best team the Yankees. The Orioles star pitcher got injured and they were short a player until the requested for a play and the got a kid named Zoom. He started off as a selfish little brat until he joined the team. He turned for selfish brat to an amazing teammate. This is a book that I would read over and over again. I would highly recommend this book for people that want to be entertained

[Douglas C Parent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

Good book really well written suggested great ending great beginning great novel should read shoes teamwork is key especially in sports.

[Lauren Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

Very good book. Very good book. Very good book. Great read for teens. Great read for teens. Very good read.

[Neely]

AR

[Brady R · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is great.