Out of the Ballpark
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Before he hit 400 home runs...
Before he was named
American League MVP...
Before he was AROD to
millions of fans...
He was Alex.
Just a kid who wanted to play baseball more than anything else in the world.
Baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez has drawn on his own childhood experiences to create this exciting picture book. It's the story of a boy named Alex who knows what it's like to swing at a wild pitch or have a ball bounce right between his legs. Alex is determined not to let his mistakes set him back—even if it means getting up at the crack of dawn to work on his hitting and fielding before school each day!
Full of the spirit of determination and joy in the game that put AROD in a league of his own, Out of the Ballpark is a gift from a great sports hero to every young player who dreams of becoming a star.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
New York Yankees third baseman Rodriguez dips into his childhood to field this buoyant tale of a ballplayer with an obvious passion for the game. Though young Alex desperately hopes to play well during the playoff game and make his family proud, the boy repeatedly botches plays ("I think I'm setting a record for errors and strikeouts in the same game"). Yet his team wins and progresses to the championships. The next morning, Alex wakes at dawn to practice (in an extraneous, odd scene, he and a teammate run past their teacher, who is holding her nose, and Alex says to his pal, "If we stink now, wait till after practice this afternoon"). Rodriguez sets up an expected but still satisfying climax: in the bottom of the last inning of the championship game, Alex bats with the bases loaded and, with two strikes, hits a grand slam to win the team's first championship. Morrison's (Jazzy Miz Mozetta) stylized paintings capture the story's energy and his playfully skewed perspectives keep things light. In a concluding note, Rodriguez shares his "recipe for success," which entails working hard on and off the field, staying away from drugs and showing respect for others. Baseball-loving kids will appreciate the message that even future MVPs can have an off day, and young Yankee fans will especially appreciate the photos of Rodriguez's boyhood plus a Topps baseball card with a photo of the young ballplayer (attached to the back endpapers). Ages 4-8.
