Pitchers' Duel

Chip Hilton #7

by Clair Bee, Cynthia Bee Farley, Randall K. Farley

During his senior year at Valley Falls High School, Chip pitches in the state championship baseball tournament, runs for student mayor, and fights a drive to force Coach Rockwell to retire.

Genres: Sports, Fiction, Baseball

213 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1950

Reviews

[Rebekah Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

2023 Reread
Still get frustrated at some people, but enjoyed the story anyway.

Chip isn’t dealing with teammates in this story, he’s dealing with men who don’t like his coach. I love the scenes with Chip and his mom! So sweet! I love his care of her, the advice she gives him, and their obvious love for each other. There are some tense moments in this story and some frustrating moments when I really wanted to tell a few people a thing or two. But the ending was great.

This is not a Christian book. There are two euphemisms in this story.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another installment of the series starring multi-sport sensation Chip Hilton. In this case, it is the last few months of his senior season and the sport is baseball. Chip is an outstanding player on the mound and at the plate, so good that major league scouts are willing to sign him as soon as the season is over. He is considered a sure prospect, the only thing standing in the way of an immediate pro career is his desire to attend college.
As is the case through the entire series, one of the strengths is the strong supporting cast. Chip’s friends Biggie, Speed, Soapy and Red play with him in all sports and the literal and figurative rock is Coach Henry Rockwell. The “Rock” as he is known has been coaching at Valley Falls high for decades and has an exemplary record.
However, Rockwell is past the mandatory retirement age, so there are people that want him out. Therefore, there is the continuous undercurrent of hostility, where the people that hate Chip Hilton and those that want Rockwell out join forces in a rather sleazy and underhanded manner. Gamblers are also involved. Despite the problems, Chip and Rockwell manage to win out at the end, even though the team does not win the state championship.
One positive aspect of the Chip Hilton series is that Bee does not hesitate to deviate from the norm of juvenile sports fiction, where the hero’s team wins at the very end in a dramatic manner. Like other books in the series, this one emphasizes the power of Chip’s character in dealing with adversity. This makes the book a morality play within a story of sports fiction.

[Mitch Nurenberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Pitchers' Duel" by Clair Bee. This is about a super good athlete named Chip Hilton. He is very good at lots of sports. It is in baseball season and Chip has so pretty crazy games. This book will teach you lots of good lessons about life. I recommend this book to baseball fans.

[Andrew]

The book “Chip HIlton: Pitcher’s Duel” by Coach Claire Bee is a great realistic fiction book about never giving up. This book made me realize that not everybody will like you no matter how much good you do. “Pitcher’s Duel" is about two young Valley Falls High School grads trying to get “The Rock”, or Coach Rockwell, out of his job. Jerry Davis and Buck Weaver team up with journalist Muddy Waters to get “The Rock” out of Valley Falls for good. But not all of their attention is on the long-time Valley Falls High School sports coach. They also want Chip out of the picture. They know that if the Big Reds win the State Championship, “The Rock” will keep his job for good. Buck Weaver goes from just razzing Chip to pouring coffee on “The Rock’s” face. This action was over the line for Chip. He hops the fence and starts punching Buck. All this gets him is a one-week suspension from baseball. Right out of the suspension, Chip is back playing great baseball and gets the Big Reds into the State Playoffs miraculously.