Review of "Pay-Off Pitch," by Clair Bee

Review of

Pay-Off Pitch, by Clair Bee

Five out of five stars

 While there is no question that William (Chip) Hilton is the star of the series of books by Clair Bee that bears his name, others are often featured. He stars in the three sports of football, basketball and baseball, yet he is also depicted as physically vulnerable to injury and is not always the one to make the play to win the big game at the end.

 As the title implies, the sport of this book is baseball. Chip and his friends are now attending State University and they are in their sophomore year, so are eligible for the varsity. Rockwell, his principled high school coach, has moved on to the position of an assistant coach at State, so there is a continuation of the same group of people. Rockwell’s wife provides the only significant female character in the book, she is depicted as kindly and helpful.

 It is a tough season, internal dissension causes the team to get off to a very slow start, yet events change and suddenly the team goes on a winning streak and challenges for the league title. In true Clair Bee style, there are many lessons in proper deportment and sportsmanship, when faced with difficult situations, Chip maintains his integrity, resisting offers by nefarious individuals.

This is a book where the ending does not follow the usual script, even veering from the obvious prediction inherent in the title. Yet, it is an adolescent sports fiction book in the highest tradition, one that has a lot of sports action with many lessons about life in general.