The Chip Hilton Series is great! I gave the book a 9 out of 10 because it isn't good until the games start, they just talk about school and practicing baseball. Strike Three by Coach Clair Bee is the third book of the Chip Hilton Series, and it is one of the best!
In the beginning of Strike Three, Chip Hilton was able to play on the Valley Falls baseball team because his previousley broken ankle had healed. He starts off the season playing catcher and Nick Trullo plays pitcher. The two guys do not get along well because Nick wanted his friend Carl Carey to play catcher instead of Chip. Nick made a personal decision to ignore the pitching signs that Chip was giving to him. Nick's decision not to pay attention to the signs led to Valley Falls first two losses.
The coach did not like Nick's unsportsman-like behavior and his decision to ignore the signs that were being given to him by the team catcher. The coach decided to throw Nick off the team. In the meantime, Chip and his teammate, Soapy Smith had been practicing pitching and catching every night in Chip's backyard. Coach Rockwell did not know they were practicing. One of the coaches for State[ a local college] that Chip took lessons with earlier in the year wrote Coach Rockwell a letter saying that he thought Chip was a good, strong pitcher. After Chip found out that the coach knew he could pitch, he decided to tell Coach Rockwell about Soapy Smith and what a great catcher he was. The coach appreciated the information.
Valley Falls started winning and then suddenly they couldn't lose. Later in the season, Valley Falls was just about to win a game when Chip threw a pitch that hit Soapy in the thumb of the catcher's mitt. Uh oh! He broke his thumb and couldn't play the rest of the season.
If you want to find out how the rest of the season went, read Strike Three. It is an enjoyable, good book. I would recommend it to anybody and everybody who likes sports!
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