Superpesis Roundup Awards 2019

Who will take home this year’s Superpesis Roundup awards!
Superpesis Roundup awards 2019

With the official awards now having been won, we turn to our very own Superpesis Roundup awards for 2019. The awards are chosen by the team here at Superpesis Roundup and fit different categories to the official awards. The categories are:
  • Player of the year - awarded to the player who contributed the most during the season overall;
  • Game of the year - the game this year that stood out as being of high quality and drama;
  • Leadoff player of the year - the player at the top of the lineup who reached first base most successfully and ran home successfully from third base;
  • Clutch player of the year - 
  • Rookie of the year - 
  • Kotiutuskilpailu pair of the year - the batter and runner who had the most success in kotiutuskilpailu during the year;
  • Precision player of the year - the player who has had the best record moving players to 2nd or 3rd base, requiring accuracy and skill;
  • Kunniajuoksu leader award - the player with the most kunniajuoksu in the regular season;
  • Signing of the year - the player who’s value skyrocketed after signing with a new team;
  • Tie-break champions - the team who won the most games in supervuoro and kotiutuskilpailu; and
  • Most improved team award - the team that put on the best performance this year compared to last year.

The winners of the awards are...

Player of the year
Antti Hartikainen, Kouvolan Pallonlyöjat
Antti Hartikainen had a massive year, leading KPL into the playoffs and securing bronze after a tight but disappointing series against Sotkamo in the semi-finals. Hartikainen lead the league for successful at bats (222) and 8 gold helmets (best player for the team). With 5 runs batted in and 42 runs in the season, it was more when Hartikainen effected the game that was more definitive, in particular with a success rate of 82.83% per the regular season. Our runner up for this award was Joni Rytkönen, who should have an honourable mention, owing to his 202 successful at bats, success rate of 75.65% and league leading 71 runs scored. Rytkönen is a worthy runner up, but it was Hartikainen’s dominance in the regular season that shaded him.

Game of the year
Kiteen Pallo -90 v Pattijoen Urheilijat Raahe, 
18th July 2019 0-1k (4-4, 4-4, 1-1, 2-3)
This game featured in our Around the League post for 18th and 19th July (the link is posted below). This game was so tight, there was nothing between the teams right until the kotiutuskilpailu. In the scoring contest, Kitee went first and scored twice thanks to Sami Mikkolanaho and Hannes Pekkinen, but it was Raahe who won out in the end, scoring 3 times to win the game. The frustration Kitee felt was clear as they had never been behind all game, only to lose in the narrowest of margins at the very close.


Leadoff player of the year
Tommi Mäentausta, Kouvolan Pallonlyöjat
Mäentausta had a massive year opening for KPL, reaching 1st base 144 times and running home safely 63 times in 29 games during the regular season. 

Clutch player of the year
Jukka-Pekka Vainionpää, Seinäjoen JymyJussit
Vainionpää led the league on runs batted in with 126, a clear 15 ahead of second place Juha Korhonen. Vainionpää had a success rate of 62.50% which was the highest for the leading RBI players.

Rookie of the year
Simo Vainikainen, Siilinjärven Pesis
Vainikainen was a big success story for SiiPe in 2019 and was a key player for the team in their fight for survival. Vainikainen scored 28 runs and had 101 successful at bats with a 60.11% rate. This years runner-up was Samuel Tirkkonen of Joensuu, who had 41 successful hits to 1st base, reaching home 23 times over 22 games and an overall success rate at moving the point runner of 53.08%.

Kotiutuskilpailu pair of the year
Patrik Wahlsten and Riku Niemi/Matias Litmanen, Koskenkorvan Urheilijat
During the regular season there were 21 games that were decided by a kotiutuskilpailu, of those, Patrik Wahlsten scored 5 times from 7 attempts, with Riku Niemi and Matias Litmanen scoring twice each. We thought it unfair to pick either Niemi or Litmanen, as both had fantastic pairings with Wahlsten, Whilst there were several other players who brought in 5 runners in a kotiutuskilpailu, Wahlsten did it with only 2 outs. 

Precision player of the year
Antti Hartikainen, Kouvolan Pallonlyöjat 
Hartikainen picks up this award as well as player of the year owing to his 209 successful at bats moving the point runners to 2nd and 3rd bases and an 82.83% success rate overall.

Kunniajuoksu leader award
Sami Haapakoski, Vimpelin Veto
The kunniajuoksu is a curious statistic, unlike home runs in baseball, kunniajuoksu are a combination of skill, luck and the makeup of the grounds surrounding the field of play. Kunniajuoksu however are spectacularly entertaining and lead to a scramble by defensive players, sometimes into trees or rivers! This year’s kunniajuoksu leader was Sami Haapakoski who hit 10 on the year, which was on average 1 in every 3 games! If you weren’t entertained watching Vimpeli this season, then maybe nothing will. Special mention goes to Elmeri Purmonen of Kiteen Pallo -90 who ran home 5 times in kotiutuskilpailu during the regular season and was put out 3 times, making him the most successful runner.

Signing of the year
Joni Rytkönen, Sotkamon Jymy
Joni had a phenomenal season at Sotkamo and has made himself a true Jymy household name. Joni signed from Tahko in 2018 having put up good numbers (149 successful at bats and a 65.6% rate of success, as well as making it home 43 times), but in 2019 he went into another gear and was a key factor for Sotkamo’s success, with 202 successful at bats (3rd highest in the league), a rate of success of 75.65% (4th highest in the league) as well as crossing home base a league leading 71 times. 

Tie-break champions
Sotkamon Jymy
No team won more games in supervuoro and kotiutuskilpailu than Sotkamo, winning 9 and losing only 2. To get to tie break scenarios a team must slip in the game somewhat and Sotkamo seemed to gain a reputation for dropping a jakso here and there only to blitz their opponents in supervuoro and kotiutuskilpailu. 

Most improved team award
Hyvinkään Tahko

In 2018 Tahko had a poor run of form and ended the season effectively in 11th place. This season Tahko had a great start, at the East v West break Tahko had the 3rd fewest runs scored against and sat 4th in the table. By the end of the season Tahko had slipped into 5th place, but still had a solid place in the playoffs. No other team came close to achieving the leap that Tahko did this year up the table. 

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