The roundup - 18th to 25th January 2021

Markus Tuikka announced his retirement this week

The big stories

Markus Tuikka retires

On 25th January Joensuun Maila announced that Markus Tuikka had decided to announce his retirement and both he and the team were mutually terminating his contract. Tuikka made an exciting start in a JoMa shirt against Kitee the weekend before, after taking 2020 away from the sport. Last year started with Tuikka playing for Hyvinkää, which would have given them a much needed boost in the regular season; however when the COVID-19 pandemic started to effect he sport, Tuikka and Tahko parted ways by usual agreement.


Tuikka started his career with Spartak Kajaani in 2010, before joining Sotkamon Jymy. Tuikka’s debut in Superpesis was against Alajärvei on 11th June 2013. Thereafter, Tuikka was a regular in the Sotkamo lineup and won 1 gold medal and 3 silver medals. I was so excited to see Markus back on the pitch in JoMa’s training games last weekend, but it seems that Markus will not be returning to Pesis this summer.


"Sometimes in life you have to make difficult decisions. Due to the tight full-time work in Kajaani and the scheduling challenge of building my own home, I feel that I cannot make sufficient contribution to the team," Markus Tuikka (translation via google)


"I have decided to leave the baseball fields. It was a difficult decision, but now is the time to move on in life in this regard. Thank you Joensuu Maila for this winter season and success for the future!” Markus Tuikka (translation via google)


On Joensuu’s article announcing Markus’ retirement, the team expresses their thanks and wish him all the best for the next time.


"In life, you have to be honest with yourself and I appreciate Markus' straightforward way of handling it," says Matti Lindholm, CEO of Super-JoMa Oy. (translation via google)


I would like to echo the comments made by JoMa and wish Markus every success in the future. Paljon onnea Markus.



Around the league


23rd January

Manse PP, Tampere v Kankaanpään Maila

3-0 (10-2, 6-0, 2-1)

Manse are almost unrecognisable from the team that stormed their way to winning Ykköspesis in 2019, with an all star lineup that was acquired in the off-season. This was the first glimpse of Manse’s push for something big this season and they didn’t disappoint. As for Kankaanpää, their efforts were always going to fall short against a team full of championship winning names; however the key for KaMa is to find ways to stay competitive in key games. 


Tuomas Jussila had a perfect start for Manse, going 8/8 with 1 run and 1 RBI, but it was Juha Niemi who lit up the scoreboard with 5 RBI from 7 attempts. Miikka Riikonen scored one of Kankaanpää’s 2 RBI in the game, but a dismal 1/6 with runners on third base summed up the team’s struggles. Kankaanpää’s defence struggled under the strain of Manse’s offence and 2 wild throws compounded problems. Manse had a staggering 27 3rd base situations compared to Kankaanpää’s 9. 


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