The roundup - 7th to 13th June 2021

Toni Kohonen makes history to become the first active player to choose his team-mates for East v West

The big stories

Toni Kohonen to pick the East all-star team

Ok, so this news broke on 14th June, but it is such a big story. Wanted to include it in this roundup.

There are not many awards or titles that Toni Kohonen hasn’t already won or earned, but history has been made by the Pesäpallo Federation determining that Korhonen will be the first active player in history to choose his team-mates for this year’s East v West game. The allstar event is a matter of great pride for players and this opportunity is a clear measure of how much the pesäpallo community respects Kohonen and his continued drive for success. 

Kohonen has 49 home runs and 796 regular RBIs in his career, with 528 runs and a staggering 3,244 successful hits at moving the point runner across 743 regular-season matches in 28 Superpesis seasons. Korhonen’s career famously started with Kitee and he now stands in the top 10 in every all-time statistic. To match his regular season stats, Kohonen has been player of the year 3 times, Playoff MVP in 2011 an a record 13 times pitcher of the year! Korhonen has 10 Finnish championships and has not made the playoffs twice (in 1993 and 2007).

When it comes to the coveted East v West games, Kohonen has played 22 times in a row, which was only interrupted by the game being cancelled in 2020. Kohonen now will have an unprecedented 23 allstar games.

Mikko Kanala and Henri Puputti reach RBI milestones 

Vimpeli celebrated in style with heir win over Kitee the other weekend, not only taking the full 3 points and out scoring their opponents 21 to 5, but also celebrating a key milestone for Mikko Kanala. Kanala scored 4 RBI in the game, with the haul now putting him in 16th place overall in terms of all-time RBI.

Another milestone was ticked off this week by a former Vimpeli man as Henri Puputti (who sits 2nd place overall in terms of RBI) reached 700 career RBI in the Friday night game against Joensuu. Puputti’s record is still some way short of former team mate Sami Haapakoski, who has over 1000 RBI and still adding to his tally.

Around the league

For the “around the league” sections for posts I will be focusing on various teams overall performances rather than discussing each result in isolation.

Manttu magic continues

In the last roundup I talked about how SiiPe’s opening week was a mix of dizzying heights and crushing lows, with a superb victory over KPL at home following their road loss to champions Sotkamo. This week saw another spectacular result at Manttu with SiiPe beating Kitee. At present Kitee have a number of problems and are struggling to find form, but it is worth mentioning that SiiPe’s home record is 2 wins from 2 games, taking the maximum 6 points on offer. Runs scored at home are 24 with 10 conceded. This is contrasted to their away record, with 0 wins from 2 games and only 1 point earned. Runs scored on the road are 8 with 41 conceded. Whatever motivational tools are at work at Manttu, someone needs to take them on the road, because this team are going to be grateful for every point they can earn this season. For now, SiiPe sit at 4th in the table…

Manse topples JoMa

What a difference a year makes; JoMa have won 2 and lost 2 of their open ending games, with Kempele giving them a scare and forcing extra innings. Manse on the other hand find themselves tied for the top of the table with maximum points from 4 games. Last season Manse’s first season in Superpesis ended without a place in the top 8, which would have been a long shot in any event; however a flurry of big signings has catapulted them into the mix for a championship at the end of this year. Manse’s win over Joensuu came at Kaupi stadium in Tampere, officially opening Manse’s home games. Both jakso were won by a single run and Joensuu were unlucky to come away without any points; however they found themselves having to chase the game, as Manse led both jakso virtually throughout. Henri Puputti’s 4 run home run in the 1st inning of the first jakso was a game changer and set the tone for the game. Joensuu are still struggling to find their rhythm this season, but have had flashes of brilliance and will be confident of a top 4 finish this season. For Manse, there is only 1 goal this year - a championship, anything less will be a conciliation prize.

Kitee’s poor form continues

Kitee’s list of injuries and problems continues to haunt the team, with 2 wins in 4 games so far this season. Kitee’s overall performance has been poor over the 4 games, with a huge loss to Vimpeli, being equalled by a 3 point defeat at the hands of SiiPe (who many predict will finish rock bottom of the table this season). Kitee managed to win their first of 2 games against SiiPe last week, but it was not a straightforward result, with SiiPe brushing off their first jakso score of 14-1 to come back and force extra innings with a 2-6 score in the second jakso. Kitee breathed a sigh of relief when they outscored SiiPe in the kotiutuskilpailu (scoring contest) 4-2, but things could easily have swung the other way. Kitee will be hoping that their injury woes will end soon and the team can return to form and push for a top 5 finish - with Manse playing well, the race at the top has become very crowded, but other teams like JoMa and KPL have looked vulnerable on occasions and could be chased down by Kitee if things start to fall into place.

The table as it currently stands: