Men's Superpesis Notes 2024

Notes made from the Hutunkeittäjät podcast, loosely from what was the easiest to translate and understand as a fairly novice Pesis fan.

General

13 teams play in Men's Superpesis, playing 24 matches over the regular season. After that, the 1st to 7th teams will play the upper continuation series, and 8th-13th will play the lower continuation series.

The top 6 teams will advance directly to the quarterfinals, and the last place team of the upper series and the top 3 of the lower series will play playoff qualifiers (7th vs 10th and 8th vs 9th).

The bottom team of the lower series will fall directly to Ykköspesis, and the 11th and 12th place teams will play against each other and the loser has to play the winner of Ykköspesis for a spot in Superpesis next season.

Nobody will advance directly from Ykköspesis as Superpesis will go down to 12 teams for 2025.

The final preview episode will air on Tuesday, so notes for the remaining teams will be updated as soon as I have material and time to make them In the meantime I've put together some notes based on https://www.ruutu.fi/video/4534767

The Teams and Budgets

Alajärven Ankkurit - 419,000€

  • Last season was getting used to Superpesis after ascending. Finished last but kept their position.
  • Heavily invested in local players from Alajärvi.
  • Strategy in 2023 centered around bouncers. The home field is very bouncy.
  • Struggled a lot on away fields.
  • Pitcher Elmeri Iivonen is a good, young pitcher, though quite uneven.
  • Lots of developing youth talent
  • Team is spread out more than usual with students and worker across Finland
  • Winter practice focus on defending run-on plays. Weakest 1- and 2-situation defenses in the league.
  • Offensive play focus on diversifying hits.
  • Joona Peltokangas identified as an important player to watch by the manager.

Haminan Palloilijat - 490,000€

  • Been moving up and down between the leagues. "Elevator team".
  • Home field has good mood, but the stands are ancient relics.
  • Juho Hacklin, Lauri Rönkkö are notable acquisitions.
  • Teemu Rouhiainen a good runner.
  • Pitcher Elias Lahti a promising young guy. Also has a big offensive role.
  • Manager Eerik Häkämies is an unknown variable, but did manage to get the team into Superpesis.
  • Big names in the coaching staff
  • Staying in Superpesis will be challenging

Imatran Pallo-Veikot - 541,000€

  • Decent showing over the winter series.
  • Will not get into the upper continuation series.
  • Criticism over poor level of daily running of a high-end sports team.
  • Good players often transfer elsewhere.
  • Juho Hakomäki is a level-headed acqusition.
  • Eero Kuitunen from Hyvinkää probably the best new hire.
  • Team lighter on their feet after resolved injuries.
  • Pitcher Rasmus Surakka turned heads in prior seasons but other teams have caught on to his style of play. Has potential though.
  • Manager Vesa Toikka makes unexpected moves. Still owns a VHS recorder.
  • Toni "Kossu" Kosonen a talented batter.

Seinäjoen JymyJussit - 530,000€

  • Positive surprise over the winter.
  • Risk-taking playstyle. When it works, it works well. When it doesn't, it's a disaster.
  • Decent amount of advancing power compared to other low-end teams. Playing with the whole team instead of one or two point runners.
  • Rear fielders a potential weakness.
  • Pitcher Miika Keski-Petäjä, short pitcher, can pitch low as a result. Game pacing has needed work. Upping the tempo would work for the team.
  • Crown jewel, batting joker Aapo Hiltunen, high expectations. Perhaps overly self-critical as a consequence.
  • Other batter joker Markus Hallasuo performed better over the winter, but not a clearout hit kind of person.

Kiteen Pallo - 767,000€

This team is notable for non-fans by their theme tune having been composed by Nightwish, and player Kasperi Kaksonen plays with a Nightwish sponsorship on his jersey.

  • Nearly disastrous winter season.
  • Many lineup changes, not an excuse for poor performance.
  • Defensive game solid until a mistake breaks the team's back.
  • Pitcher Joona Lehtinen plays a slow, contemplative game, but has recently diversified.
  • Winter: 15 runs in 6 matches, 11 of those against two teams, so 4 matches with 4 runs total.
  • Stated goal of Kiteen Pallo is to be the most respected team in Finland by 2026. A wholly unrealistic goal looking at the steps they're taking. (Which is a kinder way to say it than the podcasters did.)
  • Manager does not seem to play the team to its strengths, and instead plays them like bigger teams he's coached previously have played.
  • No high profile acquisitions. Remote location of Kitee and proximity of Joensuu might play a part.
  • Good stadium, good attendance.
  • Players to watch include batter joker Jiri Pippola, Topias and Kasperi Kaksonen

Pattijoen Urheilijat - 570,000€

  • 2 previous seasons have gone beyond expectations, which brings pressure.
  • Bankruptcy speculations have quieted down recently.
  • Mikael Mäkelä key player, among fastest point runners in the league. But are there supporting batters?
  • No departures between seasons
  • Batting jokers quite inconsistent in performance.
  • Pitcher Topi Still better than the pitchers of the above teams, plays very solidly despite his young age of 20.

Kempeleen Kiri - 578,500€

  • Previous season saw the first medal in the team's history.
  • However, 2024 goal is only a playoff position.
  • Tuomas Jussila probably the best player in Superpesis. 3-time player of the year, all time record is 4.

Vimpelin Veto - 694,000€

If you've ever seen Pesäpallo footage as a foreigner, you've probably seen the Vimpeli home field. It's the one with the water hazards, as the stadium is on a river island. The playstyle requirements resulting from it also give them a strong home advantage; In 2022 ViVe did not lose a single home game. Average attendance is roughly 2/3 of the population of Vimpeli.

  • Jukka-Pekka Vainionpää a candidate for batting king - 6-time winner, 7 is all time record
  • Possibly the best offensive game of the league.

Hyvinkään Tahko - 700,000€

  • New managers rely on solid defensive play to enable consistent wins.
  • New stadium under construction

Manse PP - 1,040,000€

  • Acquisition Elmeri Lieto a versatile and good player.

Kouvolan Pallonlyöjät 1,150,000€

  • Patrik Wahlsten a candidate for batting king
  • Pitcher Elias Pitkänen recovered from arm surgery after being absent for the previous season - player to watch for

Joensuun Maila - 1,220,000€

  • Winter season winners.
  • Niko Korhonen from Jymy biggest new hire.
  • Running speed in very good state.

Sotkamon Jymy - 1,700,000€

  • Reigning champion and 20-time championship winner
  • Roope Korhonen a candidate for batting king
  • Elmeri Purmonen predicted best at advancing.
  • Best rear fielders of the league.

Managers' Evaluations

Best Player

  • Elmeri Anttila, ViVe
  • Konsta Kettunen, JoMa

Best Pitcher

  • Petteri Alanen, Tahko
  • Aapo Komulainen, JyMy

Best Rear Fielder

  • Jussi Korhonen, SoJy
  • Henri Puputti, Manse

Best Runner

  • Konsta Kettunen, JoMa
  • Patrik Vartama, KPL

Best Away Field in terms of mood

  • Saarikenttä, Vimpeli

Overall Ranking

  1. Vimpelin Veto
  2. Sotkamon Jymy
  3. Joensuun Maila
  4. Manse PP, Tampere
  5. Kempeleen Kiri
  6. Kouvolan Pallonlyöjät
  7. Hyvinkään Tahko
  8. Pattijoen Urheilijat
  9. Kiteen Pallo
  10. Imatran Pallo-Veikot
  11. Alajärven Ankkurit
  12. Seinäjoen Jymyjussit
  13. Haminan Palloilijat
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Pub: 06 May 2024 07:58 UTC
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