Midfielder – A Kenosha Exclusive

The voting for the Most Popular Kenosha Shortstop I Ever Saw closed yesterday and I am overwhelmed. Not by the results, but by the total number of votes – 309! This record turnout determined that Shortstop John Pitts would join Rocky Tirabassi (P), Tom Beth (1B), Mike Higgins (2B) and Bill Griffiths (3B) on the all tournament team. Here are the final results:

Moving on in the Most Popular I Ever Saw tournament, it is time for a Kenosha exclusive – the Midfielder. To the best of my knowledge, Kenosha, Wisconsin is the only place putting an eleventh player on the field. The midfielder typically plays behind the bag at second base between the second baseman and the shortstop. Everywhere else you play softball, an additional hitter is used and only bats, not playing defense. Leave it to Kenosha to be different.

Because of the uniqueness of the midfielder position, I have decided to include that eclectic group of players that played numerous positions. This list covers multi-talented players whose abilities found them playing traditional infield and outfield positions and, remarkably, sometimes even midfield.

So, without further ado, let the voting for this Kenosha exclusive position begin!

The Most Popular Kenosha Midfielder I Ever Saw Tourney poll will be open until Wednesday at noon. As always, the poll is located just to the right of the blog. Those using a smartphone, make sure you scroll to the bottom and click on view web version to find the poll.

Until next time…from the booth.

Next Up, Shortstop

We have a winner in the Most “Popular” 3^rd Baseman I Ever Saw tournament! Coming out on top was Bill “Mountain” Griffiths. Jeff “Herman” Clark took second, with Gary Schneeberger edging out Brian Portilia for third place. Here are the final totals:

Next up is the Most “Popular” Shortstop I Ever Saw tournament. In my opinion this group ranks among the most talented players during the Golden Age of Kenosha Softball. But, hey, what do I know?

The Most “Popular” 3^rd Shortstop I Ever Saw Tourney poll will be open until Saturday at noon. As usual, the poll is located just to the right of the blog. Those using a smartphone should make sure you scroll to the bottom and click on view web version to find the poll.

Until next time…from the booth.

Okay, Let’s Try This…

The results from the 1^st Baseman and 2^nd Baseman “Best” I Ever saw tournaments really opened my eyes. So much so, I am again forced to change the format. And the name. However, before I go on, here are the results from the 2^nd Baseman tourney:

Now for the changes.

No Final Eight. No Honorable Mention. No Seeding. No Semifinals. No Finals. One tournament poll. One winner. And that winner will be declared The Most “Popular” I Ever Saw.

You may ask, why the draconian changes. As I stated, the results of the last two tournaments opened my eyes. Hell, they shocked me. I couldn’t believe them. When Gregg Hansen, a longtime Kenosha Softball player, chimed in with a rather poignant comment on Facebook, I knew it wasn’t only me thinking this way. Here is what Gregg wrote:

Paul thanks for taking the time and effort of putting together "The Best" of softball voting. Having played on, and managed, many teams over my active years, I would like to present a perspective for the voters.

While all players have a fan base, I think Paul meant this to be a contest to determine "THE BEST" player you have seen play the position. In other words, if you had, say, $5000 of your own money to sponsor a team, who would you want playing each position to represent your "DREAM TEAM.” I don't believe Paul meant…Who is your best friend, or, who do you like most, or, who is your relative, but…Who is absolutely "THE BEST" at this position that you have ever seen, that wouldn't be wasting a spot on the roster.

Please correct me if I missed the intent of your contest, Paul. Keep up the great work on all of your writing efforts! (My opinion was not meant to denigrate the popularity, or ability, of any players considered in Paul's poll.)

Gregg’s comments summed up my feelings very well. Let’s leave it at that.

You will notice that the new poll has a large number of players to choose from. Under my format, if I saw someone play and they stood out in my memories, they made the list. So, with that in mind, let the popularity contest begin!

The Most “Popular” 3^rd Baseman I Ever Saw Tourney poll will be open until Saturday at noon. As usual, the poll is located just to the right of the blog. Those using a smartphone, make sure you scroll to the bottom and click on view web version to find the poll.

Until next time…from the booth.

“Best” 2nd Baseman Finals

With a total of 42 votes cast, the finals for the “Best” 2nd baseman I Ever Saw tournament are set. Dick Laba will square off with Mike Higgins. Here are the semifinal results:

 Like always, the poll is located just to the right of the blog. Remember, if you are using a smartphone, make sure you scroll to the bottom and click on view web version to find the poll.

The finals poll will be open until May 19th at 6:00pm. On Wednesday, the first round for the 3rd Basemen tourney will kick off. Be ready for a surprise or two! Thanks for continuing to participate.

Until next time…from the booth.

2nd Baseman – Semi-Finals

A total of 50 votes were cast in the opening round of the “Best I Ever Saw” second baseman tournament. Here are the results:

Dick Laba – 21 (42%)

Mike Higgins – 15 (30%)

Tom Blaziewske – 4 (8%)

Brad Breiling – 4 (8%)

Tom Wood – 4 (8%)

Mark Gascoigne – 1 (2%)

Jeff DiCello – 1 (2%)

Mark Pias – 0 (0%)

Because there was a 3-way tie for third and fourth place, there will be five players moving on to the semi-finals.

The voting for the semis will be open until noon on May 17. Once again, the poll is located just to the right of the blog. Remember, if you are using a smartphone, make sure you scroll to the bottom and click on view web version to find the poll.

Until next time…from the booth.

More of the Best Ever

Tom Beth joins pitcher Rocky Tirabassi as the first baseman on the “Best I Ever Saw” team. Because of a tie, Beth had to knock off two Kenosha Softball legends – Gene Willems and Bill Johnson. Here are the final totals:

Before moving on to the Second Basemen Tourney, I would like to go over the qualifications for the players in these tournaments. First and foremost, it has to be someone that I personally saw play. Unfortunately, this leaves out some of the old-time greats and several of the young phenoms. The only other requirement is that they lived primarily in Kenosha during their playing career.

Please note that I am making a slight adjustment to the tournament format. From this point on, I will not be seeding the players and creating matchups. The top four vote getters in the opening round will move on to the semifinal round. The top two from the semis will then move on to the finals.

This “Best I Ever Saw” Tournament is for fun and is not scientific by any means. Still, I do apologize if I omit someone that you may feel belongs in the tournament.

With all of that in mind, here are my eight finalists in the opening round of the Second Baseman Tourney:

Dick Laba

Tom Blaziewske

Brad Breiling

Tom Wood

Mark Gascoigne

Mike Higgins

Jeff DiCello

Mark Pias

These are the players that made my honorable mention list: Vince DeMarino, Larry Campagna, Wayne Andreucci, Tom Baltrus, and Jim Cicchini.

This opening round for Second Basemen Tourney poll will be open until Friday at noon. That is when the semifinal voting will commence. As usual, the poll is located just to the right of the blog. Those using a smartphone, make sure you scroll to the bottom and click on view web version to find the poll.

Until next time…from the booth.

Best 1st Baseman Finals!

The finals for the “Best 1^st basemen I Ever Saw” are set. And, fittingly, we have a first – a tie! Check out these results:

Semi-finals

Gene Willems – 73%

Dan McGonegle – 27%

Bill Johnson – 50%

Tom Beth – 50%

Because Johnson and Beth ended in a draw, BOTH will join Willems in the finals. Who will join pitcher Rocky Tirabassi on my “Best I Ever Saw” all-time team? Will it be Gene “Gino” Willems, Bill “White Shoes” Johnson or the late Tom “Bads” Beth?

As always, the poll is located just to the right of the blog. Remember, if you are using a smartphone, make sure you scroll to the bottom and click on view web version to find the poll.

The finals poll will be open until Tuesday at 6:00pm. On Wednesday, the first round of the “Best I Ever Saw” 2^nd Basemen tournament will kick off.

Until next time…from the booth.

1st Baseman – Semi-Finals

A spirited opening round of voting resulted in these semifinal matchups as the “Best I Ever Saw” 1^st Baseman tourney rolls on:

Gene Willems vs. Dan McGonegle

Bill Johnson vs. Tom Beth

Here are the opening round results:

Gene Willems - 72%

Ron Schuler - 28%

Dan McGonegle - 61%

Ron Schmitz - 39%

Tom Beth - 76%

Jim Darula - 24%

Bill Johnson - 70%

Tom Sorensen - 30%

The voting for the semis will be open until noon on May 10. Once again, the poll is located just to the right of the blog. Remember, if you are using a smartphone, make sure you scroll to the bottom and click on view web version to find the poll.

Until next time…from the booth.

The Best Ever Tourney Continues

We have a winner for the Best Pitcher I Ever Saw. Rocky Tirabassi emerged victorious over the Wizard in a tough battle. The results:

Rocky Tirabassi – 55%

Wizard Petersen – 45%

To get to the finals, Rocky knocked off Danny Llanas and the Wizard beat Mario Bonofiglio. The other Final 8 pitchers were Ed Van Tine, Jim Nehls, Mike Oblen and John Ruffolo.

Before moving on to the Best 1^st Baseman I Ever Saw, I wanted to list the hurlers that didn’t quite make the Final 8.

Honorable Mention Pitchers: Wilbur Buckle, Rick Bloomquist, Tom Cucciare, Greg Czarnecki, Dennis FitzGerald, Gary Larson, Tim Gascoigne, Tony Halpin, Pat Hegewald, Gordy Hess, Jerry Kostreva, Kevin Loef, Dennis “Satch” Lumley and Lonnie McCrossen.

Now it’s time for the next round, the first sackers. Here are the opening matchups:

A. Gene Willems vs. Ron Schuler

B. Dan McGonegle vs. Ron Schmitz

C. Tom Beth vs. Jim Darula

D. Bill Johnson vs. Tom Sorensen

These are the Honorable Mention 1^st Basemen: Rade Dimitrijevic, Chuck Portilia, John McQuestion, Jeff Kaeppeler, Mark Montague, Mark Epping, Kevin Mikolas, Beaver Griffiths and Jon Arena.

Once again, the poll is on the right side of the blog. Please vote for all 4 matchups and come back on Friday to vote for the semifinalists.

Until next time…from the booth.