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.

Best Pitcher Finals!

The finals are now set! With his legendary Tirabassi Excavator lineage, Rocky Tirabassi will take on the world-class showman, Gary “Wizard” Petersen. Here is how they got here:

Semi-final Results

Rocky Tirabassi – 56%

Danny Llanas – 44%

Wizard Petersen – 54%

Mario Bonofiglio – 46%

The Finals poll will be open until May 5th at 6:00pm. On Wednesday, the first round of the “Best I Ever Saw” 1^st Basemen tournament will kick off.

Until next time…from the booth.

Best Pitcher – Semi-Finals

Before I post the results of the round one voting for the “Best Pitcher I Ever Saw,” I need to point something out. First of all, I apologize to anyone who felt overlooked. Believe me it was tough narrowing it down to only eight greats. Also, I need to emphasize that these are players that I actually saw play in person. Sorry, Travis Clark. Now for the results…

Rocky Tirabassi – 88%

John Ruffolo – 12%

Danny Llanas – 63%

Ed Van Tine – 37%

Wizard Petersen – 70%

Jim Nehls – 30%

Mario Bonofiglio – 79%

Mike Oblen – 21%

Here are the semi-final matchups:

Rocky Tirabassi vs. Danny Llanas

Mario Bonofiglio vs. Wizard Petersen

The poll will be open until May 3^rd at noon. Please vote for both matchups.

Until next time…from the booth.

The Best I Ever Saw - Pitchers Round I

As many of you know, I have a great passion for Kenosha Softball, especially the Golden Age. Because of that, I have decided to start a new feature From The Booth. It will be called “The Best I Ever Saw.” It will be a “poll tournament” that will allow you to vote on the best player I ever saw play at each position. I will leave each round of the tournament up for 2-3 days.

The first position will be pitcher. There are four quarterfinal matchups featuring the best eight Kenosha pitchers I ever saw. The four winners will square off in the semifinals. The top two vote getters from the semis will then battle it out in the finals. These are the opening round pairings:

1. Rocky Tirabassi vs. John Ruffolo
2. Ed Van Tine vs. Danny Llanas
3. Gary “Wizard” Petersen vs. Jim Nehls
4. Mario Bonofiglio vs. Mike Oblen

Remember, these are the best pitchers that I saw play and this is just for fun. Please vote for all 4 matchups and come back in a couple days to vote for the semifinalists.

Until next time…from the booth.