53 Things About a 53-Second Finnish Baseball Video
With no baseball being played on this Monday night as I write this, I thought I’d throw this out for a quick fix. Granted, this is baseball as it’s played in Finland:
Below is a second-by-second recap of all the glorious action.
{note – because the Stone-Age author doesn’t know how to post GIFs into an article, you’ll have to pause the video yourself to freeze the action for each of the 53 seconds}
0:01 – Dude in the white-striped uniform way off the plate, obviously trying to avoid catcher’s interference because of the dude in the orange-and-blue uniform.
0:02 – Orange-and-blue apparently spots the pitcher striding towards the pitcher’s mound, which I guess in Finnish is the “tikli”.
0:03 – There’s a “ski” on the back of the hitter’s jersey, so he must be Sami Haapakoski. Not likely to be another Polish guy on a Finnish baseball team.
0:04 – And he’s got his hands backwards. (I’d love to see how he holds a light bulb to screw it in)
0:05 – And now the catcher flips the ball up in the air! A combination hidden-ball trick/quick-pitch.
0:06 – First baseman charging in…Sami charging at the offering, which can only mean…
0:07 – A line drive over the first baseman’s head. Well played Sami!
0:08 – Sami now runs down the THIRD-BASE LINE!!!! (being half-Polish myself I have no more capacity to joke). This means that the runner who’s already there (Jeano Segurannen) has to start running to second.
0:09 – What’s with the water hazard inside the park? I guess with this being Finnish baseball, they’ve replaced right field with a right fjord.
0:10 – I like the greenery in right fjord. Gives it a Wrigley-like ambiance (this is the Obligatory 2016 Cubs Reference™ for this article)
0:11 – Crowd going wild, screaming for Sami to run the bases the right way and not blow a well-earned ground-rule double.
0:12 – Or maybe it’s a ground-rule triple if it gets stuck in the poison ivy. Not sure.
0:13 – Love the hustle on the guy in right fjord. Plays the game the right way, he does.
0:14 – And emerging from behind a tree there’s an umpire, checking to see if the ball lodged in the poison ivy for a triple or into the water for a double….what, the ball’s IN PLAY??!?
0:15 – Yep. The right fjorder (Jonni Damonen) swiftly tosses a relay to one of his fellow outfjorders.
0:16 – Unfortunately, Ryän Raburninnen isn’t known for having the best “handle” in this sport
0:17 – Average water temperatures in Finland are colder than anywhere in the continental USA. That’s because they’re measured in degrees Celsius.
0:18 – Look, there’s Jeano rounding the bases the right way
0:19 – Poor right fjorder takes his second plunge in the last five seconds. Someone please fire up a sauna for ol’ Jonni.
0:20 – And there’s Sami flying like a Finn right behind him. All this fumbling of the frigid fjord-frozen ball in right fjord has allowed them to finally move forward again.
0:21 – Nice flip by the right fjorder. Maybe they should move him to second base, wherever the hell they put that in Finland.
0:22 – Nice use of the split screen for the fielding and baserunning portions of the play. Might catch on for MLB telecasts if they ever tried it.
0:23 – Here comes Sami to his jubilant teammates….
0:24 – …PSYCH!!…
0:25 – …running up the third-base line without him
0:26 – The right fjorder pulls his hypothermic body up Tallinn’s Hill, his efforts having been to no avail.
0:27 – Why are they running out there with their bats? I am so thoroughly confused.
0:28 – Led Zeppelin, the official sponsor of the third-base warning track.
0:29 – Those uniforms make these guys look like a NASCAR pit crew. Waiting for one of them to hand Sami a champagne bottle to spray the place.
0:30 – Some guy in a blue jacket is taking a stroll in from left field, apparently oblivious to all the mayhem.
0:31 – This part of the field is also used for the Finnish Capture The Flag League.
0:32 – Finnish vodka is excellent. Just ask the camera guy.
0:33 – Guy in blue jacket has a helmet on. Must be from a different pit crew.
0:34 – Ebullient Finnish yelling.
0:35 – This part of the field was formerly used by the local Finnish Basketball Association team. The team disbanded once it was discovered that someone forgot to put up an actual basket.
0:36 – The one guy with a green helmet comes towards the camera with his bat in ready position. Must be the team’s enforcer.
0:37 – “HAYYYYY!!!”
0:38 – Another yell sounding like “BASEBALLLL!!!!”
0:39 – Coach about to give Sami a water bottle for all his efforts with the bat and on the basepaths (both clockwise and counterclockwise)
0:40 – Fun fact: one of those long Finnish words on Sami’s uni means “this space available for sale”. I forgot exactly which one it was.
0:41 – At least Sami holds the water bottle correctly.
0:42 – How come there’s no left fjord?
0:43 – Fuzzy blue feet can only mean one thing — a mascot! Wonder who/what they have for mascots in Finland?
0:44 – It’s the love child of these two! Sweet!
0:45 – Not sure what that thing is over the bleachers behind home plate (home Frisbee?). Looks vaguely aerodynamic.
0:46 – Someone obviously has a job that includes coordinating handtowels to these guys’ uniforms. The age of specialization is not merely a North American phenomenon.
0:47 – Because Finnish baseballs are often contaminated with fjord-borne bacteria, used handtowels are the souvenir of choice.
0:48 – Eriko is like… what?
0:49 – Ignoring the two kids waving for the towel in the front, Sami fires a Hail Mary pass for the blonde in the top row.
0:50 – Notice all the parkas and heavy winter clothing on these fans. Although the average game-time temperature in Finland is about 17°C, the temperature on this evening was only 10°C, which is just 10 degrees above the freezing point of the right fjorder’s uniform.
0:51 – Nobody bothered to man the lemonade stand in left field just past the bleachers. Guy in the blue jacket probably just walked off with the lemons.
0:52 – Can the Finnish president override a vimpelin veto?
0:53 – Fun fact: the official logo of Superpesis, the major league of Finnish baseball, has basically the same logo as the NBC peacock.
tz posts stuff in Fangraphs comments section from time to time. He has taken to putting his TLDR posts into the Community Research section to spare other commenters.
I enjoyed this and believe that having a creek for the outfield fence is also a proper dimension for wiffle ball on camping trips. Well played, Finland.
In our backyard version of wiffle ball any ball hit into the swimming pool in deep right field was an out, just like the back line in pesäpallo is an out.
#KeepNotGraphs
#PesapolloGraphs
I’ve tried to see if there are any pesäpallo stats being tracked anywhere, but could find anything. I’d love to know who the all-time career leader in kunnari is.
Situation at 27.7 was written in article
http://www.pesis.fi/?x21605=24413361
Kaikkien aikojen kunnaritilasto = All-time
Kunnarit yhdellä kaudella = Seasons best
Eniten kunnareita yhdellä kaudella joukkueittain = Seasons best by club
Match record is 4 by Matti Venäläinen 12.6.1966
Left fjord is where the left shark became a father. A lot more privacy than right fjord.
Freakin hilarious. Where did you find this?
Watched a number of pesäpallo videos after a Fangraphs commenter mentioned how in pesäpallo you get to stay on third base after a home run and try to score again. After finding out that the Finnish word for home run is “kunnari” I Googled it and this video was among them.
Greetings from Finland.
Here you can see this game https://vimeo.com/171364663 and video clip here https://vimeo.com/171364663#t=3915s
Pesäpallo is fast paced game. Look how these player can dive.
Greetings to you, and thanks for the video links. I like seeing the alternate view of the kunnari in the second link..
Are there any good guides to the rules and strategy of pesäpallo? I looked it up in the English language version of Wikipedia but I don’t think I’m understanding it. It seems very different from baseball.
This is best English version what i have found. Ready to help with it.
Introduction and basic rules
http://www.pesis.fi/pesapalloliitto/international_site/introduction/
Thanks. I’ll read this through and let you know what questions have.
Here are some questions:
1. If the batter hits the ball in the air with two strikes and it is caught, does he have to run to first base to avoid making an out?
2. Is there a limit to how high a pitcher can throw his pitch?
3. Do pitchers try to put spin on the ball or do other things to make the hitter’s job tougher?
4. How does a hitter decide whether to become an active runner with less than two strikes, or stay at the plate and continue hitting?
5. Are there other playing fields in Finland where a river or other unusual obstacle is “in play”?
6. Are Vimpelin Veto and Sotkamon Jymy the most famous (or most successful) teams in pesäpallo?
7. What kinds of plays does the offense do, when they signal with those colored fans?
8. How does a team decide where to place their fielders? Do certain positions require a stronger throwing arm or more speed than other positions?
Thanks!
1. Yes. He have to run to 1st base before ball in delivered there. That is why fly hits are commons 3rd hits.
2. No top limit, only minimum limit 1 meter above pitcher’s head. Normal pitchs are are always as low as umpires allows.
3. Some put spins on the ball, most not. More important is vary height and where ball lands. Intentional bad pitch is strong weapon for pitchers.
4. Many things like: Avoiding making an out. Players role, fast runner try to advance. Game plan, is there good hitters following battering order. Game situation. Team manager is leading all this.
5.Yes. There are Pesäpallo fields near rivers, lakes, ponds, downhills, rose bush etc. Maybe I put couple links after.
6. At this moment yes. Especially Sotkamon Jymy has been dominant club this century.
7. I could write a book. Basic thing is co-ordinate batters and runners work. Show runners when to run and what kind of start he do when pitch is carried out. To warn runners upcoming or hazardous hits. Orders to make mask for fielders.
8. Large question. There is no rotation for pitchers. Best pitcher is playing as long he can. All season, all games. If injured then it’s second best pitcher’s turn. Weakest fielder is often 3rd and after him 2nd base. Defense patterns vary a lot depending which bases are loaded or if team choose playing aggressive/passive defense. Defense shifts include players changing places more than baseball.
Maybe I come back and write more.
Thank you, this is very helpful. One more question if you don’t mind. On defense, are there different positions where you would rather put someone who throws right-handed (or left-handed)?
This is good question.
Pitchers benefits in he throws left-handed. It’s easier to throw to bases that way because most batters are right-handed (see video). Here is video clip which (hopefully) shows that. https://youtu.be/jbt2pFbDc4k
Right-handed pitcher must stand faced bases to make quick throw and it ain’t that good throwing position like left-handed have.
As coach I preferred left-handed infielders on right side on field and vice versa. That way it is easier to throw base on other side of field. And glove is towards center of field to pick grounders quickly with move. If 2nd or 3rd baseman have to catch hard hit backhanded, most of cases they don’t have to make quick throw.
4. Remember that in pesäpallo batter can have three fair hits. You can use first hit to try move runner to base to another by bunting. Batter would make an easy out to 1st base if he then start advancing and fielders decide to make out for him.
Hard 1st and 2nd hits are used to try home runs or make fielders not to come too close.
5. Now something funny
https://youtu.be/uuXBrAnmQ7k?t=20s
https://youtu.be/AWaHN-llIEk
7. Team can use different kind of starts from base.
Quickiest might be advancing just before ball in off pitchers hand = stealing. You have to guess right that pitcher is gonna toss the ball.
Slowest start is that runner is 100 % sure that batter is gonna hit the ball. There is lot of variation between those.
If pitcher toss a bad pitch, how about that. There a signal that even a small error is noticed. Or if batter can hit pitch with small error runner start advancing. And who is responsible to notice these errors; batter; two team members standing semicircle;all offensive players.
Because batter have three available fair hits. You can use these like this; 1st to move runner from 2nd base to 3rd, 2nd to move 1st base to 2nd and 3rd for batter to run 1st base. This case batter could hit bouncer straight to 2nd base at hit first attempt cause no-one is running there.
In Pesäpallo team manager can play safe to wait better moment to play aggressive because there is rule of catch. How managers in baseball is able to do that?
So if Sami and “Jeano” started running the bases the right way, wouldn’t Jeano end up behind Sami? Is that an out in Finnish baseball? I am so thoroughly confused.
NEIGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!