A few months ago, Commissioner Rene Medina came up with the concept of this commissioner’s poll. I scoffed at the concept citing major debate, controversy, and anger arising from people’s position on this poll. I considered this to be a huge negative when in reality it has become a positive for our league. You, our valued players of K.O.A.L.A Kickball, really care about this poll. You take our “valuable” insight to heart and talk about this poll on a weekly basis. For this, we thank you!
This week the poll is written by Giovanni Lorenzo, the mildly attractive Math teacher with limited writing skills. Thank goodness he does not teach English. Enjoy!
1) Balls and Dolls (28 points; 2 first place votes) LW: 1st place.
Life is good at the top of the polls for Balls and Dolls after cruising to a 7-1 win over Easy W last week. Their unorthodox team with 6 guys and 5 girls is creating matchup nightmares for the opposition especially when their girls are dropping down another bunt on them.
2) Life’s a Pitch (27 points; 1 first place vote) LW: 2nd place.
The Miami Lakes’ finest who took their show on the road are sitting pretty at the top of the standings in Tropical Park. They have a run differential of 38 and it does not seem like anyone will be stopping this freight train in the regular season. They also have a stout defense only allowing 1.2 runs per game over their five games. They face their biggest remaining challenge in Always Pitching next week.
2) The Only Tenn’s They’ll See (27 points) LW: 3rd place
Not to be outdone in Tropical Park are The Only Tenn’s They’ll See who are nipping at the heels of Life’s a Pitch. With a run differential of 37, it makes sense that they’re tied in the commissioner’s poll. At this rate, we may have not one, but two perfect seasons in Tropical Park (for the first time ever) as the schedule maker did not match these two teams up unfortunately. ☹
4) PSN Slidaz (21 points) LW: 5th place
It just does not seem right to see the PSN Slidaz at 4th in the commissioners’ poll. They have a run differential of 23 runs over three games and another impressive shirt design. The core of this team rarely loses as they have only 2 regular season losses spanning five seasons of Miami Lakes kickball. They will surely by sliding up the standings as the weeks progress as their one loss in week 2 is more of an aberration than anything else. 😉
5) District 28 (18 points) LW: 4th place
The depth of both our leagues is present when a perennial top team is sitting in the middle of our rankings! District 28 or simply the black team from Miami Lakes has obtained 3.5 points of the four so far with their single blemish being a tie against Team No Name. A passionate bunch, they should continue to get more wins and be in prime position to make a run towards the commissioners’ trophy and the postseason trophy.
6) Team No Name (14 points) LW: Not ranked
Welcome, Team No Name, to the rankings. The new Jason team has made their presence known by claiming 3.5 of their first possible 4 points and squaring them 2nd in the Miami Lakes standings. They are sporting a +13 run differential and also tied District 28 in part 1 of their doubleheader last week. Team No Name will face off against the commissioners’ squads over the next two weeks to try and cement themselves at the top of the race for first in the regular season.
7) Kickball Team (13 points) LW: 6th place
Shhhhhh! No one is even thinking about Kickball Team right now and that is exactly how they like it. After a week 1 loss to Life’s a Pitch, they have quietly strung four wins together to move to third in the Tropical Park standings. Two weeks ago, this resilient bunch came back from a 5-3 deficit with two outs to scratch out a 6-5 victory. Last week they won a hard fought pitchers duel 1-0. With a favorable schedule down the stretch, they may be the dark horse winners of the commissioners’ trophy.
8) Always Pitching (9 points) LW: 9th place
The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde team of Tropical Park! You truly have no idea what to expect from this team. One week they will blast balls over your head and run you out of the park. The following week they will struggle and barely beat you. That being said, they are in fourth place in the Tropical Park standings, but have a monumental task this week gearing up to face Life’s a Pitch.
9) Pitch, You Don’t Know Me (6 points) LW: 10th place
Consistent. They simply go out there and take care of business. They have started the season in Miami Lakes with two wins and a draw in low scoring pitchers’ duels. Captained by the fiery Valen, their consistency should continue throughout the season and will surely be a challenge for the top tiers later on in the season.
10) Wicky Wawiors (3 points) LW: 7th place
The new kids of Tropical Park have been playing well by beating the teams they should beat and losing to the teams they should lose to. They are sporting a 3-2 record with a plus 16 run differential. Their only two losses have come to The Only Tenn’s They’ll See and Fresh Kicks of Ball-Air. Led by Jose Roca, this bunch should fare well down the stretch and may be a scary team to see on your side of the playoff bracket.
Quick Reminder on How the Poll Works: Once both leagues have played at least 2 games each, the Commissioners each cast an anonymous ballot for the teams that they think are the top 10 in K.O.A.L.A. Kickball across our Miami Lakes and Tropical Park Leagues. The first ranked team in each ballot gets 10 points, the second ranked team in each ballot gets 9 points, and so forth all the way to the tenth ranked team in each ballot, which gets 1 point. The points that each team gets from each ballot are added up, and then the 10 teams with the highest total number of points are declared the Top 10 in the Commissioner’s Poll. Remember that this poll does not affect standings or playoff seeding in any way; it’s only for fun!