We decided to do something different this week for the first time in the Commissioners Poll (written with the results ending through Thursday, May 17, 2017. We decided to offer a chance for different people to offer their opinion when writing this Commissioners Poll! So, unlike any of our previous polls, this poll was not written by Jason, Gio, or Rene. Tropical Park teams were guest written by Jose Lopez-Varela, Miami Lakes teams were guest written by Fidel Betancourt, and Pines teams were guest written by Kiko Gutierrez. Let’s get to it!

1. La Familia – 40 points; 4 first place votes (last week 1st place). By Fidel Betancourt. The Ballbarians are obviously the…. Hmm wait a second. There must be some sort of confusion with the polls this week…. La Familia is a very talented squad filled with wily vets and extremely talented players. Their top spot week in and week out shows their consistency and overall monopoly that they have had in PSN throughout the seasons. As the competition continues to get more experience, the gap between La Familia and the rest of the team continues to narrow as we have seen from previous championship games. Their spot is well deserved, but a few hungry teams are now right behind their heels…
2. Dye Pitch – 36 points (last week 3rd place). By Kiko Gutierrez. They have experience on their side and they are gonna be a tough beat for anyone in Pines. They keep their cool in high pressure situations and were able to beat a tough back to black team in the last inning last week.
3. Sit on my Base – 32 points (last week 2nd place). By Fidel Betancourt. This team has flare on the field and off the field, too. Their catchy theme song has quickly spread somewhat like a pleasant disease through the Tropical Park and PSN leagues. The team features some great vets and an ace pitcher that can allow them to compete against any team on any given day.
4. Free Balling – 30 points (last week 5th place). By Jose Lopez-Varela. I am so happy that I get to play them again during the regular season; I do not think there has been a more historic and evenly matched series in Tropical Park. Whether it’s one point losses in the regular season or 10+ run blowouts in the playoffs (yes, Gio that happened) it is always fun to play this team.  Currently, sitting on top at Tropical Park this team seems to have their eyes set on a perfect season and their first playoff trophy.
5. Yellow Team – 25 points (last week 6th place). By Jose Lopez-Varela. Rene thinks that he finally has a team that can win at Tropical Park (Again). Before selling himself out to the all powerful Life’s a Pitch, Rene’s teams were never a real contender. This year is different, after snagging two players from my team last year and picking up the pieces of Life’s a Pitch like an angry wife after a divorce. He has a team that bested me last week in a flash! Sitting on top without a blemish on his record, it looks like this might be the year. However, he may let it get in his head and lose in the first round (Probably).
6. Win or Lose, We Still Booze – 19 points (last week 8th place).  By Fidel Betancourt. A very underrated team that is quickly coming into their own. These guys could make some noise this season and are quickly showing the league that they are here to compete at the highest level week in and week out.
7. Blue Balls – 16 points (last week 9th place). By Kiko Gutierrez. Well-rounded team who hasn’t been beaten yet but has a tough game against Jäger Bombers which is a underrated and shouldn’t be taken lightly. We will see this team’s true ability when they face off against Dye Pitch and Back to Black.
8. Back to Black – 14 points (last week 4th place). By Kiko Hernandez. This team is made up of great talent and experience. A very well-rounded and deep team. This team can make a lot of noise this season and post season, they just need to keep their heads together and be more prepared.
9. Black is Back – 13 points (last week 7th place). By Jose Lopez-Varela. Everyone’s favorite team at Tropical Park. Currently sitting in third place with a crazy +27 run differential we have seen both losses come from the two teams ranked above us. Both were tight, one was too fast and both ended in a loss. I can definitely see us doing some damage in the playoffs considering time isn’t a factor. I see this team continuing to put up runs on their way to their first Tropical Park trophy.
10. Opa Locka Goonz – 13 points (last week unranked). By Fidel Betancourt. These guys were the talk of the town when Koala featured 2 divisions. They made a ton of noise on the B division and now have shown that they certainly belong in the conversation with any of the top teams in Koala. A team that has continued to grow and get better every week, these guys could be a serious threat on a weekly basis and a deep playoff run would not surprise anyone.

Other receiving votes:

Yellow Fever (8 points); Red Team (6 points); Yo Momma Can’t Pitch (5 points); Other Guys (4 points); Saved by the Balls (4 points); Pata Sucia (3 points); Jäger Bombers (3 points); Ballseros (2 points); I’ll Cut a Pitch (1 point); Balls Deep (1 point).

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. If there’s a tie for points, then the team with the most number of Commissioners voting it higher than the team they tied will receive the higher position. Remember that this poll does not affect standings or playoff seeding in any way; it’s only for fun!