After a three-year Covid induced hiatus, the X-Presidents returned to the field in the 23rd edition of Finkstonball. The X-Presidents were eager to defend their 2019 title winning campaign however there were a couple of big challenges in their way; a brand new lineup and the weather. Only 4 players returned from the 2019 championship team, so 2022 campaign would require new heros. Veterans and only returning players JFK (Spencer), Garfield (Murphey), Jefferson (Bernhardt), and an injured Truman (Bini) assumed the role as players/coaches for the tournament. The presidential motorcade arrived on Friday evening, and the players hoped to settle in by watching the opening match. Unfortunately, a severe thunderstorm halted action Friday night and forced tournament organizers to reshuffle the schedule on Saturday. This would be a recurring occurance throughout the tournament.

The Chief Executives opened the tournament against an old foe, the Sissach Frogs. The X-Presidents opened the 2019 campaign against the Frogs and acheived a narrow victory. This Frogs team, playing in their 21st Finkstonball tourney, bolstered their roster with 4 American compatriots and proved to be a much tougher club. The Frogs got on the board with a run in the top of the first. The X-Presidents were held scoreless in the bottom of the inning and both clubs traded zeros in the second inning. In the top of third, FDR (Schaller) who had been throwing well in his first X-President’s start ran into trouble. A walk, hit batters, and a few hits got the Frogs to the heart of their order and the Frogs capitalized with a bases clearing double. Coolidge (Mitchell) came in relief, but rather than cool the situation down, several walks and a few more hits extended the Frogs lead. In the bottom of the 3rd, the X-Presidents responded. Eisenhower (Siemers) got things started with a single and scored on a double by LBJ (Bonfiglio). LBJ came around to score on a single by JFK (Spencer). Unfortunately, the rally faltered there. Time ran out on the X-Presidents in the 4th and the X-Presidents couldn’t get any closer, and fell to the Frogs in an upset loss 10-2.

With the loss to the Frogs, the X-Presidents immediately faced a must win game Saturday evening against the home team Attnang Athletics. The Chief Executives handed the ball to their ace John Quincy Adams (Williams). In the bottom of the first the Athletics had some luck on their side. The lead batter reached on an HBP when he leaned into an 0-2 breaking ball. The second batter hit what looked like a made to order double play, but the ball hit a sprinkler head and bounced over the head of second baseman, LBJ. The A’s singled in the first run and then hit into another double play ball, but the first base umpire inexplicitly called the runner safe at first allowing another run to score. The X-Presidents answered with a run in 2nd inning, a walk by Adams (Brinster), a single by Polk (Dullnig) and an RBI ground out by Reagan (Kovac). In the 3rd inning, the X-Presidents tied it up on a lead off double by Hayes (Sedin) followed by a RBI single by LBJ (Bonfiglio). The A’s regained the lead in the 3rd when 2 runs scored an errant throw down to third on a stolen base attempt. In the 5th inning, the X-President, pulled within 1 run. Clinton (Byrne) led off with an infield single. moved to second on a pass ball, stole 3rd base, and then scored on an errant throw. Sadly this was as close as the Chiefs would get. The A’s scored 2 more in the 5th and the X-President were held scoreless in the 6th. The Athletics won 6-3.

In the 3rd game, the X-Presidents would need to win big and hope the Frogs would lose later in the day to have any chance of making the playoff. The X-President faced off against Varazdin Vindija at 9am. The early start time has been problematic for the Chiefs in the past and the game started ominously when the Croatian squad jumped out to an early 1 run lead. X-President’s pitcher Lincoln (Richter) settled in and gave the Chiefs every chance to win, throwing a superb 5 innings while striking out 7. Unfortunately, the Chiefs offense stayed subdued. In the bottom of the 6th, down 2-0, the X-Presidents had to score or face getting swept in pool play. Hayes (Sedin) led off with double and moved to third on a sharp single by Clinton (Byrne). Hayes would score one batter later on a Sac Fly. In an incredibly clutch and gutsy move, Clinton got himself into scoring position by stealing second and third. With 2 outs and the game on the line, Polk (Dullnig) drilled an opposite field triple and sent the game to extra innings. Washington (Steffen), who came in to pitch in the 6th inning, got into a big jam in the 7th; bases loaded and no outs. Washington struck out the next batter on a perfect slider and in the biggest play of the game induced a ground ball to third. Third baseman McKinley (Fuchs) caught the hard ground ball to his left and fired home to start a 5-2-3 double play. The bottom of the 7th would be the final inning regardless of a tie, so the X-President were determined to score. Adams (Williams) took over as the automatic runner at second base and got to third on a wild pitch. The Croatians walked the bases loaded to get a force out at home, but Adams (Williams) sent the Chiefs home with a victory. With one out, Hayes hit a ground ball to third but the third baseman’s throw pulled the catcher off home plate for just enough time for the speedy Adams to slide in safely. The X-Presidents won 3-2.

The tournament ended early for the X-Presidents. Despite the win, the Chiefs missed the playoffs and when another severe thunderstorm soaked the field, the 7th place game scheduled for Sunday got cancelled. It was a great tournament for several Chiefs, Hayes (Sedin) hit .429 avg with 2 2Bs and 2 Runs. LBJ hit .333 with a double and 3 RBIs. Bill Clinton (Byrne) hit .429, scored 2 runs and stole 5 bases. But the MVP for the X-Presidents was Polk (Dullnig). Polk caught two great games, threw out a runner, and turned the game saving double play in the 7th inning against Vindija. He also had the biggest hit of the tournament a game tying triple with 2 outs and the game on the line.

The X-President will return to Finkstonball in 2023.