Toni Kohonen, who is playing the last match of his career on Tuesday, got old clips from Urheiluruudi to watch. The star locksmith, who has had a nearly 30-year career, recalls his most wonderful moments as well as less glamorous events.
14.8.•Updated 14.8.
– I remember that first game at Seinäjoki in 1993. It was a TV game. When I was a young boy, the advertisements were there. The tension was high and we lost with a pretty ugly result. But that’s where the career took off.
And now, almost 30 years later, the career is coming to an end. Toni Kohonen will play for the last time in Superpesis on Tuesday, when Imatran Pallo-Veikot, which he represents, will face Manse PP in their last regular season match.
Kohonen’s career became amazing. Legendary. He has won ten SM gold medals, he has been chosen as the baseball player of the year three times and the player of the year 13 times.
In this story, Kohonen recalls the early stages and peak moments of his career. Old Urheiluruutu clips and final broadcasts serve as memory refreshers.
In addition to championships and records, Kohonen’s career has also included upheavals. One of them was the dismissal of Kiteen Pallo from the breeding club in 1996.
Kohonen is known not only as an all-time baseball player, but also as a hard-headed and sometimes even difficult guy. He knew early on that he wanted to be the best locksmith in Finland. The tactic of the team’s two lockers became a problem for Kite.
Kitee acquired for the 1995 season Jukka Holttinenwith whom Kohonen had to share the plate.
– Until Midsummer -96, we took turns as locksmiths, but after that we didn’t take turns.
The reason for the end of the rotation was that Kohonen got fired from Kitee.
– There was also a big series of events. I wanted to become a locksmith at the very end, and I wasn’t satisfied with my own role. All kinds of things were done. Sometimes he took so much into the pot that he deliberately let it through in the line.
In one match, Kohonen intentionally dropped three balls under his flipper. After that, Kiteen Pallo could no longer watch Kohonen’s antics, and he moved to Oulu Lippo for the rest of the season.
– It was absolutely not acceptable. But that was my solution then. I was a bit stubborn, and I wasn’t interested in anything other than playing as a locksmith. But I can say that if I hadn’t made those decisions then, I would hardly have had a career like this, at least as a locksmith. I wouldn’t do anything differently.
However, after the autumn spent in Oulu, Kohonen returned to Kitee for the next season and played a big role when the club won the first medal in its history. Silver came in 1997.
The first championship was celebrated in 1999, when Kitee beat Hyvinkää Tahko 3–0 in the finals. Kitee took their third win on their home field. Kohonen played a significant role in that match as well, when he decided the victory in the first period with his strike.
– Yes, that game is remembered, even though it’s been 23 years. Gamemaster Pass Varone put me in a joker shirt and a hard place. There weren’t many good performances before that, but the winning run in the first inning came in it. Ahola’s Sami then hit Kiteen Pallo’s first championship in a super turn.
The championship was also Kohonen’s first. In the previous two years, silver and bronze had been strung around the neck.
– It was an interesting feeling. We had been close a few times, and then it finally and finally came, and still on home ground. It was unique. From that clip, you noticed that even the spectators didn’t really understand what was being done, everyone rushed to the field. I don’t remember which side of the field I was supposed to be on, everything was a bit confused.
After the championship, Kohonen went to Sotkamo Jymy for a few years, where he won three championships on his first visit. After that came a return to Kitee, three years in Kouvola, and another extremely successful period in Sotkamo.
One amazing statistic from Kohonen’s career is that he played in the finals a total of 17 times between 1997 and 2017.
– Sotkamo’s years were great years. I was probably at my best between 2001 and 2015. The Finnish championships are of course the highlights.
The record holder has accumulated no less than 23 East–West matches.
– They have been huge events and it has been an honor to represent in the East-West match. You know that the season has gone pretty well if you get there. They are big and great events, and gathering places where you can see old game friends and a few new ones.
The decision to end his career was made last fall
The man who played more than a thousand matches and scored more than a thousand runs turned 46 in January. That’s when Kohonen also signed the last player contract of his career, when he joined Imatra’s Pallo-Veikkoi.
The decision to end his career was made last fall. Before that, Kohonen, according to his own words, never even thought about quitting.
– The first time it came to mind was in the fall. It was the only time it has come. I chewed on that for a while and the decision was made that this is the last season. Someone else has probably already thought about when it will end, Kohonen smiles.
– The decision was not difficult, but of course it was with a heavy heart that I left this. For 30 years this has been a part of the journey. There may be tears of joy and sadness at some point, but it hasn’t bothered me.
Kohonen is not yet talking about his future plans, but he plans to distance himself from baseball after his career ends, at least for a while. He has already been offered the position of game director in Superpesis, but he is not immediately excited about it.
– I would bet that I won’t be with the nest, at least not yet, but you never know. If we immediately jump on the fan, it would be a bit like playing the game yourself. Junior coaching is probably closer.
Last match on Tuesday
On Tuesday, Kohonen will play the last super nest match of his long career, when IPV will face Manse PP on his home field in the last match of the regular season. There will be a spectacle to which many VIP guests have been invited.
However, Kohonen plans to prepare for the game in the same way as always before. He thinks that emotions surface more in the stands than on the field.
– However, Tuesday is a normal game day, even though it is the last of his career. In the same way, morning workouts, meals and all other measures are taken care of. Don’t mess around with those things.
– After the match, there will definitely be an outpouring of what has been done. Maybe it’s longing to be with the sport will come a little later.
In his career, Kohonen has achieved everything possible and a little more. However, chasing records was never the reason why the career has stretched so long. Kohosta has always been motivated by love for the sport. However, now is the time to step aside.
– They say that age does its job. Even if my mind says that I could still play in my fifties. But somewhere there is a limit, and it’s right here for me.