How did Pete and Scott vote in baseball poll?
The final GameTimeCT Baseball Poll came out Monday and it generated some conversations across the state. Turns out, not everybody agreed with the rankings. Every poll is subject to argument and we encourage the back and forth. For the sake of transparency and because we believe in how we voted, the High and Tight crew Pete Paguaga and Scott Ericson, are pulling back the curtain and showing you how they voted and explaining why they voted that way. Voters are asked to vote for 15 teams each week with a sliding scale of points given to each team with a No. 1 vote getting 30 points: 30-28-26-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-11-10-9-8-7. Keep in mind, we are just two of the 14 people who vote in the poll. PETE  1. East Catholic  2. Hand  3. Norwalk  4. Greenwich  5. Fairfield Warde  6. Westhill  7. Fairfield Prep  8. Waterford  9. Hamden  10. Coginchaug  11. Ridgefield  11. Amity  13. Southington  14. McMahon  15. Berlin  Voting in the final poll of any sport isnt easy. While I put value in winning championships, how the team gets there is a big factor. East Catholic was the unanimous No.1 team heading into the state tournament, after going undefeated in the regular season. The Eagles also had the best player in the state and had a stacked lineup from one-through-nine. Hand spent some time as the No. 1 team and was the best team in the regular season in the SCC. The team did lose in the quarterfinals of the SCC tournament, but only lost two all season on their way to a Class L title. I voted Norwalk that high because they beat a good Amity team and then four FCIAC teams to win the Class LL title. It was the most impressive run to a title across all four brackets. While I thought that Fairfield Warde was the best team from the FCIAC this season, the Mustangs lost to Greenwich twice this season, including in the state quarterfinals, so I couldnt put Warde over Greenwich. Westhill had an impressive run through good teams to get to the LL finals and Fairfield Prep won the SCC tournament and had a very good and deep team. Waterford was the second best team in M this season and it was unfortunate that the Lancers had to meet East Catholic in the semifinals and not finals. Hamden had a very good season, but I couldnt put them above Fairfield Prep because Hamden lost to them twice during the season. Coginchaug won the Class S title and while the Blue Devils are a very talented them, I believed that the teams above them are better. SCOTT  1. East Catholic  2. Hand  3. Norwalk  4. Coginchaug  5. Greenwich  6. Westhill  7. Waterford  8. Warde  9. Berlin  10. Hamden  11. Northwestern  12. Ridgefield  13. Southington  14. St Paul  15. McMahon  While I understand the flaws of a one-and-done state tournament, that is what we have to work with and I value state champions. I try to find a balance between how a team did in states and their regular season because being really good over 20 games is important too. I also factor in what conference teams play in and that certain years some conferences are better than others. East Catholic and Hand were the best two teams all year and an easy 1-2. Norwalks run in LL, beating Amity and four FCIAC teams deserves credit and I do not punish them for their record playing in the very tough FCIAC. Coginchaug is in Class S but I would put them up against any team in the state and think they compete and could win. Greenwich and Warde were two best from the FCIAC and Greenwich beat Warde in quarterfinals. Westhills run deserves same credit as Norwalk but they fell short in final. I had Berlin in or near my top 10 all season, the run to Class L final reaffirmed how good I thought they were. Hamden gets in my top 10 by virtue of a great regular season and how competitive the SCC was.