The Chief Executives travelled to Attnang-Puchheim, Austria to advance on the gains made at Finkstonball 2018. In 2019, the team brought back some familiar faces; Jefferson (Bernhardt), Garfield (Murphey), FDR (Y. Brot), Obama (Berger), J.Q. Adams (Brisentine) and Truman (Bini) from the 2018 team that advanced deep into the semi-finals, but ultimately fell short against the home team Austrian National Team. This year, the Chief Executives welcome several new comers; JFK (Spencer), Washington (Cromwell), Adams (Hooper), Johnson (Keithly), Grant (Elkus), and Eisenhower (Rubin), who made an immediate impact on the 2019 campaign trial.

The X-President were placed into Group B again, which included the Sissach Frogs, St. Petersburg North Stars, and Neunkirchen Nightmares. The first test for the X-Presidents was the Frogs. Coming from Switzerland and participating in the Finkstonball tourney for their 20^th year, the X-Presidents were familiar with most of the players. The Frogs struck first with an RBI double in the top of the first. But the X-President were quick to answer. The X-Presidents took advantage of several walks, a sac fly by Ulysses S. Grant (Elkus) and an RBI ground out by John Adams (Hooper) to take a 2-1 lead. From there, JFK (Spencer) took command on the mound. JFK worked fast and frustrated the Frogs hitters. He went on to pitch a complete game, 6 innings giving up only 1 earned run and striking out 9. The X-Presidents added 2 more runs in in the 3rd on another sac fly by Grant and an errant throw by the Frogs. Abraham Lincoln (Cabrales) was a perfect 3-3 and William McKinley (Acosta) scored 3 runs on the day. The Chief Executives won their opening match 5-2.

Unfortuantely for the X-Presidents, Lincoln, McKinley, and Calvin Coolidge (Catalan) made an early exit after the first game. In addition, the Chief Execs made the most of the sights and sounds of Attnang after dark. Game 2 was a rude awakening for the X-Presidents, a 9am start. In need a national prayer breakfast, rather than a tough matchup against the well rested Russian team, the X-Presidents struggled at the start. FDR (Brot) got the early start and pitched like a man in a wheelchair, struggling with command. The normally stanch defense committed several egregious errors and the North Stars put up 10 runs on the Chiefs. In the 4^th inning, the X-President finally woke up. Eisenhower (Rubin) relieved FDR and struck out 2 in a shut down inning. The XPs offense finally woke up and scored 4 runs, but unfortunately time had run out. The North Stars won game 2 by a score of 10-4.

With a 1-1 record, the X-Presidents felt the pressure to even qualify for the playoffs in game 3. Fortunately, they received a boost when the Frogs defeated the North Stars right before the start of the XP game against the Nightmares. With the Nightmares 2-0 and all the other teams 1-2, the objective became simple; win and we’re in. With that in mind, the Chiefs turned to their most experienced starter, Barrack Obama (Berger). Obama recorded a win at 2018 Finkstonball, and again at 2019 Alpine Cup, so he had a lot of confidence. Obama pitched well, but the story of game 3, was the offense, which had been speaking softly but finally decided to break out the big stick. The X-Presidents scored 20 runs and won 20-15.

The win put the Chief Executives into the playoffs, but they had to immediately turn around and play their 3^rd game of the day. The X-President would face off against the home town Attnang Pucheim Athletics in the semi-finals. The Athletics had depth in pitching and hitting and a third advantage, the crowd firmly on their side. Facing off against these tough odds, the X-Presidents sent John Quincy Adams (Brisentine) to the mound. J.Q. Adams had pitched in the previous two Finkstonball tourneys and lost close games to the Austrians. So he was determined to make the 3^rd time the charm. Adams was dealing. He pitched a 5 inning complete game and struck out 9. The Athletics struck first with 3 early runs, but the X-Presidents responded. The offense got going with  back to back walks from Johnson (Keithly) and Washington (Cromwell) followed by hits from Eisenhower (Rubin) and Adams (Hooper). The X-Presidents were down 1 run, with 2 outs and the bases loaded, when they received some power from an unlikely source. James Garfield connected with a fastball and launched a bases clearing double to the fence in left center. Washington added some breathing room and stunned the crowd with an opposite field 2 run homer in the 4th inning. That was plenty, as J.Q. Adams finished off Athletics and sent the Chiefs into the final.

Before, the start of the finals, Finkstonball hosted a home run derby. The Chief Executives selected Ulysses S. Grant (Elkus) to represent them. With Adams (Hooper) throwing perfect pitches, Grant started launching balls deep into the trees behind the left field fence. Grant captured the home derby trophy. That set the stage for an exciting final; a rematch against the Nightmares. The X-Presidents turned again to JFK to start, on only 1 day of rest. He did not disappoint, working quickly and shutting down the Nightmares in the first two innings. The offense picked up where it left off the day before and things quickly turned into a rout. Jefferson (Bernhardt) and Johnson (Keithly) pitched in relief and maintained the shut out. The X-President won a landslide victory, 16-0, and captured their first Finkstonball Trophy.

The Trophies didn’t end there. Three Chief Executives hit homers during the tournament: Washington, Adams, and Eisenhower. Several Chiefs hit over .400 in the tournament, but ultimately, the tournament selected Washington (Cromwell) as tournament MVP, and JFK (Spencer) as the tournaments best pitcher.

The Chiefs look forward to returning to Attnang next year for another strong re-election campaign.