Jennie Finch is one of the most well-known softball players in the world. The softball legend played for Arizona from 1999-2002, where she was a Women’s College World Series champion and named a collegiate All-American in 2001. She then led the 2004 U.S.A. Olympic team to the gold medal in Athens. After retiring from softball in 2010, Finch was named a Youth Softball Ambassador for the MLB to help grow softball and baseball for young athletes. She conducts softball camps across the country and has her own softball academy in Flemington, New Jersey called the JF Softball Academy.
Q: What’s it like being back in a big event such as the MLB All-Star Weekend and interacting with fans?
A: It’s been an incredible week. It’s one of my favorite events of the year that I look forward to. I couldn’t be more thrilled to see people I haven’t seen in awhile, to see crowds, to see fans — Denver is a beautiful place to be right now, too. It was my first time at Coors Field yesterday, my husband (Casey Daigle) pitched here….It’s great to be back and great to be around people celebrating the game of baseball.
Q: What’s your favorite MLB All-Star Weekend memory?
A: Steve Harvey, playing softball with him was really cool. Turning a double play with Ozzie Smith and then with Snoop Dog, that year was especially fun. He’s such a competitor. Every year is so different and every year is great to play in.
Q: Women in sports have made strides over the past few years. How does this growth compare to your playing days?
A: I’m raising a daughter now, and she’s seeing people in the booth at baseball games. She’s seeing female athletic trainers, she’s seeing technology grow in the game of baseball. She’s seeing so many doors that have opened up for women. I think back to when I had to turn to the last page of a magazine and cut out any newspaper article that was about a female athlete — I couldn’t even be sports-specific because that type of information wasn’t really out there. Now to see that people can Google any female that represents that sport or that game is so exciting. Regardless, though, we still have a long ways to go, but we should celebrate the progress we’ve made so far.
Q: How important is it for young female athletes to have a role model to look up to in sports, such as you?
A: I see young girls carrying around baseballs and softballs, that’s what it’s all about. It’s about growing the game, impacting these young girls at a grassroots level and growing both games. I truly have to pinch myself over and over. It’s so exciting to be collaborating and integrating both girls softball and girls baseball as well.
