Jennie Finch Wanted To Be A Dodger, But Women Inspired Her To Be The ‘Complete Athlete’

There’s no better-known name in softball than Jennie Finch, the longtime Team USA pitcher and former National Pro Fastpitch star who played for the Chicago Bandits in the mid-2000s. She’s often lauded as softball’s finest pitcher and the game’s most famous and most visible player ever.

During her time on the mound, Finch was known for perfect games and mesmerizing win streaks, as well as helping the USA snag an Olympic gold medal in softball during the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, after winning a College World Series at the University of Arizona, in 2001.

Despite all her accolades on the professional and world stage, Finch says that her college play and the ability to compete against other top collegiate players nationwide was a vital experience.

“So many players and women have paved the way,” Finch said. “The opportunities I had were special, and I always try to take what I’ve learned and been able to do, and bring it back to the game.”

Finch and her longtime USA teammate Jessica Mendoza, a former outfielder who has broadcast baseball and softball for both ESPN and NBC, have teamed up with TIAA not just to promote softball but to talk up equality in education and sports.

“Originally, the only way to stay connected was to play or coach. Jess and I were both a part of the Olympic team in 2004 and ‘08. We both get the opportunity to stay involved in the sport as much as we can, and it’s been a magical ride.”

Finch and Mendoza were both part of the Olympic squads for Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. Softball has only been an Olympic sport since 1996 when the Summer Olympics took place in Atlanta. In 2012 and 2016, softball was omitted from the Olympics before being reinstated for Tokyo 2020.

Aside her time as an Olympian, Finch is a youth ambassador for Major League Baseball, while Mendoza gets to participate in the broadcast booth. For both of them, collegiate sports was the ultimate base.

“Jess and I are both thankful for getting to participate in sports in equity in a man’s world. And for all the doors that have been opened for us. But there is still a lot of work to be done.”

Despite enormous strides in gender equality in and out of sports, investment and retirement planning firm TIAA, is once again partnering with athletes, this time, softball, where women face continued inequalities. As a signature sponsor of The Equity Project, TIAA is donating $1.5 million over the next three years to make changes on and off the field.

Finch adds that the goal is to eventually “retire inequality,” in which TIAA plans over time to close the 30% retirement income gap between women and men as part of the initiative.

Finch, who grew up in La Mirada, California, is an avid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. She and her husband former MLB pitcher Casey Daigle, live in Orange County, California and have three children.

On Monday, I spoke with Finch via Zoom about her new effort with TIAA and her old teammate Mendoza, as well as her take on softball in 2022 and beyond.

AF: Describe how you think softball has changed or evolved since you retired from your pro career? Is it vastly different?

Finch: I think seeing college softball on television, for example, is great for the game. There is some different terminology used in softball when compared to baseball, and having women who’ve played in the broadcast boost has helped acclimate viewers, and spread and normalize softball terminology, making sure its used during live games.

VIDEO: Finch battles Hall of Famers Ricky Henderson and Pudge Rodriguez

Yet, I think with everything from different bats and technology to training, every aspect of the game is so different. I remember we used to huddle and watch video after our games (as a team) and now players are getting video clips sent to the their phones. Players can see any pitcher they want, whatever pitch they want. I think technology has had an effect.

But also my 9-year-old daughter walked into the College World Series and saw 12,000 fans there and that felt normal to her. And we’re able to watch college softball on TV.

There’s much more education around the game, and more access to the game, and we’re much further ahead.

AF: What’s it like to team up with Jessica Mendoza after all these years?

Finch: Jess and I go way back, to when we were little. We never played together but always against each other in the same tournaments. We’d see each other playing in the top programs in Southern California, and later in the PAC-12, where she when to Stanford and I was an Arizona Wildcat. And finally, for USA, we got to play together.

I admire her for all that she’s done inside and outside the sport. She’s a mom and wears a lot of different hats, and she keeps pushing the sport forward. And we’re both a product of Title IX. We both got an opportunity to play and get our educations paid for, and the opportunities keep opening up.

AF: As a part of Team USA, you’ve played and seen softball abroad. What’s the reception and enthusiasm level outside the U.S.?

Finch: I always love playing in other countries. And people always follow USA sports. So, going down to South America or elsewhere, we always feel so blessed to have the support staff, the facilities and the equipment we (Team USA) have.

Softball is played in 140 countries and now we’re getting to see top athletes from across the world come play collegiate in the U.S. and play to get their education paid for too, is a huge success for the sport.

Going to Japan (Team USA players) got to play in a stadium with 25,000 fans, that makes it encouraging to see how our sport grows. And then, to see Japan win the Olympic gold two times since I’ve last played in the Olympics shows how far the sport has gone outside the USA.

AF: So, dad was a baseball coach and you’re from a baseball family. Who were your idols or influences growing up?

Finch: Growing up we were Dodgers and Lakers fans. Magic Johnson and Orel Hershiser were ones I always watched nonstop. And growing up, I wanted to be a Dodger, and something clicked and I thought, “OK, this isn’t going to work.”

I started excelling at softball, and my parents began exposing me more to softball, taking me to games to watch older girls’ divisions, and the collegiate side. When I saw (UCLA and USA player) Lisa Fernandez, I could hear her throw and her spin on the ball. I loved that Lisa wasn’t just a pitcher—that was rare because she played also third base, she could throw, could hit and run, and she was the complete athlete. So, I tried to become the complete athlete too.

And then, going from her autograph line to cheering with her in the dugout (as a Team USA player) was a dream come true. And we still have a special friendship today.

Read Frye’s interviews with Mikaela Shiffrin and Leticia Bufoni.

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