Jennie Finch created 'a new era of softball player'

Jennie Finch has long been called the Face of Softball.

That title is fitting for more than the obvious reason of Finch being the sport's most recognizable player. Separate the words, and you have the main reasons that when she leaves the playing field next month, she'll leave a lasting legacy. Finch is known for her softball. And she's known for her face.

Her softball-playing ability is world class, and she has records and trophies that show that. But it's her face that allowed her to transcend into pop culture. And as she retires at the age of 29, she's become an undeniable icon on and off the field.

"I'll still be involved with softball, still trying to help grow the sport," said Finch. "I just won't be playing."

Many of the youngsters who will be playing will be trying to emulate Finch. And not just her terrific pitching and hitting abilities.

"She has created a new era of softball player," Team USA teammate and ESPN softball analyst Jessica Mendoza told the Associated Press. "And it's for those little girls out there who want to be cutesy with the bows and the glitter and still be that dirty jock. Covered head-to-toe in dirt, but she's got her hair all perfect with a bow.

"I see hundreds of thousands of little girls now with glitter headbands, hot pink bats, makeup.... When I was growing up, it wasn't like that."

Finch erupted onto the national radar in 2000 during her sophomore season at Arizona. Her fame grew even more as a junior when she went 32-0 and led the Wildcats to the national championship. With ESPN's nationally televised coverage of the Women's College World Series, Finch was an instant celebrity.

Since then, she's been equally as successful as an ambassador of the sport as she has a player. She won an Olympic gold medal in 2004 and has helped the U.S. team to three world championships. But in that time, she also was selected as one of People Magazine's Most Beautiful People, was photographed for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, made routine visits on television talk shows and now has her own line of softball equipment by Mizuno.

Still, Finch marvels at how softball has made her a household name.

"It has taken me places I have never dreamt of and given me relationships that go way beyond the softball field," the 29-year-old said. "I am thankful to my teammates, coaches, USA Softball, sponsors, my friends and family — they've allowed me to not only create my dreams but to live them."

In turn, Finch has helped make softball more popular than ever among participants, and she has made fans (or at least viewers) out of many who had never cared about the sport.

Alas, her teammates, friends and associates will be the first to say she hasn't let fame change her.

"She is one who has never turned down an autograph or photo requests and truly appreciates her fans," said Ron Radigonda, executive director of the American Softball Association. "She is as fan friendly as anyone out there. She has a respect for the young athletes who aspire to be her because she was that young girl at one time."

When she announced her retirement Tuesday in Oklahoma City, Finch said she wants to have more time with her four-year-old son, Ace, and husband Casey Daigle and wants to expand the family. But even in retirement her legacy will continue to grow because she's already influenced a generation of girls who want to look like her and play like her.

"You go anywhere in the world and say 'Jennie Finch' and people know who that is," U.S. shortstop Natasha Watley told the AP. "Just what she's done for this sport is amazing."