This week, news broke that Jennie Finch would become the first woman to manage a men’s professional baseball team and they couldn’t have picked a more qualified person. As a former softball player and Olympic athlete turned author and mom, Finch does it all. With everything, she has accomplished and what she will accomplish as manager, Jennie Finch was a no-brainer for this week’s spotlight.
Finch’s love for softball began early like many athletes. She started playing at age five and began pitching shortly after at age 8. In high school, Finch played softball all four years along with basketball and volleyball. She would go on to attend the University of Arizona where she majored in communications. As a freshman, she threw her first no-hitter and helped take the team to the World Series but the team was eliminated. During her sophomore year, she would only gain momentum, being named to the First Team All-Pac-10 and the 2000 National Fastpitch Coaches Association First Team All-American. She threw three no-hitters in her sophomore season and thirteen shutouts.
Her junior and senior year was truly when Finch became a superstar. Her junior year, she won Pitcher of the Year, finished out the season with 35 consecutive scoreless innings and took the team to the World Series again; this time bringing back the win. In her final season with the Wildcats, Finch once again was named Pitcher of the Year and to the First-Team All-Pac-10 and the 2002 NFCA First Team along with throwing 3 no-hitters and tying her own record for consecutive scoreless innings. Her jersey number would later be retired at the University of Arizona.
After college, Finch would participate in the 2004 and the 2008 Olympics. In 2004, she helped lead the US to a gold medal. In her return to the Olympics in 2008, she helped earn the US a silver medal after losing 3-1 against Team Japan. After the 2008 games, Olympic softball has not been played in the Summer Olympics, something that Finch has been very outspoken about, even trying to bring the game back for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Finch also played for Chicago Bandits, a National Pro Fastpitch softball league. During her five years with the Bandits, Finch had 36 wins to 8 losses, five shutouts and was named the NPF’s Co-Pitcher of the Year in 2005, sharing the award with a teammate. In 2010, Finch retired from the team to focus on her family. In 2011, Finch she co-authored a book entitled, “Throw Like a Girl: How to Dream Big and Believe in Yourself,” focusing on the lessons she learned during her athletic career.
Finch followed in the footsteps of Jen Welter when she was the guest manager for the minor league team the Bridgeport Bluefish. Unfortunately, the catch is that Finch will only be their manager for a single game, something that everyone is ignoring at least for now. In addition to being the manager for that day, she will throw out the ceremonial first pitch and hold a meet-and-greet before the game.
This could be a stepping stone for Finch. As one of the greatest softball pitchers of all time, this might be the push she needs to get a team interested. Finch is just one of the great softball players who are finally getting their chance at working with professional baseball teams. No matter what happens with Finch, she will always be a legend in the softball world.
