Jennie Finch facts for kids
Finch on June 8, 2008
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Birth name | Jennie Lynn Finch | ||||||||||||||||
| Born | September 3, 1980 La Mirada, California, U.S. |
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| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Casey Daigle | ||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Softball | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Pitcher | ||||||||||||||||
| University team | Arizona Wildcats | ||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Jennie Lynn Finch-Daigle (born September 3, 1980) is a famous American former softball player. She was an amazing pitcher who played for the Arizona Wildcats softball team from 1999 to 2002. During her time there, she helped her team win the 2001 Women's College World Series. She was also named an All-American, which means she was one of the best college players in the country.
Jennie Finch was a key member of the United States women's national softball team. She won a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. After college, she played professionally for the Chicago Bandits in the National Pro Fastpitch league from 2005 to 2010.
Many people consider Jennie Finch one of the greatest softball players ever. Time magazine even called her the most famous softball player in history! In 2010, she decided to retire from playing to spend more time with her family. Later, in 2011, she started working for ESPN as a commentator, sharing her knowledge about college and professional softball games.
Contents
Early Life and School
Jennie Finch was born in La Mirada, California. She has two older brothers, Shane and Landon. Jennie started playing softball when she was only five years old. By the time she was eight, she began learning how to pitch. Her dad was her very first pitching coach!
When she was growing up, Jennie was a bat girl for the University of California, Los Angeles softball team. At La Mirada High School, she was a star athlete. She played softball for four years and also played basketball and volleyball for two years each. In her senior year, she was the captain of all three sports teams. Her high school even retired her jersey number, which was the first time they had done that for a softball player!
Playing for the University of Arizona
Jennie Finch studied communications at the University of Arizona. She became one of the best pitchers in college softball history.
Freshman Year
Jennie started her college career on February 5, 1999. She quickly showed her talent, even throwing her first ever no-hitter during a tournament game. A no-hitter is when a pitcher doesn't let the other team get any hits! Her team made it to the World Series that year, which is the championship tournament for college softball.
Sophomore Year
In her second year, Jennie was named an All-American again. She threw three more no-hitters! She also showed she was a great hitter, leading her team in home runs and slugging percentage. Jennie started the year with an amazing 21-game winning streak. She finished the season with a new streak that would last for the next two years.
Junior Year: A Perfect Season
Jennie's junior year in 2001 was incredible. She was named the Pitcher of the Year and won the Honda Sports Award for Softball Player of the Year. She threw another no-hitter and had a career high in RBIs (runs batted in).
Her team, the Wildcats, were the top team in the NCAA tournament. They made it to the World Series for the third year in a row. In the final game, Jennie pitched a 1–0 shutout against the UCLA Bruins. This win meant she had a perfect season, winning every single game she pitched! She was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the series. This victory also extended her winning streak to an amazing 40 games.
Senior Year
For her final college season in 2002, Jennie continued to dominate. She was again named Pitcher of the Year and won the Honda Sports Award. She threw three more no-hitters and broke the school record for strikeouts in a season.
Jennie's Legacy at Arizona
Jennie Finch set many records during her time at the University of Arizona. She won her 51st game in a row, which was a new NCAA record! She also got her 100th career victory. In one game, she struck out 19 batters, which tied a school record.
Jennie left the Arizona Wildcats as the school's all-time leader in strikeouts, shutouts, and innings pitched. Her jersey number, 27, was retired by the University of Arizona in 2003. This was a special honor for her amazing career.
2004 Olympics: Gold Medal Glory
Jennie Finch was a star pitcher for Team USA at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. She won both of her games, striking out 13 batters and only allowing one hit. Her incredible pitching helped the American team win the gold medal!
2008 Olympics: A Silver Medal and a Fight for Softball
At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Team USA was hoping for another gold medal. Jennie pitched very well, helping her team win several games without allowing any runs. However, in the final game, the U.S. team lost to Japan and earned a silver medal instead of gold.
After the loss, Jennie felt sad, saying they "let USA softball down." What made it even harder was that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had decided to remove softball from the Olympics after 2008. Jennie became a strong supporter for bringing softball back to the Olympics. She argued that softball is played in over 140 countries and is a sport for all different body types. Softball was eventually brought back for the 2020 Olympics.
Professional Career: National Pro Fastpitch
After college, Jennie Finch played professionally for the Chicago Bandits in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) league. In 2005, she was named the league's Co-Pitcher of the Year. She also threw her first professional no-hitter that year.
Jennie continued to have amazing seasons. In 2007, she set the league record for the lowest ERA (Earned Run Average), which shows how few runs she allowed. She also had games where she struck out a lot of batters, including 18 strikeouts in one game!
She even pitched two perfect games for the Bandits, one in 2009 and another in 2010. A perfect game is when no batter from the other team reaches base at all! Her jersey number, 27, was also retired by the Chicago Bandits.
Becoming a Manager
On May 29, 2016, Jennie Finch made history. She was the guest manager for a professional baseball team called the Bridgeport Bluefish for one day. This made her the first woman ever to manage a professional baseball team! Her team even won the game.
Jennie in the Media
Jennie Finch became very popular off the field too. In 2002, ESPN called her the "runaway winner" for Best Dressed at the ESPY Awards. In 2003, she was voted the most attractive female athlete in an ESPN online poll.
People magazine named her one of its "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2004. She also appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition in 2005.
Jennie even became a co-host for a TV show called This Week in Baseball. On the show, she had a special segment called the Jennie Challenge. In this challenge, she would pitch to Major League Baseball players. Even though softball pitches are thrown from a closer distance, many of these professional baseball players had trouble hitting her pitches! Her pitches were so fast and had so much movement that they were hard to hit. Some famous players even refused to face her because they were afraid of striking out!
Jennie also appeared on several TV shows, including Pros vs Joes and The Celebrity Apprentice. In 2018, she competed on Dancing with the Stars.
Personal Life
Jennie Finch married Casey Daigle on January 15, 2005. Casey proposed to her on the softball field at the University of Arizona, which was a very special place for her. They have two sons, Ace Shane and Diesel Dean, and a daughter, Paisley Faye.
Jennie is a Christian and often talks about how her faith is important to her. She believes in living for a higher purpose and sharing her beliefs.
Retirement from Softball
On July 20, 2010, Jennie Finch announced that she was retiring from playing softball. She explained that it was getting harder to be away from her family, especially as her son Ace was getting older. She wanted to be there for family events and spend more time with her husband and children.
Jennie said that her softball career had been "way more than I ever even imagined or dreamed." She played her last game with the U.S. National Team, striking out 12 batters. She continued playing with the Chicago Bandits until the end of their season in August. Jennie Finch is remembered as one of the most talented and well-known softball pitchers of her time.
Images for kids
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Finch pitching for Team USA.
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Jennie Finch signing autographs.
In Spanish: Jennie Finch para niños
