jennie finch pitching

We step away from the hustle and bustle of the Philadelphia Phillies and the trade deadline to honor one of softball’s bests who has decided to call it a career. With a win on Monday and yet another World Championship softball superstar Jennie Finch has decided to retire and focus more on her family. With softball getting the boot from the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympics she has decided that now is the time to step away.

Jennie came into most of our lives during her exceptional four year career at the University of Arizona. Blessed with amazing good looks it didn’t take much for most guys to tune in to watch her play, but the more you watched her the more you realized that not only did she have the looks she absolutely had the game to back it up. During her years at Arizona she dominated the competition collecting 119 victories (12th all time) while striking out 1,028 batters. She also was a three time All American pitcher and first baseman as well as a two time Honda Player of the Year Award winner. Jennie helped lead U of A to the College World Series three out of her four years, while taking home the Championship in 2001. This was only the beginning for the legend known as Jennie Finch.

After college Jennie took the torch passed down by the likes of Lisa Fernandez, Michelle Smith, and Dot Richardson as the face of not only women’s softball but USA Softball. She helped lead team USA to a gold medal in the 2004 Olympics and a silver medal in the 2008 Olympics. Jennie is also a two time Pan American Games gold medalist, two time World Cup Champion, and two time World Champion. During the different International competitions Jennie wasn’t always looked at as only a pitcher. With the additions of other top quality American pitchers it allowed Jennie to play some first base and hit, something she didn’t do a whole lot of previously. After the 2008 Olympic Games the IOC decided that it would remove softball from its competition in the upcoming 2012 Games. This was a major blow to the advancement of women’s softball and Jennie along with others led a major movement to try and reinstate the game, failing unfortunately. This decision all but sealed the end for a lot of the game’s best the first of which is Jennie. In a recent interview at the World Championship fellow pitcher Cat Osterman mentioned that while she was shocked at Jennie’s decision to retire she wasn’t exactly surprised.
The 2004 Olympics in Athens were really just another notch in the career successes of Jennie Finch. As the USA's number two starter, Finch made her Olympic debut on a team that allowed just one run en route to the gold medal. In eight innings pitched, Finch surrendered just one hit, struck out 13, and finished with a 0.00 ERA. Finch made her rise to the national scene as the standout pitcher with the University of Arizona, where in 2002 her 32-0 record as a junior led the Wildcats to the national championship. Success, though, didn't begin in college. As a high school standout in California, Finch pitched six perfect games and 13 no hitters, while posting a 0.15 ERA. Jennie Finch has hand signed this 8x10 photograph of her pitching for the USA at the Athens Olympics. A Steiner Sports certificate of authenticity is included. .
Jennie and her husband, Major League pitcher, Casey Daigle, along with son Ace, are looking to enjoy some quality time together. She has mentioned in the past how much her family means to her and now she is taking those steps to put those words into actions. The softball world will miss Jennie Finch however after years of watching Jennie compete I think she might miss the game a little bit more. Due to her diligent work both on and off the field Jennie has put USA Softball in a perfect position to succeed even without her there. Going out a World Champion is the way to go out; however the softball and sports world will truly miss one of the greatest female athletes ever. Thank you Jennie Finch!!!