Pam Richter
It takes a special softball player to be a household name, but that is exactly what Jennie Finch did during her collegiate, Olympic and professional softball career.
On July 20, Finch officially announced her retirement from playing softball. Finch did say that she would continue to be part of the game in the future even though she would no longer be playing.
Finch first broke onto the scene when she was a pitcher at the University of Arizona. In 2002 she set a new collegiate record when she pitched her 51st consecutive victory. Her streak ultimately ended with 60-straight wins.
Then after dominating the circle on the collegiate level, Finch made her way to the Olympic team. During the 2004 Athens Olympics she finished with a 2-0 record, striking out 13 batters ultimately leading the USA to the gold.
She was also part of the 2008 team that won the silver in Beijing. Even though Finch and other members of the USA softball team pushed for softball team to be part of the 2012 and 2016 games, the IOC ruled that softball would not be part of the games.
Whether it was in the circle for Arizona, team USA or pitching for the National Pro Fastpitch softball league, Finch succeeded and dominated her competition. When she took the mound it was almost a certain victory.
But while all the numbers are impressive, what Finch did most was she created a buzz for the game of softball in a positive way. She debunked the stereotypes that softball players had to be macho, while she was the opposite.
She was known around the world for her grace and dominance and simply playing softball the right way.
It is obvious that softball across the globe is on a decline with it being eliminated from Olympic competition and now with Finch leaving the field an even greater void will need to be filled.