Softball legend Jennie Finch has a new role with Major League Baseball. An Olympic gold medalist, Women's College World Series champion and former professional softball pitcher, Finch has been named MLB's first youth softball ambassador. She is tasked with supporting the organization's youth programs with initiatives and strategies that are designed to grow softball at the amateur and youth levels, and she will also be active in the ongoing efforts of MLB to support girls playing baseball.
Finch spoke with espnW about the new position, what she's excited about, and growing the game.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
espnW: How did this position come about?
Jennie Finch: At [MLB All-Star Week] we got to talking about Major League Baseball aligning with USA Softball and USA Baseball and me going out to their Play Ball events. I've been actively involved in their events throughout the years. MLB is excited about getting more involved with softball, and I couldn't be more excited about them lining themselves up with our sport. It's them proving to these young girls that our sport does matter, and I couldn't be more excited.
espnW: As a youth ambassador, what are you going to be doing?
JF: I'll be traveling around to most of the events, and helping grow the game on that grass-roots level. I'll help expand the Play Ball events and the RBI program, and along with USA Softball, grow the Softball Breakthrough Series. We are also doing the Elite Development Invitational, which is a camp for softball players. Hopefully they can come in and be inspired not just on the field, but off the field. For those girls that want to play baseball, we'll be promoting a new event around Jackie Robinson Day in Los Angeles that involves getting girls active in baseball.
espnW: What are you hoping to accomplish in this position?
JF: I just want to help grow the game. I want to help young girls be inspired. I want to help young girls go out and play. You look at the statistics, and when young athletes drop out of sports, it's heart-wrenching. It's heartbreaking. I know what sport has done in my life, and I just want to give young girls across the country and the world those hopes, those dreams, and those goals. We had season tickets to the Dodgers growing up that we shared with a couple other families, and I remember thinking, 'There's no women there,' and then my parents introduced me to college softball and that became the goal. Softball meant so much to me, and to see what it has meant for these young girls and what an outlet it's been has been incredible to see firsthand. I'm excited to see that grow all across the country.
espnW: How do you see MLB's support of softball impacting the game?
JF: They bring so much support. For them to create a family for these young kids is hope. On so many levels, this is one more official step of Major League Baseball, and them using what they have, from sponsorships to financial means, they make a huge impact on our sport.
espnW: How are you feeling about the future of women in softball and baseball?
JF: I'm excited. Coming off of [the 2008 Olympics], it was heart-wrenching to see that dream be taken away. To think about how far we've come, what women who paved the way did for us, and to have it swiped out from underneath us was hard. To see 140 countries playing our sport and to see the world finally getting the grass-roots level of softball established in developmental leagues and for their national teams to have this support, and for it to be taken away was a huge blow. But seeing how National Fastpitch has been able to sustain, the leagues over in Japan, Italy and all across the world, and see USA Baseball and women's baseball, it's exciting. I'm thankful for the opportunity to get involved and to help grow our game.