GaryMrMets
07-01-2004, 02:24 AM
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/9035193.htm
Posted on Tue, Jun. 29, 2004
For softball, Finch makes perfect pitch
She turns heads and baffles hitters.
By Tom McGurk
Inquirer Suburban Staff
SALEM, Va. - At a recent stop on the U.S. softball team's "Aiming for Athens" tour across the nation, a police escort led the way through the Virginia countryside to Salem, where an overflow crowd of 3,000 was buzzing with the sort of anticipation more often felt at the arrival of a rock star.
As the players stepped off the bus, fans began stretching their necks, looking for one player in particular.
When Jennie Finch appeared, the crowd erupted.
"It's been crazy," Finch said. "The fans have been great. They know every little thing about all the players. They even know our dogs' names. They ask me about Prada [her miniature Yorkie] all the time."
The 6-foot-1 Finch, with her girl-next-door looks and appearances on David Letterman's talk show, not to mention a 71-m.p.h. fastball, has become the face of the U.S. team.
"The young kids seem to really look up to Jennie," coach Mike Candrea said. "She's become a great ambassador of our game."
In 1996, Finch was one of those young fans cheering on the team as it prepared for the Atlanta Games.
"When I watched that team with Lisa Fernandez and Dot Richardson, that's where I wanted to be," Finch said.
Then, Finch would have been part of a crowd of more like 200 than 3,000.
"Now, we're playing in front of huge crowds in games that have been sold out for weeks," said Fernandez, one of the sport's pioneers who played for the U.S. gold-medal-winning teams in 1996 and 2000. "The sport has definitely gained a lot of popularity over the years."
The sport's latest ambassador grew up in La Mirada, Calif. Her softball career began at the age of 5, and she began pitching three years later.
Finch's father, Doug, became her personal pitching coach and helped perfect her windmill windup. She credits her mother, Beverly, a season-ticket holder for the Los Angeles Dodgers, for giving her the passion for the sport.
Finch landed a spot on a traveling all-star team at 9 and three years later pitched the California Cruisers to a 12-and-under national title. By age 16, she had caught the eye of Candrea, the head coach at the University of Arizona, and became one of the nation's top recruits thanks to a fastball that then reached 68 m.p.h.
At Arizona, Finch won an NCAA-record 60 consecutive games. She had a 0.15 ERA and was a three-time all-American and two-time player of the year.
In 2001, she led the Wildcats to the NCAA national title and was honored with the Honda Award, given to the country's top player.
Off the field, Finch's good looks and ease before the camera have led to some unusual opportunities.
She was voted "Hottest Sports Personality" in an ESPN Web site poll, beating out the likes of tennis star Anna Kournikova and soccer player Heather Mitts.
Then there was a wacky spot for the Late Show With David Letterman that called for her to throw fastballs from an adjacent building, breaking windows at the Ed Sullivan Theatre.
"Pitching off a skyscraper, that was certainly different, but it was a lot of fun," Finch said. "The toughest part was changing into my uniform and getting up to the roof. There wasn't too much time during the break after the interview."
Finch, who is engaged to Casey Daigle, a pitcher in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, has also drawn praise for her work as a correspondent for This Week in Baseball. For the last two years, she has mingled with some of the premier players in the major leagues and got a shot to dazzle many of them with her riser. Superstars such as Albert Pujols and Mike Piazza are among her strikeout victims.
"The work that I've done on This Week in Baseball has definitely been my favorite part," Finch said. "Being on the field at the [All-Star Game's] Home Run Derby, just getting to interact with the greatest players in baseball, has been an incredible experience."
Finch has also worked as a color commentator for ESPN during the softball College World Series.
"Jennie definitely catches the eye of the public," said catcher Stacey Nuveman, who worked as an analyst alongside Finch. "She has been able to give the national team publicity and give our sport more attention and notoriety. In the end, that's a great thing.
"All female athletes want to be respected as players and not have that sexualization of women's sports. I don't think Jennie is any different."
Amid the team's high expectations and the intense media spotlight, Candrea believes Finch will stay strong.
"Jennie is very well-grounded," he said. "She has a great personality and personality is what brings people to the ballpark.
"She seems comfortable with the notoriety she has received, but she also wants to be known for what she does on the field."
The U.S. team has won gold in both of the Olympics in which softball was included. It heads to Athens as the No. 1-ranked team in the world. Australia, Japan and China are expected to be its top threats.
It was 40-0 on the current tour against the nation's top college programs and select all-star teams, heading into last night's game in St. Louis, and has a 154-game winning streak in pre-Olympic competition since 1996.
Finch is 12-0 on this tour, with a tiny 0.09 ERA in 772/3 innings. She has surrendered just 13 hits and struck out 166.
Even with all that success, and the larger crowds on this tour, softball could use a boost, and Finch's celebrity can only help. The sport narrowly survived the chopping block by the International Olympic Committee in November 2002, and the IOC plans to review the issue again after the Athens Games.
Finch shies away from the notion that she could be softball's savior. Like a blond Jim Thome, she would rather talk about the team reaching greater heights.
"We want to be the golden team of the United States," she said.
"The women's soccer team reached that type of status when they won the World Cup, and I think we have the chance to do the same in Athens."
Posted on Tue, Jun. 29, 2004
For softball, Finch makes perfect pitch
She turns heads and baffles hitters.
By Tom McGurk
Inquirer Suburban Staff
SALEM, Va. - At a recent stop on the U.S. softball team's "Aiming for Athens" tour across the nation, a police escort led the way through the Virginia countryside to Salem, where an overflow crowd of 3,000 was buzzing with the sort of anticipation more often felt at the arrival of a rock star.
As the players stepped off the bus, fans began stretching their necks, looking for one player in particular.
When Jennie Finch appeared, the crowd erupted.
"It's been crazy," Finch said. "The fans have been great. They know every little thing about all the players. They even know our dogs' names. They ask me about Prada [her miniature Yorkie] all the time."
The 6-foot-1 Finch, with her girl-next-door looks and appearances on David Letterman's talk show, not to mention a 71-m.p.h. fastball, has become the face of the U.S. team.
"The young kids seem to really look up to Jennie," coach Mike Candrea said. "She's become a great ambassador of our game."
In 1996, Finch was one of those young fans cheering on the team as it prepared for the Atlanta Games.
"When I watched that team with Lisa Fernandez and Dot Richardson, that's where I wanted to be," Finch said.
Then, Finch would have been part of a crowd of more like 200 than 3,000.
"Now, we're playing in front of huge crowds in games that have been sold out for weeks," said Fernandez, one of the sport's pioneers who played for the U.S. gold-medal-winning teams in 1996 and 2000. "The sport has definitely gained a lot of popularity over the years."
The sport's latest ambassador grew up in La Mirada, Calif. Her softball career began at the age of 5, and she began pitching three years later.
Finch's father, Doug, became her personal pitching coach and helped perfect her windmill windup. She credits her mother, Beverly, a season-ticket holder for the Los Angeles Dodgers, for giving her the passion for the sport.
Finch landed a spot on a traveling all-star team at 9 and three years later pitched the California Cruisers to a 12-and-under national title. By age 16, she had caught the eye of Candrea, the head coach at the University of Arizona, and became one of the nation's top recruits thanks to a fastball that then reached 68 m.p.h.
At Arizona, Finch won an NCAA-record 60 consecutive games. She had a 0.15 ERA and was a three-time all-American and two-time player of the year.
In 2001, she led the Wildcats to the NCAA national title and was honored with the Honda Award, given to the country's top player.
Off the field, Finch's good looks and ease before the camera have led to some unusual opportunities.
She was voted "Hottest Sports Personality" in an ESPN Web site poll, beating out the likes of tennis star Anna Kournikova and soccer player Heather Mitts.
Then there was a wacky spot for the Late Show With David Letterman that called for her to throw fastballs from an adjacent building, breaking windows at the Ed Sullivan Theatre.
"Pitching off a skyscraper, that was certainly different, but it was a lot of fun," Finch said. "The toughest part was changing into my uniform and getting up to the roof. There wasn't too much time during the break after the interview."
Finch, who is engaged to Casey Daigle, a pitcher in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, has also drawn praise for her work as a correspondent for This Week in Baseball. For the last two years, she has mingled with some of the premier players in the major leagues and got a shot to dazzle many of them with her riser. Superstars such as Albert Pujols and Mike Piazza are among her strikeout victims.
"The work that I've done on This Week in Baseball has definitely been my favorite part," Finch said. "Being on the field at the [All-Star Game's] Home Run Derby, just getting to interact with the greatest players in baseball, has been an incredible experience."
Finch has also worked as a color commentator for ESPN during the softball College World Series.
"Jennie definitely catches the eye of the public," said catcher Stacey Nuveman, who worked as an analyst alongside Finch. "She has been able to give the national team publicity and give our sport more attention and notoriety. In the end, that's a great thing.
"All female athletes want to be respected as players and not have that sexualization of women's sports. I don't think Jennie is any different."
Amid the team's high expectations and the intense media spotlight, Candrea believes Finch will stay strong.
"Jennie is very well-grounded," he said. "She has a great personality and personality is what brings people to the ballpark.
"She seems comfortable with the notoriety she has received, but she also wants to be known for what she does on the field."
The U.S. team has won gold in both of the Olympics in which softball was included. It heads to Athens as the No. 1-ranked team in the world. Australia, Japan and China are expected to be its top threats.
It was 40-0 on the current tour against the nation's top college programs and select all-star teams, heading into last night's game in St. Louis, and has a 154-game winning streak in pre-Olympic competition since 1996.
Finch is 12-0 on this tour, with a tiny 0.09 ERA in 772/3 innings. She has surrendered just 13 hits and struck out 166.
Even with all that success, and the larger crowds on this tour, softball could use a boost, and Finch's celebrity can only help. The sport narrowly survived the chopping block by the International Olympic Committee in November 2002, and the IOC plans to review the issue again after the Athens Games.
Finch shies away from the notion that she could be softball's savior. Like a blond Jim Thome, she would rather talk about the team reaching greater heights.
"We want to be the golden team of the United States," she said.
"The women's soccer team reached that type of status when they won the World Cup, and I think we have the chance to do the same in Athens."