page_title: Jennie Finch
section_title: Media
hierarchical_section_title: Jennie Finch / Media
caption_attribution_description: JFinch Altamonte Springs
context_page_description: Jennie Lynn Finch is an American, former collegiate All-American and medal winning Olympian, retired 2-time pro All-Star, right-handed hitting softball pitcher originally from La Mirada, California. She pitched for the Arizona Wildcats, the USA national softball team and the Chicago Bandits. Finch won the 2001 Women's College World Series and helped lead Team USA to the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and the silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Time magazine described her as the most famous softball player in history.
  In 2010, Finch retired from softball to focus on her family. In August 2011, she started working at ESPN as a color commentator for National Pro Fastpitch and college softball games. Finch is ranked in several categories for both the Wildcats in the Pac-12 and the NCAA Division I, where she was named #2 Greatest College Softball Player. She is the National Pro Fastpitch career leader in WHIP and is a USA Softball Hall of Fame inductee.
context_section_description: In 2002, ESPN called Finch the "runaway winner" of the Best Dressed competition at the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards.
  In 2003, Finch received the most votes in an ESPN online poll as the most attractive female athlete.
  In 2004, People magazine named Finch one of its "50 Most Beautiful People", the only female athlete in the list. "This is truly amazing to be recognized by People magazine for this honor," Finch said. "It is really special to be included among some of the most famous and beautiful people in the world. I still have a hard time believing that I was selected as part of this group."
  Finch has modeled swimwear for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition in 2005. Finch was offered lucrative contracts to disrobe for Playboy and Maxim magazine, but turned them down.
  This Week in Baseball signed Finch as a co-host. In a segment called the Jennie Challenge, Finch pitches to Major League Baseball players and often strikes them out. In softball, the mound is closer to home plate than baseball and Finch's pitches are the equivalent of a 98 mph pitch. "Some big-timers refuse to face her," Cal Ripken Jr. says. "Many feel it could be embarrassing." In an interview with ESPN, Finch explained, "I was throwing them mostly rise balls and change-ups. They've never seen a pitch like that, you know? With the closer distance from the mound, I think it really surprises them how fast the pitch gets there. And especially with the rise – when they're used to that over-the-top release point – there is nothing else like it. The ball movement throws them off."
  In the 2004 Pepsi All-Star Softball Game, Finch struck out Albert Pujols, Mike Piazza and Brian Giles. "I never touched a pitch," said Giles. "Her fastball was the fastest thing I've ever seen, from that distance. It rises and cuts at the same time."
  In 2006, Finch appeared in Season One of Pros vs Joes on Spike TV, a show in which sports stars compete with ordinary people. She was the first woman to appear on the show.
  Finch appeared on an episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County.
  In 2008, Finch was featured as a contestant on The Celebrity Apprentice where she selected International Breast Cancer Research Foundation as her charity. She was fired by Donald Trump in the fourth week of the season.
  In 2008, Finch also served as the Grand Marshal of the nationally televised McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade in downtown Chicago.
  Finch pitched for the National League in the 2010 Legends and Celebrities Softball Game, at Angel Stadium, the 2011 game at Chase Field, and the 2015 game at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, in 2017 at Marlins Park in Miami, and in 2018 at Nationals Park in Washington.
  In 2011, Finch co-authored Throw Like a Girl: How to Dream Big and Believe in Yourself, with Ann Killion. The book is a collection of life lessons Finch learned growing up playing sports. On November 6, 2011, just four and a half months after giving birth to son Diesel, Finch finished the New York Marathon with a time of 4:05:26, raising $30,000 for the New York Road Runners Youth Program.
  In April 2018, Finch was announced as one of the celebrities who will compete on season 26 of Dancing with the Stars. She was partnered with professional dancer Keo Motsepe.
caption: Finch signing autographs
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