Jennie Finch

"You play like a girl!" used to be one of baseball's classic insults. Not anymore. Softball diva Jennie Finch has made it cool to not only throw like a girl, but to run, field and hit like one, too. Not since Babe Ruth has a player dominated so completely from the pitching rubber and the batter's box, and she even gives the Bambino a run for his money in the charisma department. Jennie has also accomplished something Ruth never could: She is showing the boys it's okay to be one of the girls. This is her story...

GROWING UP

Jennie Finch was born on September 3, 1980, in La Mirada, California. Jennie's parents, Doug and Bev, already had two boys, Shane and Landon. Both loved baseball and played competitively, but it wasn't until Jennie took up the game that the family really got serious about it.

La Mirada offered organized ball on a year-round basis. Jennie joined her first league, L'il Miss T-Ball, after her fifth birthday. She was one of those kids who excelled at a number of sports, but her greatest love was always for baseball. Bev and Doug soon began channeling this passion almost exclusively into girls' softball. Their daughter had good hand-eye coordination and excellent speed. But it was her arm that opened the most eyes. During winter vacation in Iowa one year, she celebrated her first snowfall by packing a snowball and literally heaving it out of sight.

Jennie's hometown was also close to Dodger Stadium, where the Finches had season tickets on the third-base line. Bev, the baseball nut in the family, listened to Vin Scully on a pair of headphones while she took in the action. As soon as Jennie was old enough, she began accompanying her mom to Chavez Ravine, bleeding Dodger blue and rooting for heroes like Kirk Gibson, whose dramatic homer sparked LA to a World Series title a few weeks after Jennie's eighth birthday.

Doug did whatever he could to accelerate his daughter's progress. He constructed a batting cage in the backyard, and hired a fast-pitch instructor for Jennie. Later, he transformed a small trampoline into a pitch-back she could use on evenings when he worked late.

As Jennie improved, her dad immersed himself in softball and became her personal coach. By the time she turned nine, she was playing for a 10-and-under traveling all-star team. Every weekend was spent at a different diamond somewhere in suburban Southern California. The more competitive the environment, the more Jennie thrived. At age 12, she led the California Cruisers to the 12-and-under American Softball Association national title in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

By now, Jennie's life was focused on softball, though she did have a normal life outside the sport. She liked to shop, try on her mom's makeup and hang out with her friends. In school, she was an excellent student. But softball consumed most of her free time. Every summer the sport brought her to a new part of the country for a national tournament.

In 1995, Jennie's ASA team captured the 14-and-under crown. During the summer of 1996, she rooted for the U.S. softball team as it rolled to Olympic gold in Atlanta. When the squad toured the country weeks later, Jennie waited on a long line to get Dot Richardson's autograph. She dreamed of becoming an Olympic champ herself, and swinging a Jennie Finch bat.

At La Mirada High School, Jennie made the varsity as a freshman, earned the first of her four letters in the sport, and helped the Matadores to the first of four straight Suburban League titles. During her high school career, she also lettered twice in basketball and in volleyball, but the softball diamond is where she truly distinguished herself. Tall and lean, she was blessed with loads of natural talent and an intense desire to win.

As a sophomore, Jennie began amassing an impressive list on honors, being chosen All-Suburban League, All-CIF Division II, and Whittier Daily News All-Area. The following year she was selected league MVP. In the summer of 1997, she spearheaded a team that won the ASA 18-and-under championship.

Jennie continued her domination as a senior at La Mirada High. Between practice and games, softball was like a full-time job, and she enjoyed every minute of it. Her school's Female Athlete of the Year, she was named to the Long Beach Press-Telegram's Softball Dream Team and garnered the paper's Player of the Year award. Jennie was a great hitter, but no one could touch her as a pitcher. In her four years as a Matadore, she went 50-12, with six perfect games, 13 no-hitters, and a 0.15 ERA. In 445 innings, she fanned 784 hitters.

The nation's top high school recruit according to Jump Magazine, Jennie had her choice of schools. Nearby UCLA seemed to have the inside track, but she was also interested in the University of Arizona. The coach there, Mike Candrea, had first spotted Jennie when she was 16. He followed her career from that point on, and when it came time for Jennie to commit, she opted for the Wildcats. The school's proud softball tradition--which included five national titles since 1991--was a determining factor.

Before Jennie left for Tucson, she competed for USA Softball in the inaugural Junior Superball tournament. Against an international field, the Americans claimed the gold.

ON THE RISE

Jennie made an impact at Arizona in her first year. The Wildcats entered the 1999 season as a legitimate contender for the national title. Candrea's team was young and talented. A pair of sophomores, Nicole Giordano and Toni Mascarenas, helped pace the offense. In the pitching rotation, Jennie teamed up with Becky Lemke for a formidable one-two punch.

Jennie's adjustment to the college game took several starts. In the summer tournaments, she had become accustomed to overwhelming opponents with hard stuff. Experienced Division-I hitters, however, could handle Jennie's heater if they knew it was coming, so she had to learn to mix her pitches more effectively. She had a full arsenal--a left break and right break, a drop and a riser--it was now a matter of refining them. By May, Jennie was feeling right at home. Her record stood at 19-6, and she was putting up some of her best performances against tough Pac-10 rivals.

When Candrea's fab frosh wasn't pitching, he penciled her in at first base, where she established herself as one of Arizona's most dangerous hitters. Jennie finished the season as the team leader in doubles (14) and extra-base