Jennie Finch -- a 2004 Olympic gold medallist with the US National Softball Team -- hung up her spikes years ago, but her commitment to the grow the game is stronger than ever.
Finch has been a Major League Baseball (MLB) youth softball ambassador since 2017 and she's been a part of projects that have recently delivered four renewed ballparks in Gary, Indianapolis; Memphis, Tennessee; Ferguson, Missouri; and Oakland, California.
“[Growing the game] one field at a time, and providing a safe place for young kids to go out and play, have fun, make memories and hopefully have big dreams and big goals,” said Finch told cheddar.com.
As a kid herself, Finch recently told Yahoo Sport that her dream was to play softball and win an Olympic gold medal.
Finch on baseball and softball in the new COVID-19 world
“I think coming out of this pandemic we can all realise or come to the conclusion that being outside is one of the safest places that we can be,” Finch said. “So providing these fields is crucial for these different communities to come together.”
She added: “It will be interesting how we move forward, but I think locally baseball and softball are in the best position possible as far as providing that social distancing and there’s not too much contact in our sport.”
