MLB has named JENNIE FINCH a youth softball ambassador, part of an expanding effort by the league to grow softball at the amateur and youth levels. Finch, an Olympic Gold Medalist, Women’s College World Series champion and former pro softball pitcher, has been actively involved in various league marketing and grassroots activities for much of the past 15 years. The new position enlarges and formalizes Finch’s role with MLB. Though not full-time, the position calls for her to appear at a variety of events this year and support the league’s various programs to boost youth participation, including the ongoing Play Ball effort. “I’m really happy to have an official role,” Finch said. “There is a lot we can still do, and just like on the baseball side, I think there’s a real place in softball for a casual young athlete, where a kid can still be a kid.” The creation of the new role for Finch follows a series of other moves MLB has made to aid the development of softball, largely in collaboration with USA Softball. The two entities last year created the inaugural Softball Breakthrough Series to serve underrepresented communities, and softball is part of each of the nine MLB Youth Academies either operational or under construction. MLB Senior VP/Youth Programs TONY REAGINS also has assigned KOELY KEMPISTY, a former member of Puerto Rico’s Olympic Softball team and previously with MLB’s international baseball operations, specifically to the league’s softball development efforts. “We’re trying to achieve a lot more balance in our development programs. We want to grow softball, we need to start at the grassroots level, and Jennie’s another important piece of that overall vision,” Reagins said.
