Softtball icon Finch to bid final farewell to Bandits fans

Life as an athlete won't come exactly full circle for Jennie Finch.

But close enough.

Finch, the most recognized softball player in the history of the sport, announced recently that she will be retiring at the end of the summer after a whirlwind career that has included an NCAA national championship, an Olympic gold medal, a professional title and many personal records along the way.

A pitcher for the Chicago Bandits, Finch will play her last home games at the team's suburban facility at Judson University in Elgin next week. The Bandits host the Tennessee Diamonds, Thursday through Sunday.

But it will be following week that Finch will play her very last games ever at the National Pro Fastpitch Championship Series in Sulphur, La.

Sulphur happens to be the hometown of Finch's husband, Casey Daigle, a pitcher for the Houston Astros.

See, not quite full circle for Finch, a California native. But close enough.

"It's so ironic that I'll be playing my final games in Casey's hometown," said Finch, seemingly comforted by that surreal connection. "His entire family will be there. My family, my parents will be there. There will be a lot of emotions. But it will be nice to end my career there."

Finch is at peace with her decision to walk away.

But at 29, she could sprint away if she had to.

Finch isn't retiring because she's too old, or too sore or too worn.

Just a few weeks ago, for Pete's sake, she threw a perfect game for the Bandits.

Finch is retiring because she has come to the crossroads that many female athletes do.

That internal clock is ticking. Louder and louder and louder.

Already a mother to a 4-year-old son, who is appropriately named Ace, Finch is ready for more kids.

"It's hard because (before deciding to retire) I was like, 'Do I play another season, or do I have a baby,' " Finch said.

"There was always that pull."

And that wasn't even the strongest pull Finch felt.

That came from Ace, who is already quite the ballplayer, by the way.

"Being away from him for 14 or 16 days at a time when I was playing in another country (for the U.S. national team) was getting so tough, especially now that he's getting older," Finch said. "Each goodbye gets a little tougher."

Not that saying goodbye to softball is easy.

But in Finch's eyes, it was the easier of the two.

"This is going to be bittersweet, for sure," Finch said of retirement. "I'm going to miss the competition and the camaraderie. I'm going to miss playing.

"But as soon as you have a child, your whole world changes. I felt like I was sacrificing a great deal when I had to be away from him. Plus, I'm not getting any younger. We want to have more children in the future. That was kind of weighing on me. So I just felt this was a good time to walk away from playing."

Finch isn't completely walking away from softball.

She plans to still run her business, which conducts softball clinics across the country for young girls. And she still plans on making herself widely available to USA Softball as well as to National Pro Fastpitch for promotional appearances.

"Softball has been such a huge, huge part of my life. I've been so blessed by it," Finch said. "I'm hoping I can still be really involved in the game in terms of growing it any way I can."

Last chance: Jennie Finch's final games in Chicago as a Bandit will be Thursday through Sunday at Judson University in Elgin.

The games on Thursday and Friday begin at 7:05. Saturday's doubleheader includes games at 2 p.m. and at 7:05, and Sunday's game starts at 2:05.

For more information or for tickets, call (877) 7BANDIT or visit chicagobandits.com.

pbabcock@dailyherald.com