Former USA softball star Jennie Finch is set to become the first woman to manage a pro baseball team.
Minor league and independent baseball teams are always looking for the next crazy promotion, but the one being put on by Bridgeport Bluefish this Sunday is particularly interesting.
For the first time in history a woman will manage a professional men’s baseball team when Jennie Finch takes over as guest manager for the Bluefish on Sunday. The Bluefish announced this historic promotion in March. On top of managing the team, Finch will meet with fans before the game and throw out the first pitch.
“We are really excited to have Jennie come out and manage the team,” said Bluefish GM Jamie Toole. “She is an incredible athlete and a wonderful person, and we hope our fans will enjoy seeing her in a Bluefish uniform for the day.”
Obviously this is not a major league team, but the Independent league Bluefish have four former major-league players on their roster. Endy Chavez, Dan Johnson, Josh Vitters and Jonathan Albaladejo will be among the players who Finch manages on Monday.
While this is certainly nothing more than a publicity stunt (obviously it is working), it is very cool to see this happening. If a woman wants to become a manager in professional baseball, they should be allowed to chase that profession. This promotion is not happening to open any doors, but it would be interesting to see if it did.
Finch is best known as arguably the most dominant softball pitcher of all-time, starring for the University of Arizona from 1999-2002. She was also a star player for the 2004 Gold medal winning USA softball team and the Silver medal 2008 team.
Finch is also a regular at the Celebrity softball game at the MLB All-Star week each year.