World Softball Day is Friday, presenting a perfect opportunity to recognize the expansive interest in an ever-growing sport.
The Jennie Finch Empowerment Award, presented by ARM & HAMMER, is now in its seventh year of presenting scholarships to deserving softball players at Major League Baseball’s signature youth softball events who have demonstrated the many values represented through the award. The six guiding principles are: leadership, motivation, commitment, dedication, humility and integrity.
Pair that with MLB’s recent investment in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, and it’s clear that softball is having quite a moment.
ATHLETES UNLIMITED SOFTBALL LEAGUE
Established in 2019, the JFEA has become a staple which seeks to support girls who play softball and embrace the importance of leadership and teamwork, just like the softball star the award is named after.
Finch’s career serves as inspiration for the next generation. She is a National Softball Hall of Fame inductee, a 2001 Women’s College World Series champion with the University of Arizona and a two-time Olympic medalist.
As ARM & HAMMER and MLB’s youth softball ambassador, she has devoted her time to create a platform where all girls have resources to play the sport while receiving higher education.
“These young girls are getting the opportunity to play, expanding diversity within the game, and just giving these young girls the opportunities to go after their dreams just like I did,” Finch said when the award was first announced.
Since 2019, ARM&HAMMER has contributed $220,000 to the initiative, giving $10,000 scholarships to exemplary and service-minded athletes at all MLB Develops softball events every year. Those events include the Breakthrough Series, Jennie Finch Classic during All-Star Week, the Elite Development Invitational and the RBI World Series.
Additionally, all winners are honored on the field before Game 2 at the World Series every year.
“In partnership with Major League Baseball and Jennie Finch, we remain dedicated to advancing girls’ youth softball and empowering the next generation of female athletes,” said Cindy Manzo, marketing director of Church & Dwight. “It’s a privilege to honor these inspiring young women who exemplify the strength, character and values this award stands for.”
Young athletes from all across the country who have participated in multiple MLB Youth programs have been positively impacted over the past seven years.
“It just always feels really good to know that people are really looking out and really support and want to be able to amplify not just our talent on the field, but also the hard work we put behind [the scenes],” MLB Network personality and Gold Glove Award winner A.J. Andrews said at a roundtable with JFEA alumni in 2023.
The JFEA not only paves the way for girls softball players, but provides them with the opportunity to be part of a community of talented athletes who share similar experiences and have a support system that will accompany them in their future careers.
"The Empowerment Award is such a thrill," Finch said in 2023. "These young ladies are exceptional, and just to give them an award, to honor them, to shine a light on them and invest in their future. … I can't wait to see what they do and how they do it at that next level."
Finch has been at the forefront of several softball initiatives, most recently as a supporter of the new AUSL and MLB partnership that was announced in late May, further cementing the commitment from both organizations to grow the game.
“I was one of the very few fortunate ones that was able to play and have a place to play for a long, long time,” Finch said. “Now there's going to be numerous girls and women that will have this opportunity. And so to be able to see this happening, and to be here to witness it, it's such a gift and a dream.”