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In broadcasting, especially 'cause people are more public, it's hard to be like 'so what are you making?' Finding that information is huge when you're negotiating a contract. You wanna make sure that you're in the same ballpark.
I'm different. Like, I recognize that, and I need to make sure that I am as prepared, that I understand, that I've done everything I can, knowing that people are gonna wanna say, 'She doesn't belong.' I wanna prove to them I do.
I feel like so many girls are too intimidated to walk into their local Boys & Girls Club or YMCA - places that have equipment and offer a lot of opportunities to be active for little-to-no-money but are usually more boy-focused.
When you think about success - whether it be in softball, getting into college or becoming an 'American Idol' singer - whatever your goals and aspirations are, you're going to have to stand out at some point if you want to succeed.
I think the biggest thing I can say to that is every female is different. Not that every man isn't, but speaking on behalf on my gender, I think women can watch sports exactly like men, and others watch it exactly the opposite way.
Try not to get lost in comparing yourself to others. Discover your gifts and let them shine! Softball is amazing that way as a sport. Everyone on the field has a slightly different ability that makes them perfect for their position.
I had female role models to look up to starting in middle school, athletes like Julie Foudy and Mia Hamm who made me realize that there was room in the world of sports for women. They ignited my dream of becoming an Olympic athlete.
I was honored to wear 'Arizona' across my chest. I am extremely blessed to have my education completely paid for and take part in the great tradition of Wildcat softball. To have my jersey number retired was the ultimate compliment.
As an Olympic athlete, especially a female Olympic athletic, social media's such an amazing place, people are so positive, all these young girls. Anything negative is such a small space, people aren't coming at you for their gender.
Dad was the pitching coach, while Mom was the emotional supporter. Her unconditional love was great, and she wanted what was best for me. It was more about what she did than what she said, and she made sure I was the best I could be.
I think all women want to get out of our own little bubble and challenge a man's world. And I love challenges. I love that this isn't going to be easy. Being the first is going to be hard. I just want to keep pushing and progressing.
I loved being on the field playing and teaching softball. I didn't like the fact that a camp had my name on it and I didn't know the logistics of what was going on. I wanted to make sure I was involved in a camp that did things right.
I just feel like it gets harder and harder every year with Ace getting older and time away from my husband and even family events such as birthdays and friends' weddings and things that I've always just missed out on because of softball.
When I was growing up, softball had stereotypes along with other female sports. But society is definitely changing since the WNBA and WUSA. Muscles on female athletes are OK now. Young girls can look up to beautiful, athletic, fit women.
I just knew: first-time female on ESPN, there's going to be some backlash, like any change. There's always going to be resistance. There are going to be people that hear a female voice or see a female figure and are completely against it.
How can we all be better? We can be better by constantly evolving and not saying, Because baseball has always had men, let's make sure we keep it that way. I think we should always challenge ourselves to do things that have never been done.
I think that certain players are going to approach the game differently. I am more of a quiet person. I like to have more of a focused energy and internal energy whereas some people need to be bouncing off the walls to be ready for the game.
Anytime I'm like, 'Ho-hum,' trying to go about my business like anyone else, I'll have a father or someone come up to me and say, 'You know, my daughter never realized she could be in the booth for sports, and now that's what she wants to do.'
I think there's something to baseball, golf, fishing that there's downtime within all of those sports. Even though you're still doing the sport and everything that's involved, there's still this time to be able to think and have conversations.
I blame and credit my brothers for my competitive fire within me. Growing up, I lost at everything! My brothers are quite a bit older - 10 years and 5 years - so it was a challenge, but I have some of the most amazing memories with my big brothers.
For Jennie Finch, she's a stud on the field and everyone's going to love her while she's playing, but no one is going to forget her because of the person that she is. That is what she has over almost any other person that's at the top of their sport.
I know that people are going to recognize my voice as being different and they are going to be saying, 'Let me listen a little bit closer to see if she says something that I don't agree with.' They're probably going to pay a little bit more attention.
I still think there are some pitches in this pitching arm, so I will continue playing with USA Softball, but knowing that this could be the last time a softball player stands on the Olympic podium and has the opportunity of experiencing this - it was emotional.
Growing up, I looked up to major league baseball players, and now these young women have amazing, incredible women all across the board, from swimming to gymnastics to softball to basketball. It is incredible how far women have come and women in sports have come.
I didn't play baseball my entire life, so I do bring something a little more unique to the telecast and I get really excited about stuff that, maybe if I had been around baseball my whole life, I would just say, 'Come on. Everybody knows that. Its not a big deal.'
The first MLB game I did was a Monday Night game, and no one really knew I was doing it. So walking into the clubhouse, I tried to introduce myself to people like, 'Hey, I'm in the booth.' And they were kind of confused, like, 'You're a female, I don't understand.'
Looking back, I've learned the most from the bad coaches, really, how not to act, how not to coach, how not to treat people. So I always say no matter what situations you're faced with, how bad it is, you can always walk away and learn. You can always rise above it.
That's what's beautiful about sports in general is you give someone a bat, a ball, a piece of sporting equipment and what it does to help them just be better people, 'to get out of whatever situation they might be in temporarily for that moment, to be whoever they want to be.
You can't always say and do things and wait until the right moment, when everything is perfectly lined up. As women, I feel like we do that. I just see so many women take the back seat and wait until the right opportunity, and when you do that, you miss out on the best things.
I had the vision of creating my own camp to make sure I was teaching the campers what I wanted. Plus I picked other players that were good on the field and off so we could be great role models for these girls to look up to. I hope to inspire others and encourage them to go after their dreams.
To keep children healty, it's important to keep them active. Of course you can control what goes into their mouths, but it's also about putting the active back into family activity. Go outside with them, live in the moment and encourage them. That'll help you find fulfillment in your life as well.
I grew up in a big Mexican family and... we always were so comfortable in our own skin. So society, the stuff that I think we see a lot now for young girls, didn't really reach me because I had this huge Mexican bubble around me saying, 'You're beautiful. You're amazing. You're strong. And be you.'
Everyone's got advice, everyone's got their two cents. Try to streamline, like, who are the people that I trust the most? Sometimes I call it my board of directors. They're going to challenge you, but they're also going to support you. They're not going to just tell you what you want to hear, either.
It started with 'A League of Their Own.' I mean, to me, if you played softball or baseball as a girl growing up, that is the staple movie, like, where girls are portrayed as athletes, and real, like, different, from Madonna, you know, to Geena Davis. I mean, I could quote that movie, every single line.
Being in New York for 10 days during the World Series and appearing on a bunch of shows, I felt like it was a trial run to have more of a studio presence. The more consistently I started to do it, the more I grew to love it. It allows me to push baseball ideas and content in a bunch of different places.
In college, I was failing almost every class I was taking my freshman year. I was having difficulty in managing my time; I was just overwhelmed. Even though I knew I was smart and knew I was good enough, at that point, I doubted all of it because I struggled to handle my sport, classes and social life all at once.
Growing up, I watched softball and U.S.A .softball, and that was my goal of being able to represent my country and wear the red, white, and blue out there, and I think it is one of the highest honors to be able to go out there and compete for your country, and it was something so very special, and it was everything I dreamt of and more.
My main goal when I talk to groups is to educate families on the physical and mental health benefits that playing sports provide young girls. It's not just about going out there and having fun. That's a part of playing sports, but a big chunk of it is all the other things that sports give you to help you become a much more whole, better person.
When I'm in the game [softball], it's not so much mechanics. It's more of just trusting my teammates, trusting myself, trusting my preparation that we've put in to get there. When you're in the game, it's go-mode. There's going to be times when you're tweaking things but when you're in that game mode, you just want to think about that one next pitch.
It's a game of failure [softball]. Everybody would play, that was easy and everyone's not playing because it is so tough. But it's a matter of keep plugging away, keep working hard, believing in yourself and it is a team sport and there is nothing better than being out there, having a ball in your hand, playing the game that you love and ultimately that's what it comes down is having fun and enjoying it.
Our sports [softball] is a game of failure already so my dad always says to parents who he is a pitching coach and he's been my pitching coach since I was 11 years old is if they can be the best kid on the team, let them experience that and then obviously the challenge has to come later on but you don't get that opportunity very often and confidence is such a huge part of this game and in life in general.
I think when you're really passionate about something, and maybe not every person is like this, but I think there's a large group that feels deep inside, I want something different, I want something more, I want to go on my own path. It's being comfortable being uncomfortable. Because to do that, you're going to have to jump outside of the comfort zone and it isn't going to be perfect. It's going to be scary. And to me, that's when great things happen.
I think that when young players really see their game rise next level, it's when practices are like competition and there's no separation there. Of course, there are adrenaline and the butterflies; you don't have that so much in practice. You want to fake yourself out and try to get them there because you want to be as close to that game mentality as you can when you step on that field every single day whether it's practice or in your backyard or down the street with your dad.
As a believer, I know that Jesus Christ has a plan and it's not going to be my plan. It's not always succeeding and looking back it's amazing looking back to see how God works in mysterious ways, not always good ways, rough ways but those rough times, those rough patches, and those swamps and all those things that I went through are looking back, were such an incredible life lessons for me not only to shape and build me as an athlete but most importantly, my character as a person.
Becoming baseball analyst was really important for me to not just be one of the first, but to literally break open the door and come in and stay, so that we could start inviting our friends and everyone, like, Come on. The door is open now. I am so proud of the fact that I put that pressure on myself: Alright, Jess, you've got a lot of women on your back right now and it's on you, so don't screw it up. I put that pressure on myself on purpose, so I'd realize it's not just about me, it's about a whole gender.