She's making history as MLB's first female umpire. Meet Jen Pawol

Miami Herald

3 hours ago

Jen Pawol hoped a day like this would come but never tried to look too far ahead. She has put in a decade of formal work to build her resume, but her immediate goal was always 'to just get my next call right.'
But deep down, Pawol's dream of umpiring in Major League Baseball always seemed attainable.
That dream is about to become reality.
Pawol, 48, is slated to become the first woman to umpire in a regular-season MLB game when she works the final three games of a five-game series between the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves series at Atlanta's Truist Park this weekend. She will be on the bases for both ends of Saturday's doubleheader and will be behind home plate calling balls and strikes on Sunday in the series finale.
'It really makes it unbelievably special,' Pawol said on a Zoom call Thursday from Nashville, where she was working minor-league games between the Nashville Sounds and Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp — the latter the Triple A affiliate for the Marlins, fittingly enough — when she found out the news. 'I'm aware of the gravity. I'm aware of the magnitude. I believe that I'm going to be a very good steward and representative for young girls and women — and boys and men — that this is possible.'
While Pawol's baseball umpiring career formally started in 2016, the passion for the job dates back much further.
It truly began as a freshman at West Milford High in New Jersey when one of her teammates approached her during the summer about umpiring.
'I didn't think twice about it,' Pawol said. 'We made $15. She took a field and I took a field. It was a one-umpire system. I had no idea what I was doing, but I got to put gear on and call balls and strikes. I was in.'
Pawol continued her playing career through high school and college, where he shined as a catcher for Hofstra from 1996 to 1998, and then at the Amateur Softball Association Major Fast Pitch level for 10 years before making the transition to umpiring.
In 2010, Pawol began umpiring college softball before attending an MLB umpire tryout 2015. She then attended the Umpire Training Academy in Vero Beach before being offered a job in the Gulf Coast League (now the Florida Complex league) in 2016.
She slowly worked her way up the ranks during the ensuing decade, making it to the Triple A level in 2023, which made her the first female umpire at the highest level of minor-league baseball in 34 years. She was the home plate umpire for the Triple A championship in 2023 and worked as a crew chief at that level in 2024. She worked a few spring training games in 2024 and 2025, becoming the first female umpire to do so since Ria Cortesio in 2007.
'This moment represents more than a personal milestone for Jen; it is a groundbreaking step for our profession and for the continued advancement of women in sports,' the Major League Baseball Umpires Association said in a statement. 'Jen's achievement is a testament to her skill, dedication, and perseverance. We are proud to stand with Jen as she breaks this barrier, and we look forward to welcoming more women into the umpiring profession.'
Added MLB commissioner Rob Manfred: 'This historic accomplishment in baseball is a reflection of Jen's hard work, dedication and love of the game. She has earned this opportunity, and we are proud of the strong example she has set, particularly for all the women and young girls who aspire to roles on the field. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my congratulations to Jen and her family on this milestone.'
Pawol said she has gotten immense support from all corners of the sport.
She brought up a story about an interaction with pitcher Adam Wainwright in 2023, her first season at Triple A. She was behind home plate while he was on a rehab assignment. When she approached him after an inning to do the routine check for foreign substances, she remembered Wainwright telling her 'Jen, I just want you two know that I have daughters, and I think this is so cool. I'm rooting for you.'
At spring training this year when she worked a Yankees-Astros game, Astros manager Joe Espada gave her words of encouragement, telling her 'this is you're year. You're going to do it. It's going to happen.'
The umpiring community has fully embraced her as well. She talked with Chris Guccione, who will be the crew chief for the Marlins-Braves series and with whom she has worked games in the past, and the two let out a collective yell of excitement about the news.
Reality has sunk in, and Saturday can't come soon enough for Pawol.
'It's go time,' Pawol said. 'I'm ready. Yeah... It's happening.'