Female umpire Jen Pawol takes field, breaks MLB barrier

New York Times

a day ago

ATLANTA — Stationed near first base in the familiar blue uniform, Jen Pawol watched intently as the Atlanta Braves' Hurston Waldrep fired the first pitch of a doubleheader Saturday.
With that, Pawol, 48, made major-league history as the first female umpire to work a regular-season game. The moment completed a journey that took Pawol more than 1,200 minor-league games — and took women more than a century.
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'I'm aware of the gravity; I'm aware of the magnitude' of breaking through this barrier, Pawol said during a Zoom call with reporters Thursday. '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.'
Pam Postema, who reached the Triple-A level in the 1980s but never umpired a regular-season MLB game, said of Pawol in a text message to The Athletic, 'I followed her career. Couldn't happen to a better person. I always knew there would be a woman in the big leagues. It just took time.'
Pawol was assigned to work the bases for the Marlins-Braves doubleheader on Saturday at Truist Park — first base for the opener, third base for the doubleheader nightcap. For the series finale on Sunday, she is slated to be behind the plate.
During the pregame lineup exchange at home plate, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough shook Pawol's hand and held it a little longer than usual as he leaned in to say something to her. The umpires and team representatives then had a group photo taken, with Braves bench coach Walt Weiss standing next to Pawol, his hand on her shoulder.
Pawol ran out to her position before the first pitch and received a notably louder ovation than the other three umpires when their names were announced. Marlins first-base coach Tyler Smarslock shook her hand. Braves first baseman Matt Olson gave her a salute.
Pawol, a Hofstra University graduate, called MLB spring training games in 2024, becoming the first female umpire to do so since 2007. She was only the third woman to umpire a major-league spring training game.
Pawol powered toward Saturday's milestone by umpiring in the Triple-A International League since 2023 and was the first woman to umpire the International League championship game. She was the first woman to umpire a game at that level in 35 years.
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The opportunity she hoped for, and worked so long to get, came Saturday. MLB rules require a fifth member to be added to an umpiring crew when there is a doubleheader, as is the case for the Marlins and Braves on Saturday, because each home-plate umpire skips the game they aren't calling.
Enter Pawol, who etched her name in history.
She was in her Nashville hotel room Wednesday when she got the call — director of umpire development Rich Rieker and vice president of umpire operations Matt McKendry were on the line to inform her she was going to make her MLB debut Saturday in Atlanta.
'I was overcome with emotion,' Pawol said during the Zoom call with reporters Thursday.
Ted Barrett, who spent 29 years as a big-league umpire, told The Athletic this week, 'It has to be the right woman, just like a man — it's a physically demanding job, and Jen is certainly capable of doing it.
'There's a lot of women out there that are capable of doing it. My hope is that as she makes her debut, this brings awareness to it. And who knows, there might be a young girl watching her on TV and saying, 'That's something I'd like to pursue.''
This breakthrough comes long after other major sports leagues took the lead in hiring female officials, including the NBA (in 1997) and the NFL (2015).
(Photo of Jen Pawol from before Saturday's game: David J. Griffin / Icon Sportswire 2025 / Associated Press)
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