Jen Pawol makes history as MLB's first female umpire. Here's what to know.
Announced on Wednesday by Major League Baseball, Pawol is getting called up to be part of the five-team umpire crew for this weekend's Atlanta Braves-Miami Marlins series, which features a doubleheader on Saturday, making her the first female umpire to work a regular-season MLB game.
Pawol is scheduled to be behind the plate for the Braves and Marlins series finale on Sunday, Aug. 10 at Truist Park in Atlanta. She will be working each of the final three games of the series with the crew, which needed a fifth member for the weekend due to the doubleheader.
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Noted by MLB.com, Pawol began her umpire career in 2016 in Rookie ball and climbed all the way up the minor league ranks to Triple-A in 2023, where she was the first woman to umpire at the minor league's highest level in 34 years. That same season, Pawol made history by becoming the first woman to umpire a Triple-A championship game.
She does have some MLB experience on her resume, as she worked a Houston Astros vs. Washington Nationals spring training game this year, which also made some history as she was the first female umpire to work a spring training game since Ria Cortesio in 2007.
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Miami Herald
27 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
She's making history as MLB's first female umpire. Meet Jen Pawol
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.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Phillies Almost Lost Jhoan Duran and Iconic 'El Incomprendido' Entrance to Another Team
This would have been devastating for Philadelphia Phillies fans. The team nearly didn't have Jhoan Duran and his electric 'El Incomprendido' entrance at Citizens Bank Park for the ninth inning. FanSided's MLB reporter Robert Murray revealed on the 'Fair Territory' podcast that Duran was nearly traded to the Seattle Mariners last week before the deadline. 'They almost got Jhoan Duran,' said Murray. 'There was at one point that morning that he was traded that I thought he was going to be in Seattle.' Phillies fans would've been heartbroken if they hadn't landed Duran. The former Minnesota Twins closer has been absolutely dynamic in his first two appearances, bringing sellout crowds to their feet when he enters as the lights go out, the gongs hit and Farruko's 'El Incomprendido' blares throughout the stadium while videoboards fill with tarantulas walking through flames. Duran has already thrown the fastest pitch in ballpark history — a 103.3 mph fastball against the Detroit Tigers last Friday. In that same game, his 102.5 mph heater to Tigers' Riley Greene was the fastest game-ending strikeout by a Phillies pitcher since pitch tracking started in 2008, per Sarah Langs. Phillies fans are so eager to see Duran enter the ninth that they actually booed when Max Lazar came into Tuesday night's game against the Los Angeles Angels with Philadelphia up 5-0. Duran had been warming before Brandon Marsh's two-run home run made it a non-save situation. Lazar would go on to toss a scoreless ninth. Duran will wear a Phillies uniform at least through 2027. Philadelphia parted with pitcher Mick Abel and catching prospect Eduardo Tait — two top 100 prospects by MLB Pipeline — to complete the deal. Related Headlines Patriots' Will Campbell backed up draft pedigree vs. Commanders in camp Mets Reporter Offers Radical Idea To Fix Hitting Woes by Making 6-Time All-Star a Special Advisor Wild Stat Proves Chiefs Patrick Mahomes still the Best QB on Earth, 49er Brock Purdy Overrated MLB Power Rankings: Andrew Vaughn's Breakout Leads Brewers Surge While Mets, Yankees Crater
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Jacob Lopez strikes out career-high 10 in 7 2/3 innings as A's beat the Nationals 6-0
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jacob Lopez struck out a career-high 10 batters in 7 2/3 innings, Colby Thomas hit his first major league home run and drove in three, and the Athletics defeated the Washington Nationals 6-0 on Thursday. Tyler Soderstrom also homered for the Athletics, who took two of three from Washington and have won nine of their last 13. The Nationals have lost seven of eight and at 45-69 are tied for a season-high 24 games under .500. Washington was outscored 61-23 during its six-game homestand against Milwaukee and the A's. Lopez (5-6) didn't allow a runner past second in the longest outing of his career. He allowed three hits and no walks, and retired his last 11 batters. Thomas, who debuted June 30 and was playing his 17th career game, ripped Mitchell Parker's elevated fastball to center for a two-run homer in the second inning. Shea Langeliers hit a sacrifice fly three batters later to make it 3-0. Darell Hernaiz hit a triple into the corner in left to lead off the fourth, then scored on Thomas' sacrifice fly. Soderstrom opened the eighth with a shot into the Nationals' bullpen in right off PJ Poulin. Parker (7-12) allowed four runs and struck out four in five innings. Key moment Washington's Nathaniel Lowe was called out on strikes in the eighth to cap a 17-pitch plate appearance. Lopez then struck out Daylen Lile and was relieved after a 114-pitch outing. Key stat Lopez has not allowed a run in 17 innings over his last three outings, reducing his ERA from 4.60 to 3.59 in that span. Up next Oakland RHP J.T. Ginn (2-3, 4.28 ERA) faces the Orioles for the first time Friday in the opener of a three-game series in Baltimore. Washington RHP Jake Irvin (8-6, 4.89) starts as the Nationals begin a three-game series at San Francisco. ___ AP MLB:
