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Atlanta Braves fans erupted in cheers and held up signs on Saturday to warmly welcome Jen Pawol, the first female umpire to ever work a Major League Baseball regular-season game.
Pawol, 48, was umpiring first base during the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader between the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. For the second game, she will umpire at third base. She is scheduled to be the home plate umpire for Sunday’s series finale.
Fans in the stands proudly held homemade posters reading, “We r all dreamers. Go Jen!”and, “Thank You Jen, from girls and women everywhere.”
The Braves celebrated Pawol’s milestone in a social media post with pictures of her on the field with fellow umpires shortly after the first pitch on Saturday, writing, “Congratulations to Jen Pawol for becoming the first female umpire ever to work a regular season Major League game!”
The official Marlins account added, “A first for Jen, a first for the game. Today, Jen Pawol steps onto the field as @MLB’s first female umpire.”
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The New Jersey native told the Associated Press on Thursday that she was “overcome with emotion” upon learning she would be the one to make history for women in MLB.
“It was super emotional to finally be living that phone call that I’d been hoping for and working towards for quite a while, and I just felt super full. I feel like a fully charged battery ready to go,” she said.
A former teacher, Pawol started her professional umpiring career in 2016, advanced to Triple-A in 2023, and in 2024, became the first female umpire to work a spring-training game since 2007.
“I greatly appreciate everyone’s enthusiasm, everyone’s welcoming attitude on the field,” Pawol told AP at the time.
“Tonight was very, very special. Both managers shared congratulations, welcoming, enthusiastic. The players on the field, so many said congrats and great to see you up here. A gentleman, Javier [Bracamonte, Astros bullpen coach], he ran out early in the game and said he has a daughter playing all kinds of sports. It’s good to see you out here,” she added.
Pawol was a standout soccer and softball player at West Milford High School in New Jersey. At Hofstra University, she earned an athletic scholarship and played catcher for the Division I softball team, where she was a three-time all-conference selection.
In 2001, Pawol represented the United States women’s national baseball team in the Women’s Baseball World Series.
After completing her education with a B.F.A. from Pratt Institute and an M.F.A. from Hunter College, Pawol worked as an art teacher in upstate New York while continuing to umpire amateur softball games part-time.
In 2016, she decided to pursue umpiring professionally, attending the Minor League Baseball Umpire Training Academy in Vero Beach, Florida. Her performance there led to a position in the Gulf Coast League, marking her debut as the first woman to umpire a Minor League Baseball game in nearly a decade.
In 2023, Pawol became the first female umpire in 34 years to reach the Triple-A level, where she officiated the home plate during the Triple-A National Championship Game. The following year, she made history again by becoming only the third woman ever to umpire in an MLB spring training game, and the first since 2007
MLB placed her on its call-up list earlier this year, making her eligible to officiate in regular-season games.
