Jen Pawol has made history as the first woman to umpire a regular-season game in baseball’s major leagues.
Pawol’s much-anticipated debut came as the first-base umpire for Saturday’s first game of a split doubleheader between the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins, and fans quickly made their feelings clear in the stands.
She received a rousing reception, and multiple supporters had even handmade signs to show their support, with one reading: ‘Thank you Jen, from girls and women everywhere.’
Another noted: ‘We r all dreamers! Go Jen!’
She enjoyed a quiet first inning, watching as Braves right-hander Hurston Waldrep struck out the first two batters before Agustin Ramirez lined out to third baseman Nacho Alvarez Jr.
The Braves also were set down in order by Miami right-hander Ryan Gusto in the bottom of the first inning, with no calls from Pawol needed at first base.
Jen Pawol waves to the fans in Georgia ahead of her first appearance as an MLB umpire
Supporters had made signs to show their support for Pawol as she made history on Saturday
As the first-base umpire, Pawol’s responsibility was to check Waldrep’s hands for foreign substances following the inning. During that brief encounter, she also appeared to receive a warm greeting from Braves catcher Sean Murphy on his way to the dugout.
Pawol’s first real test came in the third inning when she called Murphy safe on a close play. Replays indicated Murphy may have been out, but Marlins manager Clayton McCullough did not challenge the call.
Later in the inning, she made an animated call on Miami’s Xavier Edwards when he grounded into a double play, Pawol pumped her fist and lifted her leg when she called Edwards out at the first base bag.
Pawol couldn’t help but notice her debut was being watched closely. Fans responded with a warm ovation when the video board focused on the umpire between innings, forcing her to take a quick glance at her image.
Pawol calls Jakob Marsee out at first base during the second inning of the game in Atlanta
Hurston Waldrep is checked for foreign materials by Pawol before heading to the mound
Pawol will work third base in Saturday night’s second game of the doubleheader. She will be in the spotlight when she calls pitches behind the plate in Sunday’s final game of the series.
There was much anticipation for her historic debut Saturday. A crowd of photographers gathered while waiting for the umpires to walk onto the field from their entry ramp near the Marlins’ dugout.
Marlins manager Clayton McCullough and Braves bench coach Walt Weiss greeted Pawol when lineups were exchanged at home plate before the game. Pawol then jogged down the first-base line. She shook hands with Marlins first-base coach Tyler Smarslok before taking her position on the right-field line for the first pitch.
Pawol said Thursday that she was ‘overcome with emotion’ when notified she would make her Major League Baseball debut this weekend.
‘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,’ Pawol said.
Pawol appeared in high spirits as she chatted to her officiating crew before the game began
Pawol, 48, has been working in the minor leagues since she was assigned to the Gulf Coast League in 2016. She was assigned the Triple-A championship game in 2023 and worked spring training games in 2024 and again this year.
Pawol, who is from New Jersey, had only a few days to prepare for Saturday’s doubleheader. She said she was told of her long-awaited promotion during a Wednesday conference call with director of umpire development Rich Rieker and vice president of umpire operations Matt McKendry.
She was a three-time all-conference softball selection at Hofstra and worked as an NCAA softball umpire from 2010 to 2016.
Pawol’s rise to MLB history came 28 years after the gender barrier for NBA game officials was broken and 10 years after the NFL hired its first woman as a full-time official. The men’s soccer World Cup first hired a woman to referee three years ago. The NHL has not had any women as on-ice officials.
