Breaking Barriers as MLB's First Female Umpire in Over 100 Years

Jen Pawol was in her Nashville, Tennessee hotel room when she received the call she had been anticipating for a decade. She was informed that she would be making her major league debut that weekend, becoming the first female umpire in the history of big league baseball. Overcome with emotion, Pawol recalled the moment, two days before she would break a gender barrier during a Miami doubleheader at Atlanta. She described the experience as incredibly emotional, finally realizing the phone call she had hoped for and worked towards for a long time. She felt a sense of fullness, like a fully charged battery ready to go.

Her voice filled with emotion, Pawol recounted receiving the news during a conference call with the director of umpire development and the vice president of umpire operations. She reflected on her journey, which began in the early 1990s at West Milford High School in New Jersey. A conversation with a softball teammate led her to try umpiring. She and her teammate took separate fields, each working alone. Pawol, with no prior experience, embraced the opportunity to put on the gear and call balls and strikes.

After graduating from West Milford in 1995, and later being inducted into its Athletic Hall of Fame, Pawol became a three-time all-conference softball selection at Hofstra. Following her time umpiring NCAA softball from 2010 to 2016, she was approached by a big league umpire at an umpire camp. He was impressed by her physical ability and her eagerness to learn. He invited her to a clinic and a tryout camp, and later to dinner with other big league umpires and their wives. He warned her that it would likely take a decade in the minor leagues before she would reach the big leagues.

Pawol was one of the hopefuls invited to the Umpire Training Academy and began her professional umpiring career in the Gulf Coast League in 2016. She advanced through the ranks, working in various leagues, including the New York/Penn League, the Midwest League, the South Atlantic League, and the Double-A Eastern League and the Triple-A International and Pacific Coast Leagues. She was also called in for big league spring training.

She emphasized the dedication required, including over 1,200 minor league games and countless hours of video review. She described her passion and love for baseball, which began during her playing days as a catcher and evolved into her role as an umpire. She feels that umpiring is in her DNA. She will join a crew in Atlanta, where she expects to be supported by family and friends. She is scheduled to work the bases during the doubleheader and call balls and strikes on Sunday.

Pawol was at third base when the Sounds third baseman congratulated her. She repeatedly thanked her predecessors, mentioning several who exchanged calls or texts. She met with one of them after her promotion to Triple-A. She explained that the last thing she was told was to "Get it done!" She texted her the day before and said, "I'm getting it done!