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As Jen Pawol steps onto the field at Truist Park this weekend, she will not only make history but will also celebrate her remarkable journey through the challenging world of sports officiating.
This Saturday, Pawol will become the first female umpire to officiate a regular-season Major League Baseball game, taking the bases in Game 1 of the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins doubleheader before transitioning to home plate for Sunday’s series finale.
The moment came unexpectedly while she was staying at a Nashville hotel when the exciting news reached her.
“I was overcome with emotion,” Pawol shared with the Associated Press on Thursday. She expressed her feelings, saying, “It was super emotional to finally be living that phone call that I’d been hoping for and working towards for quite a while. I just felt super full — like a fully charged battery ready to go.”
The Long Road to the Major Leagues
Pawol’s ascent to this pivotal moment was anything but a straightforward journey. Her umpiring career began in 2016 at the Rookie level after years of experience officiating NCAA softball games. Since her humble beginnings, she has systematically advanced through the minor league ranks — including stints in the New York/Penn League, the Midwest League, the South Atlantic League, and Double-A before finally reaching Triple-A in 2023. During that year, she made history by becoming the first woman to umpire in Triple-A in 34 years and the first female to officiate its championship game.
“This has been over 1,200 minor league games, countless hours of video review trying to get better, and underneath it all has just been this passion and this love for the game of baseball,” Pawol said. She added, “This started in my playing days as a catcher and transformed into an umpiring career, which has only deepened my commitment. Umpiring runs in my DNA. It’s been a long, hard journey.”
A Passion for Umpiring
Pawol, a three-time all-conference catcher at Hofstra and a 2001 world champion with the U.S. women’s softball team, started her umpiring career due to a friend’s recommendation in high school during the early 1990s. At that time, she earned only $15 per game.
“It was a one-umpire system,” she recalled. “I had no idea what I was doing, but I got to put gear on and call balls and strikes, so I was in.”
Since then, she has remained dedicated and passionate about the sport, even when veteran major league umpire Ted Barrett cautioned her during a 2015 tryout camp. He informed her that it could take up to a decade in the minors before she got a chance to see a major league field.
“I warned her: ‘Look, this is what you’re up against. It’s going to be 10 years in the minor leagues before you sniff a big league field,'” Barrett remarked, a prediction that proved nearly accurate.
A Shift in Major League Baseball
Pawol’s call-up marks an important milestone for Major League Baseball as it becomes the third of the four major North American professional sports leagues to employ a female official, following the NBA’s Violet Palmer in 1997 and Sarah Thomas in the NFL in 2015. Thomas notably became the first female official to work in a Super Bowl, specifically Super Bowl LV between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs. With Pawol’s entry, the NHL remains the only major sports league without a female official.
Witnessing History
This weekend, Pawol will not be alone as she embarks on this historic venture. Approximately 30 family members and friends will be present to share in the celebration of her significant achievement. Many former minor league umpires who have paved the way for her, including Christine Wren, Pam Postema, and Ria Cortesio, have already reached out with their congratulations.
Years earlier, Postema had encouraged her with zeal, urging her to “Get it done!” To which Pawol assured her that she would rise to the occasion. Just yesterday, she had texted Postema, reaffirming, “I’m getting it done!”
As Pawol prepares for her historic debut, OutKick will provide firsthand coverage of her first three MLB games, capturing every moment of this groundbreaking milestone.
A Testament to Perseverance
In an era where symbolic gestures often overshadow genuine achievement, Jen Pawol’s path is a powerful reminder of the importance of perseverance and hard work. Pawol did not simply arrive in the major leagues as a token or a publicity stunt; she earned her place through relentless dedication, enduring long bus rides, oppressive summer temperatures, and the isolating grind of minor league life. Finally, she stands on the brink of a monumental historical achievement: a woman officiating in Major League Baseball for the very first time.
