Jen Pawol officially becomes MLB’s first female umpire with her game this weekend

It’s an old axiom among baseball umpires that you did your job right if no one remembers you.

But when Jen Pawol steps onto Atlanta’s Truist Field to become the first woman to umpire an MLB game on Saturday, she’ll be making history by turning that saying on its ear.

Pawol is going to crush it precisely because everybody notices her.

After spending all of this season in AAA, Pawol will be called up to umpire Saturday’s doubleheader between the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins. 

Because MLB rules stipulate that each home plate umpire in a doubleheader gets the other game off, Pawol will fill in and umpire the bases during both contests.

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Then on Sunday, all eyes will be on her as Pawol will umpire home plate and demonstrate her acuity for the entire baseball world.

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After being recommended by former MLB crew chief Ted Barrett, Pawol graduated from MLB’s umpire academy and began her professional career in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League in 2016. 

She climbed the ladder through the minors and began working in the AAA International League in 2023. Last year, she became the first woman since 2007 to umpire a major league spring training game.

Retired arbiter Dale Scott, who made history himself by becoming the first active umpire to come out as gay in 2014, predicted that Pawol would find an accepting atmosphere on the field for her first major league contests.

“Both teams had games worked by Jen this past spring, so they’re familiar with her,” Scott told Outsports via email. “I would be surprised if either team showed her up or went out of their way to disrespect her this weekend, especially with the media spotlight that will descend on Truist Park.”

Based on an interaction Pawol had with Houston Astros manager Joe Espada during Spring Training, there’s reason to hope that she’ll to find a respectful atmosphere on the field.

“[Espada] came up to me and he was so excited,” Pawol told The Athletic’s Tyler Kepner, “It was like the first inning and he said, ‘Jen, Jen, I know this is your year, you’re going to do it, it’s going to happen!’ So that’s the kind of enthusiasm that is happening. It’s a good time to be in the game.”

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Her story has echoes of Reds superstar Joey Votto walking up to Scott during the first Spring Training after he came out, shaking his hand, and saying he was proud of him.

Even in a welcoming environment, Pawol knows that part of her job will be to make unpopular decisions that anger players, managers, and fans. Scott believes that her years of experience in the minors will prepare her for those moments.

“She, like her other three crewmates on the field, are umpires and will deal with whatever situations that may come up,” he asserted.

One of those situations just happens to be breaking through MLB’s glass ceiling.

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