06 Aug 2025, 20:41
MLB Invites First Female Umpire to a Game
- Jen Pawol will become the first female umpire in MLB this weekend.
- She will work the games between the Miami Marlins and the Atlanta Braves.
- This milestone comes 28 years after the gender barrier was broken in the NBA.
According to NBC News, ABC News.
/ By: Associated Press
Jen Pawol will become the first woman to serve as an umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB) when she works the games between the Miami Marlins and the Atlanta Braves this weekend.
She will work the bases on Saturday during the doubleheader at Truist Park, and on Sunday — at the home plate. Pawol, a 48-year-old woman from New Jersey, has already officiated at spring training in 2024 and 2025.
This move by MLB comes 28 years after the gender barrier was broken for umpires in the NBA, and 10 years after it was broken in the NFL, and three years after it was broken in Major League Soccer with a female referee officiating a men’s world championship in football.
In 2024, Pawol became the first woman to umpire at spring training in the major leagues since 2007, when it was done by Ria Cortesio. Cortesio spent nine years in minor leagues, including the last five in the Double-A League, and was released after the 2007 season.
Jen Pawol was an athlete in baseball and softball in high school and earned a degree in education at Hofstra. She also played on the women’s national team USA Baseball in 2001.
Pawol received a master’s degree and lived in Binghamton, New York, while taking teacher certification courses. She started her umpiring career in 2010, umpiring in NCAA softball until 2016, and then joined the MLB umpiring pool in 2015.
In MLB, there are 76 full-time umpires, and for replacements in the crews, they use minor league umpires in cases of injury or absence.
Tags: Sport/Baseball