Jen Pawol is set to become the first woman to umpire in the MLB when she works games this weekend between the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves.
Pawol is to work the bases in tomorrow’s doubleheader at Truist Park and the plate on Sunday, the MLB said on Wednedsay.
“This historic accomplishment in baseball is a reflection of Jen’s hard work, dedication and love of the game,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “She has earned this opportunity, and we are proud of the strong example she has set, particularly for all the women and young girls who aspire to roles on the field.”
Photo: AP
Pawol, a 48-year-old from New Jersey, worked spring training games last year and this year. She would become the fifth umpire to debut this year.
“Baseball’s done a great job of being completely inclusive,” Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I’ll be watching. It’s good for the game.”
MLB’s move comes 28 years after the gender barrier for game officials was broken in the NBA, 10 years after the NFL hired its first full-time female official and three years after the men’s FIFA World Cup employed a female referee. The NHL still has not had any women as on-ice officials.
“I think if she is a good enough umpire, obviously she deserves to be here,” Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman said.
Pawol last year became the first woman to umpire big league spring training games since Ria Cortesio in 2007. Cortesio spent nine years in the minor leagues, including the last five in the Double-A Southern League, before she was released after the 2007 season.
Pawol was an all-state softball and soccer player in New Jersey for three seasons in each sport at West Milford High School. She went to Hofstra University on a softball scholarship and became a three-time all-conference pick and was on the USA Baseball women’s national team in 2001.
Pawol got a master’s degree and was living in the Binghamton area of New York and taking teacher certification classes at Elmira College while still playing on the side.
“I wasn’t really satisfied,” she said last year. “Coming off of a huge competitive career, just playing locally, I wasn’t getting my fix, and I remember looking at the umpire and being like: ‘I think that’s it. I got to go for that.’”
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