By Amy Tennery NEW YORK (Reuters) -Jen Pawol is set to become the first woman to be an umpire in a regular-season Major League Baseball game this weekend, working for the Atlanta Braves’ three-game series at home against the Miami Marlins beginning on Saturday. She will work the bases in both games of Saturday’s doubleheader […]
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Baseball-Pawol to become first woman to umpire in regular-season MLB game
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By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Jen Pawol is set to become the first woman to be an umpire in a regular-season Major League Baseball game this weekend, working for the Atlanta Braves’ three-game series at home against the Miami Marlins beginning on Saturday.
She will work the bases in both games of Saturday’s doubleheader and will be stationed behind home plate on Sunday, MLB said.
“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.”
Pawol, who has umpired in the minors previously, was the first woman to umpire in a Spring Training game for 17 years during a meeting between the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals in 2024.
The 48-year-old New Jersey native played college softball and has been a minor league umpire since 2016.
The barrier-breaking news comes 10 years after the National Football League hired its first full-time female official, Sarah Thomas, who would go on to become the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl in 2021.
The NBA was the first of the “big four” men’s professional leagues in North America to add women to its full-time officiating staff, hiring Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner in 1997.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York)