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Atlanta – It’s not very often (or ever, actually) that baseball fans stand and heier on the UMP. But when Stadium -Annoncør introduced the Umpire crew before Saturday’s braves -Marlin’s game, the crowd went wild. Because taking his place at the first base, Jen Pawol made history as the first female referee in the Major League Baseball History.
“Dream came true, just as the dream actually came true today,” Pawol said after Braves’ 7-1 win over Marlins in the opening match for a double head. “I still live in it, and I’m just so grateful to my family, for Major League Baseball just to create such a fantastic working environment for the judges I work with – we just have amazing camera. We work hard but we have fun. And I’m just so grateful.”
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File – Home Plate Umpire Jen Pawol takes his position during the first lap of a spring training baseball match between Houston Astros and Miami Marlins Sunday 10 March 2024 in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
From the moment Pawol took the track, the Atlanta quantity let her know that the apartment matters.
“It seemed like a lot of people started clapping and said my name,” she said. “It was pretty intense and very, very emotional.”
The milestone drew fans everywhere – including some who bought tickets at the last minute when they found out that Pawol was called up. Karen Schulz, a long -time braves -fan, held a sign that read “We are all dreamers. Go Jen!” Schulz compared to witnessing this historic moment with the time she looked at Hank Aaron Break Babe Ruth’s career home to all the time from her “Tiny TV” in 1974.
“I just think this represents the best of who we are as Americans,” Schulz told Outkick. “It’s the American dream. A little girl, little boy, grows up, really has a dream and works hard, and society supports them and they train hard and they serve their place. There is no way she should have done this, all the obstacles just have to celebrate.”
Another fan, Rodell Poole, wore a refereeing jersey for the game in Pawol’s honor.
“It’s unheard of, and it’s something that should have happened long ago,” Poole told Outkick. “I’m glad it happened here in Atlanta and we have to get out here and support her and tell her, hey, we want her to have a good career and keep doing so.”
Some present known Pawol long before her name hit national headlines. Ed Novy, a colleague judge and friend of Pawol for almost 15 years, made a trip at the last minute from New Jersey when she got the call.
“She has always been good at this,” Novy told Outkick. “She’s dedicated. She works her ass. She’s very good, of course. She wouldn’t be here right now if she wasn’t … I’m without excited and proud of her, calling her a friend and seeing her out here.”
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Umpire Jen Pawol calls a strike during a spring training game between Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium on March 16, 2024 in Jupiter, Florida. (Rich Storry/Getty Images)
The players also felt inspired by Pawol’s historical moment. Braves Startkeren Hurston Waldrep, who had encountered Pawol a few times in Triple-A-ball, called it “really cool” to see her in the big leagues.
“I can’t imagine how hard it was for her to have come up, you know?” Said Waldrep. “Everyone probably told her it was impossible. They made a big deal out of it as it should be. And it’s pretty cool for her.”
Braves -Manager Brian Snitker measured Pawol’s debut to the same standard he uses for catchers: “If you leave the ballpark and you can’t remember who Catcher is, they probably did a really good job.” And the same, he said, goes for the UMPs.
On a serious note, Snitker added: “Any time someone is sanded through the smaller leagues … I don’t care who it is you are hanging around, it’s a tough job … their journey and what they go through and everything. I’m glad anyone who sticks it out and grinds through such a career and gets the opportunity to be what they want to be.”
MLB Umpire Jen Pawol goes on the field during an MLB spring training game between Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on March 16, 2024 in Jupiter, Florida. (Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Pawol said she felt the love of all over the umpire society, fans and women who burned the track in front of her. But now it’s back to the grinding. Pawol will serve as the third-base referee in the second game Saturday’s Day Double Header before taking her place on the home plate for the series final on Sunday.
“We just have to get out there now. We have to do this and make some calls,” Pawol said. “The dream came true today and it has just been incredible.”
