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ATLANTA — It’s not very often (or ever, actually) that baseball fans stand and cheer for the ump. But when the stadium announcer introduced the umpire crew before Saturday’s Braves–Marlins game, the crowd went wild. Because taking her place at first base, Jen Pawol made history as the first female umpire in Major League Baseball history.
“Dream came true, like the dream actually came true today,” Pawol said after the Braves’ 7-1 win over the Marlins in the opening game of a doubleheader. “I’m still living in it, and I’m just so grateful to my family, to Major League Baseball for just creating such an amazing work environment, to the umpires that I work with — we have just amazing camaraderie. We’re working hard, but we’re having fun. And I’m just so thankful.”
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FILE – Home plate umpire Jen Pawol takes her position during the first inning of a spring training baseball game between the Houston Astros and Miami Marlins Sunday, March 10, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
From the moment Pawol took the field, the Atlanta crowd let her know the occasion mattered.
“It seemed like quite a few people started clapping and saying my name,” she said. “That was pretty intense and very, very emotional.”
The milestone drew fans from all over — including some who bought tickets at the last minute when they found out Pawol was called up. Karen Schulz, a longtime Braves fan, held a sign that read “We r all dreamers. Go Jen!” Schulz compared witnessing this historic moment to the time she watched Hank Aaron break Babe Ruth’s all-time career home run record 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, grow up, really has a dream, and works hard, and the community supports them, and they train hard, and they earn their spot. There’s no way she should have made it here, all the obstacles in her way. But she wanted to do it. Ten years, sweating it out or longer in the minors, and she’s here. We just need to celebrate.”
Another fan, Rodell Poole, wore an umpire jersey to the game in Pawol’s honor.
“It’s unheard of, and it’s something that should have happened a long time ago,” Poole told OutKick. “I’m glad that it happened here in Atlanta, and we need to come out here and support her and let her know, hey, we want her to have a great career and continue to do it.”
Some in attendance knew Pawol long before her name hit national headlines. Ed Novy, a fellow umpire and friend of Pawol for nearly 15 years, made a last-minute trip from New Jersey when she got the call-up.
“She’s always been good at this,” Novy told OutKick. “She’s dedicated. She works her ass off. She’s very good, obviously. She wouldn’t be here right now if she wasn’t… I am beyond thrilled and proud of her, to call her a friend and to see her out here.”
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Umpire Jen Pawol calls a strike during a spring training game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Miami Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium on March 16, 2024 in Jupiter, Florida. (Rich Storry/Getty Images)
The players, too, felt inspired by Pawol’s historic moment. Braves starting pitcher Hurston Waldrep, who had encountered Pawol a couple of 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?” Waldrep said. “Everyone probably told her it was impossible. They made a big deal out of it, as it should be. And that’s pretty cool for her.”
Braves manager Brian Snitker measured Pawol’s debut by the same standard he uses for catchers: “If you leave the ballpark, and you don’t remember who the catcher is, they probably did a really good job.” And the same, he said, goes for the umps.
On a serious note, Snitker added: “Anytime anybody grinds their way through the minor leagues… I don’t care who it is, you hang around, that’s a tough job… Their travel and what they go through and everything. I’m happy for anybody that sticks it out and grinds through a career like that and gets the opportunity to be where they want to be.”
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MLB umpire Jen Pawol walks on the field during an MLB spring training game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Miami Marlins at the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on March 16, 2024 in Jupiter, Florida. (Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Pawol said she felt the love from the entire umpiring community, the fans and the women who blazed the trail before her. But now, it’s back to the grind. Pawol will serve as the third-base umpire in the second game of Saturday’s day-night doubleheader before she takes her place at home plate for the series finale on Sunday.
“We just got to get out there now. We got to do this and make some calls,” Pawol said. “The dream came true today, and it’s just been incredible.”
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