Jen Pawol makes history as first female MLB umpire, but there’s more work to do

When Braves bench coach Walt Weiss and Miami Marlins manager Clayton McCullough came to home plate to exchange lineup cards, they both shook her hand and offered their congratulations and encouragement. When the crew took a commemorative photo, crew chief Chris Guccione made sure Pawol was in the middle. He directed her attention to the first-base stands, where a cluster of family and friends cheered and waved. Embracing the day, Pawol waved back.

She couldn’t help but smile, relishing this moment when her dream came true and she made baseball history in the same proud step.

A male fan yelled out from behind home plate “Let’s go, Jen! Welcome to the Show!”

Before the start of the first inning, Marlins first-base coach Tyler Smarslok offered his welcome, as did Braves counterpart Tom Goodwin in the bottom of the first. After the top of the first, when she performed the obligatory check for foreign substances (such as pine tar) of Braves pitcher Hurston Waldrep, catcher Sean Murphy joined the huddle for a quick word of congratulations for Pawol.

And the game proceeded and ended without incident. In the top of the second, she made her first call at first base on a ground ball to shortstop Nick Allen. Angled to the base, she registered Allen making the throw to first baseman Matt Olson ahead of Liam Hicks, paused and signaled him out.

During one break, the video board showed two fans holding signs in support of Pawol, prompting enthusiastic applause. Even better, a camera caught Pawol sneaking a look at the board. One of them was a poster that read “Congratulations, Jen Pawol!” with a drawing depicting Pawol as Rosie the Riveter.

“To me, this is a huge piece of history,” said Amy Schneider, a longtime diehard Braves fan from Tucker who created the sign. “I’ve seen a lot of Braves history, but to me, this is baseball history. Not even baseball history, but sports history.”

All in all, a historic day and it was commemorated well, down to Pawol donating her hat to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

“The dream came true (Saturday), and it’s just been incredible,” Pawol said.

Pawol deserves all the applause, texts, posters and congratulations. It’s been a long grind since she committed herself to becoming an MLB umpire in 2015.

“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,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker, himself familiar with persevering through the minor-league life. “So good for her.”

Here’s the thing, though. This has been a long time coming, and there’s still a long way to go.

Pawol’s big day was 28 years behind the NBA in having a female official call a regular-season game, 27 years behind MLS and 13 years behind the NFL. (The NHL has yet to employ a female referee.)

And it’s not difficult to find other segments of baseball where a woman can do the job as well as a man that are populated almost entirely by men.

For instance, there has been one female general manager and one primary play-by-play announcer in MLB history. The ranks of scouts and coaches are nearly all male.

Undoubtedly, high-level playing experience is an asset in coaching or scouting. But there are enough examples of coaches and scouts whose playing careers didn’t go past high school to know it’s not necessary.

There’s nothing to be done about what’s happened to this point. But the pace to change the landscape moving forward has to pick up.

Saturday, I spoke with Laura Okmin, the third-longest-tenured sideline reporter in NFL history and the founder of Galvanize, a training and mentoring organization for aspiring female sports broadcasters. A thoughtful observer (and participant) of the challenges faced by women in the sports industry, she has seen progress.

Early in her career, Okmin remembered thinking that she would not see women doing play-by-play or coaching men’s professional sports teams or officiating their games in her time, but all have to come to pass. The next step is building their numbers to the point where they’re no longer an anomaly.

“I’m so happy to see any advancement, but I’m always like, we’re still slow in how many women are we seeing that are actually hiring and actually making the impactful decisions that will change the landscape for good?” Okmin asked.

In Pawol’s realm, what will it take for there to be more than one female MLB umpire? It probably starts with more dads (and moms) sharing baseball with the enthusiasm they do with their sons. It takes youth leagues considering young women as potential umpires and then providing mentors to help them develop.

And then it takes amateur and professional leagues to ensure that female umpires are getting the same shot that their male counterparts are.

And, perhaps most importantly, it will take girls and young women who think that they might like to be umpires.

“First and foremost, give it a try,” Pawol said. “And then just get into it and have some stick-to-it-ness, some grit, to see it through. It’s a long road.”

Pawol started walking her road in 10 years ago this month with an invitation to an MLB umpire camp. Perhaps a few young women’s own journeys began Saturday.