On Friday, Jen Pawol will become the first woman to umpire a regular season Major League Baseball game when the three-game series between the Marlins and Braves opens in Atlanta. She will work the bases in her first two games, and then be behind the plate on Sunday.
Pawol has been an umpire in the minor league ranks since 2016, and put herself on the precipice of a major league call-up over the last couple years. She's worked major league spring training games the last two seasons, which hadn't been done by a female umpire since 2007, and she became a Triple-A crew chief in 2024, which put her on the doorstep of history.
From here, it could be years before she's considered for a full-time MLB job, but being called up for fill-in work is a necessary development in qualifying for one. In the meantime, Baseball America's J.J. Cooper did a good job of explaining the odds of any minor league umpire getting such an assignment, and they're even longer for female umpires, who didn't get their own locker rooms in minor league facilities until 2021.
There are seven other women umpiring in the minors, so the numbers game is ever so slightly improving. The idea is that Pawol will be the first, but not nearly the last once the barrier comes down.
Charlotte 6, Syracuse 0 (5 innings, rain)
- Will Robertson was 0-for-2 with a walk.
- Tim Elko hit a three-run shot, making the most out of his 1-for-3.
- Bryan Ramos was 1-for-3 with a double and a strikeout.
- Jacob Gonzalez, 0-for-3.
- Dru Baker went 1-for-2 with his first Charlotte homer.
Birmingham 4, Chattanooga 2
- Rikuu Nishida was 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- William Bergolla, 0-for-3 with a walk.
- Sam Antonacci went 2-for-4 with a triple.
- Ryan Galanie, 1-for-4 with a homer and two strikeouts.
- Wilfred Veras was 1-for-4 with a stolen base.
- Braden Montgomery, 2-for-4 with a K.
- DJ Gladney went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Hagen Smith: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 6 K, 1 WP, 48 of 81 pitches.
Notes:
*Smith issued four of his five walks in the second inning.
Winston-Salem 5, Bowling Green 4
- Samuel Zavala was 2-for-4.
- Jeral Perez and Kyle Lodise both were 1-for-4.
- Lyle Miller-Green went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Ryan Burrowes, 0-for-3 with a K.
- Lucas Gordon: 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 4 K, 36 of 69 pitches for strikes.
- Seth Keener: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 15 of 29 pitches for strikes.
Notes:
*The Dash scored four runs in the top of the ninth, which is a dramatic way to improve to 9-21 in one-run games.
