Umpire Jen Pawol aware of her place in baseball history, but ultimately just wants to get her next call right

Jen Pawol will become the first woman to umpire an MLB regular-season game this weekend, breaking the gender barrier that had stood for the national pastime’s 122 years.

But Pawol, a former Hofstra softball star, wasn’t alone in her pursuit of history. She is grateful to the previous trailblazers, the very select sorority of female umpires who made it only as far as the brink of the big leagues. When Pawol puts on the mask and shin guards for the upcoming series between the Marlins and Atlanta at Truist Park, she’ll share the momentous achievement with those fellow pioneers cheering her on.

On Thursday, Pawol recalled a dinner conversation she had a few years ago with Pam Postema, the first woman to umpire an MLB spring training game in 1989. She was never promoted after 13 years in the minors, including a half-dozen at Triple-A. If Pawol didn’t fully grasp the enormity of her mission, she certainly understood it after that discussion with Postema, whose opportunity by then had expired.

“The last thing she said to me was ‘get it done!’ — super-intense,” Pawol said Thursday during a Zoom conference with reporters. “And I told her, ‘I’m getting it done! I’m getting it done!’ ”

Naturally, when Pawol got MLB’s phone call early Wednesday morning notifying her of the call-up, among the first texts she fired off was to Postema. The message: “I’m getting it done.”

It’s no longer just a promise now. This is reality for Pawol, who has been clearing hurdles ever since her days as a three-time all-conference catcher for Hofstra.

In 2024, she was the first woman to umpire an MLB spring training game in 17 years. She earned reserve status for the regular season — sort of a standby list to replace sick or vacationing umpires — but was never promoted.

After waiting more than four months this year, Pawol, 48, is the fifth umpire to make his or her major-league debut this season, and she’ll have a cheering section of roughly 30 family and friends at Truist Park. Pawol is scheduled to work the bases for Saturday’s doubleheader, then go behind the plate for Sunday’s series finale.

“I’m aware of the gravity,” she said. “I’m aware of the magnitude. I believe that I’m going to be a very good steward and representative for young girls and women — and boys and men — that this is possible.”

For Pawol, it’s about the passion for umpiring, first and foremost. Those who know her best, such as Bill Edwards, her former Hofstra coach, figured she’d get to the majors simply because she was relentless, whether it was as a catcher, an umpire or even a painter (she earned her master of fine arts degree from Hunter College in Manhattan).

“You can always tell someone’s personality by how they approach things,” Edwards said in a phone interview. “Whether or not they’re truly all-in, how they apply themselves, the work ethic, doing what has to be done to accomplish the task. You could just tell by talking to her that this was going to happen.”

That definitely came through Thursday as Pawol spoke about making history after what she described as a “10-year interview process” that began at an MLB umpire tryout camp (after a seven-year run as an NCAA softball umpire). Even before that, she mentioned her first umpiring gig during her freshman summer at West Milford (New Jersey) High after a teammate asked if she wanted to work a game with her.

It wasn’t until her softball playing days wrapped up, however, that Pawol thought of umpiring as a career. Initially, she just viewed the job as a way to stay connected to the sport she loved. But being an umpire goes far beyond being a profession for Pawol now.

When she was asked Thursday if becoming the first woman was her goal from the start, her response revealed why she was the perfect candidate.

“The goal has always been to just get my next call right,” Pawol said.

With that mantra, her move to the majors should be a seamless transition, even if baseball is a little late catching up to the other pro leagues.

Violet Palmer became the NBA’s first female referee in 1997. Sarah Thomas was recognized as the NFL’s first regular on-field woman official in 2015, though Shannon Eastin technically broke the barrier in 2012 as a replacement when the regulars were locked out during labor strife. The NHL has employed women referees for the upper tiers of the minor leagues, but not at the top level.

Pawol said Wednesday that her promotion “has been a long time coming,” and based on the feedback she’s received, both on and off the field, she’s not the only one who feels that way.

During spring training this year, before a game at Steinbrenner Field, Pawol was approached by Astros manager Joe Espada with a message rather than a lineup card.

“He was so excited,” Pawol recalled. “He said, ‘Jen, I know this is your year. You’re gonna do it. It’s going to happen.’ So that’s kind of the enthusiasm that is happening. It’s a good time to be in the game.”

And now, finally, thanks to Pawol, that goes for women, too.