Washington (AFP) – Jen Pawol became the first female home plate umpire in a Major League Baseball regular-season game on Sunday, calling balls and strikes in Atlanta’s 7-1 home victory over Miami. A day after her historic debut as the first woman to work as an umpire in an MLB contest, Pawol was behind the plate in another milestone effort.
Pawol handled first base duties in game one of a Saturday doubleheader and was at third base for game two, but was involved in every pitch for the concluding game of the series. Pawol started Sunday with a called strike on Miami leadoff batter Xavier Edwards off a pitch from Braves left-hander Joey Wentz. The first called strikeout by Pawol came on a 1-ball, 2-strike pitch from Wentz against the Marlins’ Kyle Stowers in the top of the fifth inning.
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She also went to the mound to hurry along a visit from an assistant coach to Wentz in the fourth inning to cheers from the crowd. Pawol called her experience a dream come true on Saturday and said her umpire group has a teamwork not unlike those of athletes.
“I’m just so grateful to my family, to Major League Baseball for just creating such an amazing work environment,” she said. “To all the umpires that I work with…it’s just amazing camaraderie. We’re working hard but we’re having fun.”
© 2024 AFP
