August 9, 2025: MLB's 1st Female Umpire

Jen Pawol (left) and Marlins manager Clayton McCullough

NOTE: While these entries are dated 2022, I decided to backdate the posting dates of events from 2023 onward to the same date in 2022.

August 9, 2025: The Atlanta Braves swept a doubleheader from the Miami Marlins, 7-1 and 8-6 at Truist Park in the Atlanta suburb of Cumberland, Georgia. Michael Harris II hit a home run in the opener, and Marcell Ozuna hit 2 in the nightcap.

The 1st base umpire in the opener, and the 3rd base umpire in the nightcap, was Jen Pawol. This made her the 1st female umpire in the history of Major League Baseball. A few women had tried to make it, including Pam Postema, who umpired in Class AAA, and umpired games during Spring Training of 1988. But none had ever gotten to a regular-season game before Pawol.

Jennifer Pawol (no middle name) was born on December 29, 1976 in West Milford, Passaic County, New Jersey. Derek Jeter lived in the same town for the 1st 4 years of his life, and Olympic Gold Medal skier Donna Weinbrecht also grew up there. Pawol played softball and soccer at West Milford High School, continued playing softball at Hofstra University on Long Island, and began umpiring high school softball games.

She went to a professional umpiring school in 2016, and began umpiring in the Gulf Coast League in 2017. By 2023, she had reached Class AAA. Two years later, she "got the call." During that first doubleheader on August 9, there were no complaints about any calls she made.

The next day might have been more important, because umpiring behind the plate is more important than doing so at any base. In what turned out to be another 7-1 Braves win over the Marlins, she correctly called 99 out of 104 balls, and 41 of 47 strikes.

That translates to her called ball accuracy being 95 percent, compared to the major league average of 97 percent; and her called strike accuracy was 87 percent, compared to the major league average of 88 percent. In other words, in her 1st major league game, as a rookie home plate umpire, she was only slightly less than the average.

Online, plenty of toxically masculine "traditionalists" complained about her even being in the major leagues. However, neither Braves manager Brian Snitker nor Marlins manager Clayton McCullough argued with her, not even once. Over the rest of the season, not one man in uniform argued with her at any time.

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August 9, 2025 was a Saturday. These other games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the Houston Astros, 5-4 at Yankee Stadium II. Trent Grisham hit a home run in the 8th inning to win the game for David Bednar, in relief of Luis Gil. José Altuve went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The New York Mets lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-4 at American Family Field in Milwaukee. The Mets got home runs from Pete Alonso, Starling Marte and Juan Soto. For Alonso, it was his 252nd career home run, tying him with Darryl Strawberry for the Mets' all-time leadership.

* The Sacramento Athletics beat the Baltimore Orioles, 11-3 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-4 at Comerica Park in Detroit. Mike Trout went 1-for-5.

* The Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-1 at Rate Field in Chicago.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins, 2-0 at Target Field in Minneapolis. Noah Cameron pitched 5 2/3rds innings of 6-hit shutout ball, and 4 relievers completed the 8-hit shutout.

* The Chicago Cubs beat their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-1 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Texas Rangers, 3-2 at Globe Life Field in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies, 6-5 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-4 at Petco Park in San Diego. This game went to extra innings, the "ghost runner" rule came into play, and Xander Bogaerts was ghost runner for the Red Sox in the bottom of the 10th inning. Ryan O'Hearn was intentionally walked to set up the double play. But, Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Ramón Laureano singled Bogaerts home.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 9-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Shohei Ohtani went 2-for-4 with a solo home run.

* The Washington Nationals beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-2 at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 7-4 at T-Mobile Park. Julio Rodríguez hit 2 home runs, and Cal Raleigh hit his 44th homer of the season.