Atlanta (AP) – Jen PaWol felt love and support of fans, family, colleagues and players while she wrote history as the First female referee To work for a regular season in the big competitions.
“It was great when we took the field,” said PaWol. “It seemed that a lot of people clapped and called my name. That was pretty intense and emotional.”
PaWol’s long-awaited debut came as the first base referee for the first game on Saturday of a Split-Doublehead between the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins. It was a smooth debut.
“She did well,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker. “You can see that she knows what she is doing.”
PaWol said she had a group of about 30 friends and relatives, including her father, in the game and she immediately identified a big difference in working in a Major League stage. Those familiar faces were not so easy to find in Truist Park.
“When I looked up, they were not in the lower layer like in the small competitions,” said PaWol. “When I looked up, it took me for a while. Whoa, they are up there! I will never forget that. That was just great.
“The dream really came true today. I still live in it. I am so grateful to my family and major League Baseball for creating such an incredible working environment. … I am just so grateful.”
PaWol’s first real test came in the third inning of Atlanta’s 7-1 victory When she mentioned Braves -Catcher Sean Murphy Safe during a further game. Marlins -manager Clayton McCullough did not challenge the call.
PaWol also showed that she will make animated calls. When Miami’s Xavier Edwards was in the third inning in a doubles, PaWol pumped her fist and lifted her leg when she called Edwards.
PaWol could not help it, but noted that her debut was closely monitored. Fans reacted with a warm ovation when the video board concentrated on the referee between innings, so that she took a quick look at her image.
PaWol worked the third base in the second match of the Doublehead. She will be in the spotlight when she calls throws behind the album in the last game of Sunday’s series. As a Rover, she will wait for her next assignment.
While she waits, the referee hood she wore in her first game will be on their way to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
“This is one of the most proud moments in all my career,” said Crewchef Chris Guccione. “I am blessed with working play-offs, I have worked two World Series, All-Star games, and this is above that. It gives me shivers, even thinking about it. And the size, it just hit me the size of this thing and how hard she worked.
“This is just a great role model for girls and women who are there and I am just so proud of her. This is a special moment. I am so proud of her.”
A lot was expected for her historical debut on Saturday. A crowd of photographers gathered in anticipation of the referees to walk onto the field from their entrance slope near the Marlins Dugout.
McCullough and Braves Bench Coach Walt Weiss greeted PaWol when Line -Ups were exchanged before the match on the home plate. PaWol then jogged the first basic line. She shook the hand with Marlin’s first basehound coach Tyler Smarslok before taking her position on the right field line for the first pitch.
Pawol said Thursday She was “overcome by emotion” when she reported that she would make her Major League Baseball debut this weekend.
PaWol, 48, has been working in the Minor Leagues since she was assigned to the Gulf Coast League in 2016. She was assigned the Triple-A champion match in 2023 and worked Spring Training Games in 2024 and again this year.
“Every time someone makes his way through the small competitions, I don’t care who it is, that’s a difficult thing,” Snitker said. “I am happy for everyone who grinds it.”
Asked if she is prepared for a confrontation with a manager upset about a phone call, including some who is known to kick dirt on referees, PaWol said it would not be the first time.
“More than dozens of times,” she said. “It’s not going so well for him. The night is usually over for him. It’s just a part of the game.”
PaWol, from New Jersey, only had a few days to prepare for Saturday’s Doublehead. She said she was told about her long-awaited promotion during a Conference Meeting on Wednesday with director of the UMPire development Richer and vice-president of UMPIRE Operations Matt Mckendry.
PaWol was a triple all-conference softball selection choice at Hofstra. She worked as a NCAA softball referee of 2010-16.
The rise of PaWol to make MLB history came 28 years after the NBA gender barrier for game officials was broken and 10 years after the NFL had hired its first full-time female official. The Heren Soccer World Cup hired a female referee for the first time three years ago. The NHL has not had women as officials on the ice.
