Jen Pawol, former Hofstra softball star, to umpire MLB spring training games again
Home plate umpire Jen Pawol calls a strike during the third inning of a spring training game between the Miami Marlins and Houston Astros on March 10, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. Credit: AP/Jeff Roberson
TAMPA — Jen Pawol didn’t get a call-up last year, but she’ll have another shot at making history in 2025. The former Hofstra softball star again will umpire MLB games in spring training and has been added to the substitute list for the regular season.
Pawol, 48, was the first woman in 17 years to get such a promotion when she took the field last February for a game between the Astros and Nationals in West Palm Beach. Despite being positioned to make the leap to the majors and finally break the gender barrier for the last of the big four North American professional sports, Pawol ultimately was not selected for a fill-in assignment during the regular season.
This year, Pawol is among the 21 spring training invitees who will work alongside MLB’s full-time umpires for the next five weeks, and still the only woman. In MLB’s 121-year history, only a handful of women have umpired even minor-league games. The most notable have been Pam Postema (1977-89) and Ria Cortesio, who was the last woman before Pawol to umpire a major-league spring training game in 2007.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
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