(New York) Jen Pawol is set to become the first female umpire in Major League Baseball.
The 47-year-old American, who is originally from New Jersey, has been tapped to serve as a full-time umpire during major league spring training camp, people with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press. Press. She could therefore become the first woman to referee a regular season match in the Major Leagues.
The official announcement of Pawol’s selection to officiate during spring training camp is expected to be made later today. This decision was revealed to the AP through people familiar with the situation and who requested anonymity since nothing is official yet.
If Pawol is indeed retained to officiate major league games, then the decision would come 27 years after the glass ceiling was shattered in the NBA, nine years after the NFL and two years after the Soccer World Cup employed a referee to supervise her matches.
Pawol has served as an umpire at minor league baseball training camps since 2016, and she worked her way up to the AAA level last year. She then supervised the AAA level championship match.
The major leagues have 76 full-time referees, and use supernumeraries to fill absences caused by injuries or vacations, for example.
Twenty-six umpires were assigned full-time to Major League spring training camp games last year, and 21 of them were retained as reserves for the regular schedule. They have all officiated during at least one regular season game – on the field, or in the video control room – and one of the reserve referees was even assigned to 149 regular season games. In total, reserve referees received 1,590 summons.
Pawol is part of an exclusive group of women who have officiated at the minor ranks, along with Bernice Gera (1972), Christine Wren (1975-77), Pam Postema (1977-89) and Ria Cortesio (1999-2007). . Nine women will referee in the minor ranks this season.