'It's in my DNA': Pawol right at home working first Spring Training game

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- She started getting congratulations before the first pitch of Saturday night’s Grapefruit League between the Astros and Nationals was even thrown. The results of the game and whether umpire Jen Pawol got every call correct didn’t matter on this day.

Everywhere Pawol turned at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, she was reminded of the magnitude of the moment and her impact on her peers and those who dream of being in her shoes. Pawol became the first female umpire to work a Spring Training game in 17 years, pushing her a step closer to perhaps becoming the first female ump to work in a regular-season Major League game.

She’s the first woman to work a Spring Training game since Ria Cortesio in 2007, and she was the seventh woman to umpire in the Minor Leagues since making her pro debut in the Gulf Coast League on June 24, 2016.

“I greatly appreciate everyone’s enthusiasm, everyone’s welcoming attitude on the field tonight was very, very special,” she said. “Both managers shared congratulations and were welcoming, along with my [umpiring] partners, the players. I knew a lot of the players on the field already and so many said ‘Congrats, great to see you up here.’”

Veteran umpire Lance Barksdale, who was the crew chief Saturday, praised Pawol’s instincts and said she earned the right to be on the field.

“It was one of those games I’ll remember,” he said. “You always remember your first World Series, first All-Star Game and all that, but it will be a special time for me to remember this time I got to share with her on the field tonight.”

Pawol, 47, began the game at third base and then rotated to second base and first base every three innings in the Astros’ 7-4 win over the Nationals. There were a couple of close plays at first, but the game was otherwise devoid of any close calls.

“I felt ready, felt prepared,” she said. “My crew chief, Lance, was just amazing to work with and helped me feel comfortable. … Really an amazing feeling. I prepare every day to keep climbing the ladder in this system.”

Pawol, a former catcher at Hofstra University, is one of nine women who will serve in on-field roles in the Minor Leagues this season. She joins Pam Postema, who worked a full slate of Major League Spring Training in 1988 and 1989, as the only female umps to reach Triple-A.

“I love being on the field the whole time. It’s in my DNA,” she said. “Catching and playing multiple sports throughout my career, catching a little bit on the side and things like that, all of that has culminated to help me be ready to be an umpire. This is my 18th year -- 10 in amateur and eight now in pro. It’s just sort of all coming together and once I started umpiring, I said ‘This is for me.’ I can’t explain it.”

Pawol is part of a group of Triple-A umpires who are on the MLB Call-Up list, which is made up exclusively of umpires who had been invited to MLB Spring Training. The dream of working a Major League regular-season game remains strong.

“It’s a viable career and I’m able to make a living doing something that I’m super passionate about, and that’s the best news anybody can share,” she said.

Pawol won’t have much time to dwell on her career achievement. She is scheduled to be behind the plate for the Nationals-Marlins game Sunday in Jupiter, Fla.

“That’s my next job,” she said. “Anybody in baseball will tell you that you’ve just got to keep it simple, keep working hard, put your all into it and get ready for the next day. That’s all I think about every day -- get better before tomorrow.”