The veteran umpire said Pawol is a great role model for girls and women who love the game of baseball.
ATLANTA — When Jen Pawol made her historic debut as the first female umpire in a Major League Baseball game on Saturday, no one on the field was happier than her crew chief, Chris Guccione.
Well, except for maybe Jen herself.
“This is one of the proudest moments I’ve been a part of in all my career,” Guccione said. “I’ve been blessed with working playoffs, I’ve worked two World Series, All-Star Games, and this one is right up there. It gives me chills just thinking about it and the magnitude… I was just sitting here going, it just kind of hit me, the magnitude of this whole thing and how hard she’s worked.”
Crew chief Chris Guccione was thrilled to be a part of Jen Pawol’s historic debut.
(Photo by Brett Davis/Getty Images)
Guccione knew what this day meant — not just to Pawol, but to the entire umpiring community. He’d met her last year on a rehab assignment in Salt Lake City, and it didn’t take him long to recognize her talent and work ethic.
“She does an incredible job. She’s an incredible person, likes to have fun, works hard. This is huge,” he said. “I have a daughter, and she was so excited to meet Jen. This is just a great role model for girls and women out there, and I’m so proud of her.”
For her very first big-league game, Pawol served as the first-base umpire during the first game of a Marlins-Braves doubleheader at Truist Park. And the moment will be immortalized in Cooperstown.
The cap Pawol wore on Saturday is headed to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The Braves arranged for it to be sent to the museum immediately after the game.
Among those who weren’t surprised to see Pawol reach this point was fellow umpire Ed Novy, who has known her for nearly 15 years. Novy first saw her work at an umpiring clinic and knew right away she was different.
“She’s always been good at this,” Novy told OutKick. “Probably four years ago, when she was in Double-A, I told her, ‘You’re gonna get there. You will be the first woman to work in MLB.’ I knew it in my heart and my brain. She’s dedicated. She works her ass off. She’s very good, obviously. She wouldn’t be here right now if she wasn’t.”
READ: Jen Pawol’s MLB Debut Is No PR Stunt — She Earned It The Hard Way
Pawol’s journey — from high school softball umpiring in New Jersey, to calling more than 1,200 minor league games, to earning the call-up for the Braves–Marlins series — is a testament to her persistence in an oftentimes thankless job. On Saturday, she said, “the dream actually came true.”
After this weekend, the novelty will wear off, the fanfare will fade, and Pawol will be just another umpire. But she’s forever made her mark on baseball history.
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