| Jen Pawol | |
| Birth Place: | West Milford, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Baseball umpire |
| Years Active: | 2017–present |
Jennifer Pawol (born or 1977) is an American baseball umpire who currently works in Minor League Baseball. She is just the seventh woman to work as a professional baseball umpire.[1]
Attending West Milford High School in West Milford, New Jersey, Pawol played soccer and softball, attending Hofstra University on an athletic scholarship and playing as a catcher in Division-I softball for the Pride. It was during this time that she began umpiring softball games.[2]
Before going into professional umpiring, Pawol was an art teacher. She is a graduate of the Pratt Institute (B.F.A.) and Hunter College (M.F.A.). During this time, she continued to umpire part-time in amateur softball leagues.[3]
After umpiring softball games part-time for 11 years, Pawol decided to go into umpiring full-time. In 2016, she attended the Minor League Baseball Umpire Training Academy in Vero Beach, Florida. Her performance at the academy led to a spot in the MiLB Advanced Course which she completed in 2017. That same year, she began her professional baseball career in the Gulf Coast League.[4]
During the 2023 season, she worked at the Triple-A level in both the International League and the Pacific Coast League, and was the home plate umpire during the Triple-A National Championship Game. She was the first female umpire to work at the Triple-A level in 34 years.[5]
In 2024, Pawol became only the third woman to umpire in spring training, after Pam Postema and Ria Cortesio.[6] She was the third base umpire during a game between the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals.[7] She will act as a crew chief in Triple-A during the 2024 baseball season.[8] In March, it was reported that Pawol was placed on MLB's call-up list for the 2024 season, meaning that she could be called up to the majors in the event a full-time Major League umpire is not available.[9]