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Last Saturday, history was made in a spring training game between the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros, as Jen Pawol became the first woman to officiate a spring training game in 17 years. She was the third base umpire in the game.
According to CBS Sports, Jen Pawol will stay at the Palm Beach complex and work in other scheduled spring training games. She is scheduled to officiate from behind the plate in the game between the Nationals and Marlins.
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Amid this, fans took this opportunity to take a jibe at another longtime MLB umpire, Angel Hernandez. Known for making bad calls among fans and analysts, fans see Pawol as a better umpire than Hernandez.
"She’s gonna take Angel Hernandez’s job!!!!" one fan said.
"Better than angel hernandez," another fan said.
"Already better than Angel Hernandez," one user claimed.
Here are a few other fan reactions:
More about Jen Pawol, who broke barriers and made the huge leap
Jen Pawol made the jump from the minors to a major league spring training game as an umpire for Saturday's Grapefruit League opener between the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.
While initially calling third base, she switched to second base in the fourth and first base in the seventh inning. The last time a woman officiated a spring training game was Ria Cortesio in 2007.
Pawol, who was a former New Jersey high school softball star, also made history eight years ago when she became the seventh woman to call a minor league baseball game.
"I greatly appreciate everyone's enthusiasm, everyone's welcoming attitude on the field,'' Pawol said after her first major league spring training game. "Tonight was very, very special. Both managers shared congratulations, (everyone was) welcoming, enthusiastic. The players on the field, so many said congrats and great to see you up here.
"A gentleman, Javier (Bracamonte, Astros bullpen coach), he ran out early in the game and said he has a daughter playing all kinds of sports. It's good to see you out here.'' [via CBS Sports].
It's not yetclear whether she will get promoted to officiate regular season games.
