Jan Powell, 41, became the first female umpire to officiate in Major League Baseball (MLB) in 17 years when she officiated in an exhibition game between the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals in Palm Beach, Florida, on Thursday (April 24).
Powell is only the third woman to umpire in an MLB regular season game, joining Pam Postema in 1988 and Leah Cortesio in 2007.
The 41-year-old former New Jersey high school softball star took eight years to become a major league umpire after becoming the first female minor league umpire in 2016; she was the seventh woman to do so.
In the Astros’ 7-4 win over the Nationals, 토토사이트 Powell worked the first three innings, the fourth inning, the second inning and the seventh inning of the exhibition game. She’s also scheduled to umpire the Washington Nationals’ exhibition game against the Miami Marlins on Aug. 25, and she’ll be in Palm Beach for the entirety of the exhibition season.
Wearing her long hair tied back under a baseball cap
She posed for a group photo after a pregame meeting with three other umpires and managers from both teams. After the game, which drew a crowd of 3655, ended with the Astros winning, Powell said, “I appreciate everyone’s hospitality. It was great to see the managers and players from both teams,” Powell said after the game, which drew a crowd of 3,655.
Lance Bucksdale, who officiated the game, praised Powell’s officiating, saying he was very accurate and did a great job.
While the National Basketball Association (NBA) has had female referees officiating games since 1997, 27 years ago, and the National Football League (NFL) since 2015, nine years ago, MLB has only allowed women to work in the minor leagues. 파워볼실시간 Men’s soccer World Cup matches were also officiated by women for the first time two years ago, when Germany played Costa Rica at the World Cup in Qatar.