Female umpire works spring training game
It took eight years but Jen Pawol made the leap from the minors to a major league spring training game as an umpire at the Grapefruit League opener between the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals at CACTI Park of The Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Fla. on Saturday.
Pawol's spring training debut marked the first time since 2007 that a woman umpired a major league spring training game, last done by Ria Cortesio. With a ponytail coming out of her ballcap, Pawol was stationed at third base.
Pawol switched to second base in the fourth. She went to first base in the seventh.
Eight years ago, Pawol, a former New Jersey high school softball star who played at Hofstra, became just the seventh woman to umpire a minor league game.
“I greatly appreciate everyone's enthusiasm, everyone's welcoming attitude on the field,” Pawol said after the 7-4 Astros victory before 3,655 fans. “Tonight was very, very special. Both managers shared congratulations, (everyone was) welcoming. The players on the field, so many said congrats and great to see you up here.”
Across the next few weeks, Pawol, 47, will be based in Palm Beach County to work other spring training games. No woman has ever been assigned to umpire a regular-season game in the majors.
MLB's move comes 27 years after the gender barrier for game officials was broken in the NBA, nine years after it ended in the NFL and two years after the men's soccer World Cup employed a female referee.
Pam Postema, who worked in the 1970s and 1980s, was the first woman to umpire a spring training game.
Peralta, Smith sign deals with Cubs
Outfielder David Peralta and first baseman/ outfielder Dominic Smith agreed to minor league contracts with the Chicago Cubs and are attending big league spring training.
Peralta, 36, hit .259 with a .294 on-base percentage, seven homers and 55 RBIs in 133 games for the Dodgers last season after playing with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2014-22) and Tampa Bay Rays (2022).
Smith, 28, hit .254 with 12 homers and 46 RBIs in 153 games with Washington in 2023.
The 13th overall pick in the 2013 draft by the New York Mets out of Gardena's Serra High, Smith played with the Mets from 2017-22.
Orioles' Burnes sharp in his debut
Corbin Burnes' first outing with his new team looked like an abbreviated version of a typical performance with his old one.
Burnes worked one scoreless inning for the Baltimore Orioles and struck out the first two batters he faced in the 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner's Grapefruit League debut. The Orioles went on to defeat the Boston Red Sox 4-3 on a walk-off homer from prospect Colton Cowser.
The Orioles acquired Burnes last month in a trade that sent left-hander DL Hall, infielder Joey Ortiz and a competitive balance pick to the Milwaukee Brewers.
“Today was just getting the feet wet, getting out there on the mound, feel the adrenaline going again in a game situation and then get to work with Adley a little bit,” Burnes said of catcher Adley Rutschman.
Burnes, 29, went 45-27 with a 3.26 ERA in six seasons with the Brewers. He went 10-8 last year with a 3.39 ERA, which marked the first time since 2019 that he posted an ERA above 3.00.
He has recorded at least 200 strikeouts each of the last three seasons, including a National League-leading 243 in 2022.
The Brewers traded Burnes because of the likelihood they wouldn't be able to keep him beyond this season. The three-time All-Star is eligible for free agency at the end of the season.