MLB’s first female home plate umpire statistically ranks among 2026’s worst
MLB legend Darryl Strawberry talks about his faith and salvation
MLB legend Darryl Strawberry, author of ‘Another Life’, joins Kayleigh McEnany to discuss his spiritual transformation. Through his wife, Tracy, Strawberry describes how embracing faith and discipleship helped him overcome past challenges, including prison time and a heart attack. He emphasizes that Christ can transform any ‘mess’ into a ‘message’ for those seeking salvation.
Jen Pawol made history in the 2025 season as Major League Baseball’s first female home plate umpire, sparking debate over whether she earned her spot or was simply a political statement for inclusion and diversity. Now these debates are reignited based on some viral videos and statistics that prove that his performance on the field is one of the worst of the 2026 season.
SPOILER: It was terrible.
Pawol currently ranks 89th out of 91 qualified MLB umpires in overall ball and strike accuracy, according to season-long data from UmpScorecards, which measures every stolen ball and strike against MLB’s Statcast strike zone and rates umpires on overall accuracy, consistency and how they perform based on the expected difficulty of the pitches they call. Ahh.
The three worst-rated umpires in Major League Baseball have one thing in common:
Home plate umpire Jen Pawol officiates the game between the San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals at Oracle Park on June 9, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
It has an overall accuracy rate of 91.8%, a consistency rating of 93.1%, and an above-expected accuracy rating of -1.6%.
His ranking attracted more attention because he was also involved in several high-profile plays that featured questionable strike zone decisions.
Pawol will be in St. Petersburg on Sunday, June 16th. He got off to a terrible start in the game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Minnesota Twins. Three ball calls were overturned in the top of the first inning alone.
(WARNING: Language)
Pawol’s first strike call in his first MLB game as a back was also terrible.
Here’s a challenge from a 2026 spring training game between the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians; here the broadcaster not-so-subtly trolled Pawol: “The call was overturned on a pitch right in the middle of the field called ball.”
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The most recent controversy occurred on July 13 between the San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays; He did not allow the Padres’ Sung-Mun Song to challenge a called strikeout, and shortly thereafter, Pawol called for a holdout for a run to the Padres.
Umpire Jen Pawol watches the first inning of the game between the San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays at Petco Park on July 12, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
According to UmpScorecards, his overall consistency in this game was only 88%. The average is 94%. I also found it strange that the other referees seemed to protect Pawol from interacting with the managers. I get the impression that managers were able to argue little or nothing with him on the field because other managers stepped in. Because she’s a woman? I can’t tell you this for sure, but it raises eyebrows.
While Pawol has had time to turn things around, from a meritocracy perspective it is clear that he has not proven himself worthy of his position. Worst-rated referee CB Bucknor has accepted a buyout and is retiring at the end of the season. As Zach Dean says in his article, I don’t think this is a coincidence.
Victor Caratini celebrates during the ninth inning at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts on May 23, 2026, while Jarren Duran hits his helmet as home plate umpire Jen Pawol calls him to strike out to end the game. (Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
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I didn’t see Pawol being offered the same acquisition scenario. After making such a big deal about his promotion, it would reflect negatively on the league if many people backtracked to defend the decision so he could only last two seasons.
