Josh Naylor shows friendly side by greeting history-making umpire

As the umpires took the field Tuesday afternoon in Peoria for the Seattle Mariners game against the Chicago White Sox, there was a decidedly different look as Jen Pawol behind the plate.

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Last year, Pawol made history by becoming the first woman to umpire an MLB regular season game when she was called up on Aug. 9 to watch third base in Game 2 of a doubleheader between the Marlins and Braves. The next day, another first as she rotated to behind the plate, becoming the first female home plate umpire in the history of the game.

This year, Pawol has become one of just a handful of women who have umpired in spring training games. The sight was still extremely rare, and there was a bit of a buzz knowing it was Pawol umpiring Tuesday’s Marinera game.

In the bottom of the first, Brendan Donovan made his Mariners debut, leading off and hitting a single to right. Cal Raleigh followed with a walk and Julio Rodríguez reached on a hit by pitch when his jersey was grazed by the ball. That brought Josh Naylor to the plate, and he provided a nice moment before he went to work.

Jen Pawol who last year became the first woman to ump a Major League game is behind the plate for the M's today. Josh Naylor stepped to the plate, smiled and shook her hand before taking his 1st at bat.

— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) February 24, 2026

Wednesday in the clubhouse, Naylor acknowledged the greeting by saying for him, in the moment, it was partly about seeing an umpire he hadn’t seen before, but also just being friendly.

“I’m just like really welcoming everyone back to baseball,” Naylor said. “Like all the umpires, I really have a good relationship with them. So I just shake their hand, say welcome back to baseball. And then I didn’t know her. So I said, ‘Hey, I’m Josh. Nice to meet you. Welcome back to baseball. Hope all as well.'”

Naylor believes it was the first time a woman was behind the plate for a game he played, and at the time he was not aware Pawol was the first woman to umpire an MLB game, but was excited to find out about her history as news filtered down.

“I had no idea,” he said. “But that’s super cool. I mean, it’s a super cool accomplishment for her. It changes the game in a really cool way.”

While there have been few to umpire games, women have made inroads in coaching recently with Naylor pointing out the Guardians had a female hitting coach in the minors that he worked with in spring training while he was with Cleveland.

“I’d always say hi, welcome her. And kindness is easy and it’s free. Why not be it every day?” he said.

Greeting Pawol was a natural for him.

“I just made sure to introduce myself and make her feel comfortable and that she’s welcome because she is,” he said. “I want to be inclusive with everyone, no matter race, no matter gender. Really where you’re from, what language you speak. It’s not hard to be inclusive and welcoming and happy. I think it could change the world.”

It was a gesture that was seen and felt from distance of the broadcasting booth. Naylor had done his job without taking a swing.

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