MLB’s first female home plate umpire just got the taste of ABS in the harshest way possible. Jen Pawol, the first female home plate umpire in the major league, was officiating a Reds-Guardians spring game this week. And what’s common with any MLB umpire, a confirmed strike was called a ball. However, the strike was so obvious that Pawol quickly faced the heat from the stands, and the fans had a field day on social media.

“The first female home plate umpire in MLB history, Jen Pawol, made the worst call you’ll ever seen in a game… After it was challenged by the catcher, the ABS showed just how awful it was,” Outkick’s Jon Root shared via X.

The ball in question here was so obvious in the strike zone. There couldn’t be a better strike than this, but Pawol thought otherwise and called it a ball, only to be challenged almost immediately by the Reds catcher. While MLB fans are accustomed to botched calls, they were left wondering how Pawol could have missed a strike that looked so obvious.

ABS showed the ball is absolutely middling the strike zone, and it met with rousing boos across the stands. The strike was so obvious that it made the home plate umpire look silly. Result? She just found herself on the darkest side of ABS.

Back in August, Pawol was officiating her debut game between the Marlins and Braves. Coincidentally, her first call as an MLB umpire was wrong. It was a 93 MPH fastball by Braves starting pitcher Joey Wentz to Marlins hitter Xavier Edwards. Edwards left it, and the ball went a few inches from the strike zone. But Pawol called it a strike.

Pawol was still praised after her debut game, as Braves manager Clayton McCullough said, “I think Jen did a really nice job.” However, last year Pawol got away with her debutant tag. This time, though, MLB fans are at their best, calling her out. What’s worse is that fans can’t believe how such an obvious call could be missed.

MLB fans are left unamused by the strike zone blunder

“Mrs. Angel Hernandez,” one fan said. “Yeah, Umps are bad. A lot of them. Look up, Angel Hernandez. He is every bit as bad as her, but she is bad too,” another added.

When discussing controversial umpires in MLB, Angel Hernandez’s name is arguably the first to come to mind. He has a long track record of high-profile missed calls, like the one between the Yankees and Red Sox in the 2018 ALDS Game 3. That game saw Hernandez’s 3 calls at first base get overturned by review in the first 4 innings. And till now, Hernandez remains the only MLB umpire who has three calls overturned in a single season.

For fans, Jen Pawol is increasingly becoming the female Angel Hernandez! One fan thinks she is just as bad as Hernandez was.

“Someone needed to make sure the legacy of Angel Hernandez lives on. I don’t think CB Bucknor will be an ump for much longer,” another user mocks.

Currently, Bucknor is one of the longest-tenured active umpires in MLB, working since 1996. But more than that, he is infamous for inconsistencies. For example, in 2025, he held a record of missing 28 calls in a game between the Reds and Cardinals. But as he is 63 now and at the last leg of his career, fans think it’s time to carry forward the legacy of Hernandez’s inconsistencies. Here comes Jen Pawol.

“Holy shit, its jim joyce reincarnated,” one fan said. The fans are recalling Joyce’s infamous “wrong call” that cost Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga a perfect game on June 2, 2010. That game saw Galarraga just one out away from achieving the 21st perfect game in MLB history. Cleveland Indians’ last hitter was at the plate in the ninth, and a grounder was hit to the first baseman.

It took no time for Galarraga to get the ball back and tag the Indians’ batter out. And yes, it was out, but Joyce called the batter safe! Although he acknowledged his mistake later, it cost Galarraga a historic moment. Now, with Pawol missing an obvious strike, fans wonder if Joyce is back again.

“Surprised she didn’t call it an out, honestly,” one user wonders. Yes, more than just a wrong call, fans wonder if Pawol just missed… What’s more is that Pawol has another wrong call in the previous game only. That game saw an 81 MPH curveball by Reds’ pitcher Nick Lodolo missing the strike zone, but Pawol called it a strike. ABS called it, and the call was overturned.

So, with such wrong call frequencies, it’s expected that fans are recalling Angel Hernandez in Jen Pawol.