At 23, Wanda Rodríguez Becomes Venezuelan Pro Baseball’s First Female Regular-Season Home Plate Umpire
By Drafted Team
Wanda Rodríguez grew up playing baseball with her father and brother in Mérida, Venezuela. On October 17, she stood behind home plate at Caracas’ Estadio Universitario, becoming the first woman to umpire that position in a regular-season game in the Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional. El Pitazo
The assignment followed years of preparation and increasingly prominent opportunities. Rodríguez had worked home plate at the league’s 2024 All-Star Game and made her regular-season debut at third base in October 2025. Her return behind the plate marked another step forward in her professional career.
In a country where baseball is passed down through families, Rodríguez’s story connects a childhood love of the game with a woman’s authority on its professional fields. Her achievement gives Venezuelan baseball another career to follow, and girls growing up with the sport another role to imagine themselves holding.
Wanda Rodríguez’s love for baseball began in Guayabones, in the Venezuelan state of Mérida, where she grew up playing with her father and brother. She later pitched for Mérida’s state team before pursuing umpiring, building a career that would take her through the Dominican Summer League and the Serie del Caribe Kids.
On October 17, the 23-year-old stepped behind home plate at Caracas’ Estadio Universitario for a game between Tigres de Aragua and Tiburones de La Guaira. With that assignment, she became the first woman to serve as home plate umpire in a regular-season game in Venezuela’s professional baseball league.
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