20 November 2020
Red & Black
Sports 17
Kim Ng Becomes the First Woman GM in the MLB
Courtesy New Jersey Monthly Magazine
Kim Ng is the first woman General Manager in MLB history.
Alexandra Wagner Red & Black Staff
On Nov. 13, Kim Ng was officially announced as the new general manager for the Miami Marlins baseball team. This was no easy feat for Ng, as it was almost 15 years ago that she first attempted to get this position. She had interviewed for the general manager position for the Los Angeles Dodgers back in 2005 with no luck. However, one must consider the difficulty of gaining this position in
the MLB, as it has been a full 93 years since the last general manager was hired. It was in 1927 that Billy Evans was the first person ever to hold that title within the MLB; he was hired for the Cleveland Indians. Within the past 93 years, numerous qualified women have made enormous strides within the MLB but have always failed to secure the role of general manager. In a male dominated industry, it is no surprise that these previous women have had issues in breaking the glass ceiling, regardless of their hard work and fearless attitude. Ng not only has been announced as the first woman to ever hold the posi-
tion of general manager, but she also has become the first ever Asian American to hold this role in the MLB. It is easy to see how Ng is overqualified to be in this position, given her 30 years of experience in a baseball career. Ng’s baseball career started with the Chicago White Sox as an intern at the young age of 21. She then worked her way up, gaining the position as the American League’s director of waivers and records. At age 29, Ng became the youngest assistant general manager in MLB, working specifically for the New York Yankees under GM, Brian Cashman. In 2001, she became the Dodgers’ vice president and assistant GM.
She then in 2011 became the senior vice president of baseball operations for MLB. This was her last position before being named the new general manager for the Miami Marlins. However before getting hired, Ng had interviewed and was ultimately rejected for five other general manager positions for opposing teams in the MLB. Congratulations to Ng for becoming the highest-ranking woman in professional sports management. Ng shared her gratitude and excitement saying, “I am both humbled and eager to continue building the winning culture our fans expect and deserve.”
