History was made Friday when the Miami Marlins appointed Kim Ng as their general manager. This makes Ng, 51, the first woman and the second Asian American GM in Major League Baseball. She is also now the highest-ranking woman in the four major league men's sports.
Ng, of Chinese descent, climbed the MLB ladder, going from an intern with the Chicago White Sox in 1990 to their front office and then spending time as assistant GM for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees, her favorite team growing up. She has three World Series titles on her resume. Since 2011, she worked in the Commissioner's Office as senior vice president of baseball operations.
“I entered Major League Baseball as an intern and, after decades of determination, it is the honor of my career to lead the Miami Marlins as their next general manager,” Ng said. “We are building for the long term in South Florida, developing a forward-thinking, collaborative, creative baseball operation made up of incredibly talented and dedicated staff who have, over the last few years, laid a great foundation for success."
Hall of Fame Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter is now the owner of the Marlins and expressed excitement at the hiring of Ng, someone he's had a friendship with for more than two decades. Jeter himself made history in baseball when he became the first Black CEO in the sport after his group purchased the team in 2017.
“On behalf of principal owner Bruce Sherman and our entire ownership group, we look forward to Kim bringing a wealth of knowledge and championship-level experience to the Miami Marlins,” Jeter said. “Her leadership of our baseball operations team will play a major role on our path toward sustained success. Additionally, her extensive work in expanding youth baseball and softball initiatives will enhance our efforts to grow the game among our local youth as we continue to make a positive impact on the South Florida community.”
Ng takes over a Marlins team that went 31-29 in a unique season due to the coronavirus pandemic that had teams shuffling the schedule around and having cardboard cutouts in the stands instead of fans. They made the playoffs for the first time since 2003 when they won their second World Series. This year, they lost in the National League Divisional round to the Atlanta Braves after sweeping the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card round.
Another significant landmark hire for women in sports happened in July when Tori Miller was named the first woman general manager of an NBA G League team, the College Park Skyhawks, an affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks. Miller has a tie to Miami as well because she is a graduate of the University of Miami.