Longtime baseball executive Kim Ng has just been named the new general manager for the Miami Marlins, making her Major League Baseball's first female GM. She is also believed to be the first woman to hold the title of GM in all of the professional men's sports leagues in North America, reports MLB.com.
Ng, who has more than 30 years of experience with the MLB, first joined the league as an intern before landing a full-time position in 1991 with the Chicago White Sox as a special projects analyst. In 1995, she was promoted to assistant director of baseball operations, before eventually joining the American League office in 1997.
In 1998, she joined the New York Yankees as an assistant general manager. At the time, Ng was just 29 years old, making her the youngest person in MLB history to hold that role and only the second woman. In 2001 she became the assistant general manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and according to reports, she's interviewed for multiple GM positions over the past few years.
"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, who spent the last nine years of her career as SVP of baseball operations for MLB, said in a statement. "This challenge is one I don't take lightly. When I got into this business, it seemed unlikely a woman would lead a Major League team, but I am dogged in the pursuit of my goals."
Ng, 51, is now the highest-ranking woman in MLB, and is the fifth person to lead baseball operations for the Marlins. Derek Jeter, who is CEO of the Miami Marlins, said in a statement that he and the entire ownership group "look forward to Kim bringing a wealth of knowledge and championship-level experience" to the team. Over the course of her career, Ng has made it to eight postseason appearances with her team and won three World Series championships.
"Her leadership of our baseball operations team will play a major role on our path toward sustained success," Jeter added. "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."
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