The Miami Marlins and Major League Baseball are breaking a gender barrier with the announcement of Kim Ng as the new general manager for the South Florida professional baseball team.
In a statement released Friday morning, Marlins CEO Derek Jeter said the organization was excited to bring Ng’s “wealth of knowledge and championship-level experience to the Miami Marlins.”
“Her leadership of our baseball operations team will play a major role on our path toward sustained success,” Jeter wrote. “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.”
Making history by bringing a lifetime of excellence, Kim Ng steps to the helm as GM. #JuntosMiami pic.twitter.com/UrYESbjTHe
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) November 13, 2020
Ng, 51, becomes the highest-ranking female executive in the history of the MLB and quite possibly all of professional sports in the United States. She is also the first Asian American general manager in the MLB.
“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 in a statement released following the announcement.
Though casual sports fans may not recognize her name at first glance, Ng is an industry standard who has worked extensively with the Los Angeles Dodgers, where she served as vice president and assistant general manager for a decade.
Ng climbed from an internship at the Chicago White Sox organization to being scouted by legendary New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who brought Ng on as an assistant general manager at the age of 29 in 1998.
Her working relationship with Jeter, a former Yankees star, and Marlins front office executive Gary Denbo laid the groundwork for Ng to claim the Marlins top executive spot. Ng most recently served as the MLB’s senior vice president, working directly under former Yankee manager Joe Torre.
The Marlins franchise began as an MLB expansion team in 1993. The team was called the Florida Marlins up until the 2012 season, when it also got a new stadium. The National League team has won two World Series, one in 1997 against the Cleveland Indians and another in 2003 against the New York Yankees.
