Baseball is a social institution with tremendous social responsibilities.”
On occasion, we have heard Bud Selig utter this simple phrase with a sense of pride and reverence. As commissioner, he is intimately aware that baseball has periodically served as a moral compass for those who have experienced substantial difficulties navigating through the social ills of our times. While a compelling argument can easily be made that the sport had temporarily deviated from its core beliefs and philosophies in recent years, Major League Baseball is diligently rehabilitating its reputation.
In a sport where innovations in racial equality are deeply woven into its genetic coding, baseball is poised to dispel and eradicate countless misconceptions pertaining to women and their involvement in our national pastime. While the cracks in baseball’s glass ceiling are more pronounced, there still seems to be mild resentment toward women and their growing interest in certain aspects of baseball’s business. Fortunately, we are on the cusp of witnessing another seminal moment led by a handful of trailblazing female pioneers cut from the same cloth as Jackie Robinson and Effa Manley.
Without question, women today are assuming hierarchical positions within baseball. MLB and its 30 franchises have evolved into a multibillion-dollar industry that constantly encounters complex dilemmas ranging from revenue management to harnessing the immense benefits of digital media. A baseball executive needs to possess superior business and legal acumen regardless of age, color, religion or gender. Flagship franchises such as the Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs and Astros are the forerunners in welcoming women into the inner sanctum of baseball’s executive offices. While a handful of women have ascended to prominent positions such as president, senior vice president, general partner, and even the chairman of the board of directors for the Baseball Hall of Fame, ultimate success and acceptance in the baseball operations department has eluded them.
Despite their experience, the Dodgers’ Kim Ng and the Yankees’ Jean Afterman are still encountering resistance in their pursuit of introducing baseball to a new breed of talent evaluators and franchise architects. The Dodgers, Padres and Mariners interviewed Ng in recent years for their general manager vacancies, but there seems to be reluctance by owners to take a leap of faith. The sheer notion of hiring a female general manager can easily frighten an owner who still subscribes to archaic perceptions that dominated the game in a time where gender equality was nonexistent.
It saddens me to say that if Ng were a man, she would have become a general manager years ago based solely on her baseball pedigree, vast experience in contract negotiations and her two decades of service to the sport. Unfortunately, it will take an epiphany by one progressive owner to realize that gender should not be a deciding factor in who will run the baseball operations department.
Minor league organizations across the country are fertile ground for women to receive an all-encompassing education on the business of baseball. Women are entrusted with an inordinate amount of responsibility ranging from naming rights, sponsorship and marketing to financial management and baseball operations. In these environments, women have not only thrived, but excelled. Women such as Tyler Tumminia of the Goldklang Group and Katie Dannemiller of the Greensboro Grasshoppers are two women who enjoy success as minor league baseball executives and may be poised for greener pastures on the major league level.
Selig’s unwavering support of continued integration and gender equality has been one of the hallmarks of his tenure. Will a woman have the opportunity to become a general manager before his retirement? It is impossible to say, but I am optimistic that a woman will run a baseball operations department within the next five years.
Wayne G. McDonnell Jr. (wayne.mcdonnell@nyu.edu) is a clinical assistant professor of sports management at the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management at New York University.
