K
im Ng has long been tagged as a trailblazer and role model in baseball: Youngest executive and first woman to present a salary arbitration case (at age 26, while with the Chicago White Sox); youngest assistant general manager in the game, when she was hired to that position by the New York Yankees at age 29, a role she later also held with the Los Angeles Dodgers; first woman to interview for a team general manager job in baseball history (with the Dodgers, in 2005).
It’s a tag, trailblazer, she wears reluctantly, preferring to focus on her job. And that responsibility now with the league involves a variety of critical issues, including helping to improve international baseball development in areas such as the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela, and running the league’s scouting bureau. As a result, her extensive influence within the game and industry at large continues to grow.
Ng has not given up on her goal of landing a team job after having been a finalist candidate now with three clubs. But for now, she’s enjoying the ability to help shape the game on a macro level. “With a club, you’re sort of up to your eyeballs every day and are very focused on the daily issues and wins and losses,” she said. “In this role, you have some more ability to think long term. Both perspectives are great, and it’s been gratifying to see things take shape from both levels.”
— Eric Fisher
“Kim Ng has been a credit to every organization she has worked with in Major League Baseball. … We are lucky to have her as an integral part of MLB. Kim has great leadership skills, and I expect her to become the first female general manager in Major League Baseball.”
— Joe Torre | Executive vice president of baseball operations | MLB
