Kim Ng shattered the glass ceiling on Friday when she was hired as the first female GM in the MLB’s 117 year history. And no this was not a diversity hire for diversity sake, Ng has more than earned the title.
Her career in baseball began in 1990, as an intern with the Chicago White Sox front office. When she got into it 30 years ago, baseball was nearly as male dominated as it is today. Not to be deterred by the unspoken, but glaringly obvious barriers, Ng worked her way up to assistant director of baseball operations with the Sox in 1997.
Ng left the team for the American League office in 1997, but quickly went back to a front office the next season. The New York Yankees brought her on as an assistant GM, making her the youngest ever to hold the position, at just 29. At the time, she was just the second woman to attain the role within a major-league club.
In 2002, Ng moved on to join the Los Angeles Dodgers as their vice president and assistant GM. Before leaving the Dodgers to join the Commissioner’s Office, Ng racked up eight postseason appearances, six League Championship Wins and three World Series Championships.
If anyone has seen Ng’s proficiency at her job in action, it’s former Yankees shortstop and current Marlins CEO, Derek Jeter. Ng was Jeter’s boss during his 2000 World Series MVP season. Jeter brings in Ng as a replacement to Michael Hill, who has been leading the team’s operations since 2013.
The appointment of the league’s newest GM extends far beyond baseball. In a time where women are finally being allowed into boardrooms and onto the sidelines, the GM job seemed to remain elusive, as there had yet to be a woman at the helm of one of the major men’s league’s franchises. Ng’s new position is a sign to every little girl, no matter where she finds herself within the sports landscape, that the ceiling is broken and the only way is up.
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