Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins announced their first female general manager on Friday, November 13th, 2020. What a day for women being represented as fierce, independent, and completely bad*ss bosses! The Marlins’ general manager, who goes by the name of Kim Ng (pronounced an-g), has spent her career climbing up the ladder in the sports business, and, after three decades of struggle and — according to an interview by NBC News’ David Li — feeling like “she wasn’t a serious candidate” in job interviews, she has finally done it in her own fashion.
Before becoming the first female general manager in any Major League sport in America (2), along with the second Asian American to hold the title (3), the executive of the hour was the assistant general manager for the New York Yankees—the youngest one by far at 29 years young—and the vice president and assistant general manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers. (3) Ng “broke into baseball as an intern” working with MLB’s Chicago White Sox (Rogers). Although her family was a Yankees fan during her childhood, Ng’s collaborations with various teams in the league and her drive to be an empowering person in her own perspective is what made her continue down the path that changed her life so much.(2)
There are many sports that are starting to become more progressive in providing opportunities for the female gender; however, it comes with setbacks. Many baseball players, other executives and managers in sports business, idol Billie Jean King, former first lady Michelle Obama, and her family and friends commended Ng’s well-deserved position (1), but some fans, both male and female, have taken a different reaction to her new title, as the sport has been male-dominated for so long and change is difficult for some. Ng stated in an NBC interview that “the interview process was crucial for future generations” because her gender and race affected her struggles in the sports
business, and she “should have been on the fast track” to success based on her resume (Li).
Growing up, she and her family were in love with the game, and more so Ng. She played softball throughout her childhood and even when she went to college at the University of Chicago.(2) Ng has always been that spark that people need to be better, and she owes the 1970s women’s rights movement a lot to her sense of empowerment as a female—she ended up writing her college thesis about Title IX’s impact on women in sports!(2)
Thirty years may be a long time to rise in rankings for some people, but not for Kim Ng. She took care of the struggles that life threw at her, and she is now making efforts to create a difference in the youth baseball and softball communities in South Florida.(4) Her influence will definitely change the opportunities for minorities and females in sports, so go find out about this amazing woman!
SOURCES
1. Kepner, T. & Wanger, J. (2020, November 18). Kim Ng Has Been Ready for Years. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/18/sports/baseball/kim-ng-miami-marlins.html
2. Li, D. (2020, November 16). Marlins GM Kim Ng said some interviews likely weren’t on the ‘up-and-up’ before historic new role. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/marlins-gm-kim-ng-said-some-interviews-likely-weren-t-n1247917
3. Rogers, J. (2020, November 13). Miami Marlins hire Kim Ng as MLB’s first female general manager. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/30310018/miami-marlins-hire-kim-ng-mlb-first-female-general-manager
4. Wagner, J. (Updated 2020, November 18). With Marlins Job, Kim Ng Is ‘Bearing a Torch for So Many’. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/16/sports/baseball/kim-ng-miami-marlins.html