Kim Ng

After my last post, it feel nice to have some good baseball news. The Miami Marlins have hired Kim Ng as their general manager. She is the first woman to hold the position, not just in baseball, but in any of the major North American men’s sports. It’s a big deal, and great to see. I recommend Sarah Spain’s (@SarahSpain) write up about it.

I’ve been aware of Kim Ng for twenty-ish years. I remember when she was assistant GM for the Yankees and then the Dodgers. To reach that position, with two of the sport’s marquee franchises, made me think she must be at least ten times as qualified as any of the male GMs in the game. Ever since, whenever the GM spot has opened up for the Red Sox, I’ve been hoping she would get the job.

Alas, my wish never came true. I have nothing against Theo Epstein, Ben Cherrington, Dave Dombrowski, or Chaim Bloom. They are all smart, and qualified, and seem like decent people. But, they’re all basically the same. Dombrowski’s a little older than the others, but if you factor that in, they all even look, sound, and dress alike. And it’s not just the Sox. It seems like it’s every executive in the game. I hate to say any two people are interchangeable, but if Brian Cashman and Andrew Friedman were to switch bodies via some kind of Freaky Friday incident, I’m not sure they would notice, let alone anyone else.

It will be great to see Kim Ng running a professional baseball team. I wish it were my team, but I’m very happy for her. I hope she’s wildly successful and some other teams follow the Marlins’ lead. Baseball can really use some diversity and fresh thinking in its executive ranks. This is a great start.

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