'Beyond My Expectations': Marlins Kim Ng On Becoming First Female MLB GM
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Major League Baseball's first female general manager Kim Ng is in Miami.
The Miami Marlins announced the historic hiring on Friday and Monday she fielded questions from the media during a virtual news conference at Marlins Park.
Ng is not only the highest-ranking woman in baseball operations, she is the first female GM among the four major professional sports leagues in North America and the first Asian-American GM in MLB history.
She described how the last 72 hours have been extraordinary and she has received well over a thousand congratulatory emails and text messages.
"As the day unfolded, I was able to zoom out a little bit, and realize just what was going on, and just how much impact this was having over social media," Ng said. "It really became about me being able to share the moment with so many."
She explained that all of that support showed her how important this moment was.
"The idea that it's affected this many people is just extraordinary. I thought it would be a big deal, but this is beyond my expectations and I think beyond many people's expectations. But I think that really is just a testament to where we are. People are looking for hope. People are looking for inspiration and I'm happy that this is a part of it."
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Ng has 21 years of big league experience in major league front offices. Prior to becoming the Marlins GM, she spent time with the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees.
She was part of the Yankees organization that won three world titles in a row. Marlins CEO Derek Jeter played for the Yankees when Ng worked for them.
"When Derek told me, I got the job there was a 10,000 pound weight lifted off of this shoulder. And then after about half an hour later, I realized that it had just been transferred to this shoulder. So yeah, it's, you know, I do feel quite a lot of responsibility. I have my entire career.
Ng will be taking over baseball operations for Michael Hill, who led operations for the Marlins since the end of 2013. Hill had been with the franchise for 18 years.
And by the way, Happy Birthday to Ng, who turns 52 on Tuesday.
