Wow, wow, wow! Congrats Kim Ng!
On November 13, Kim Ng was hired as the general manager of the Miami Marlins, making her the first female general manager in the four major sports and the first Asian-American GM in the MLB being of Chinese descent.
As a Yankee fan, this is especially exciting because of Ng’s time with the Yankees AND none other than DEREK JETER thought to contact her and ultimately hire her! Here’s a little background as to who the baseball superstar is.
Ng was born in Indianapolis, the oldest of FIVE GIRLS! She went to elementary school in Queens and middle school on Long Island. While in Queens, her love for baseball began while playing stick ball in the street with her father. Just like me and many people, she credits her dad for her love of sports. 💜 🙂
Ng went to Ridgewood High School in Ridgewood, NJ, where she played softball and tennis. She then went on to the University of Chicago where she majored in public policy, played softball and was the MVP infielder.
Immediatley after graduating, Ng interned with the White Sox where she was hired full time just one year later! Here’s her insanely impressive resume:
Overall, excluding the Marlins, Ng has interviewed for the General Manager position for four teams: Mariners, Padres, Angels, and Giants.
Fun Fact: Her husband, Tony Markward, who she says is “her rock”, is the co-owner of Silas Wines in Oregon!
I LOVE Hoda Kotb on the Today Show and so obviously, I watched her interview Kim Ng, and she brought up a wonderful Joe Torre quote from 2015 where he said, “At some point, somebody just has to ignore the fact that she’s a woman and just make a baseball decision. And if they do that, then I think she will get an opportunity somewhere.” (The FABULOUS Joe Torre was the Yankees Manager when Ng was w/ the Yankees)
Now that Ng is a GM, she can just about do anything. So here’s what I think. She should become commissioner. She is a calm, humble, determined, and driven person. She’s been the first to do so many things. With the current “commish ish” I think she’d be a saving grace.
I mean, Condaleeza Rice had tons of support when there was speculation of her becoming the NFL commissioner (which would be perfect) so eventually, why not Ng for the MLB? During her press conference, Ng emphasized fearlessness and how far that has taken her and Derek Jeter as well, which she saw first hand during her time with the Yankees.
I’m going to finish this post with a quote from the press conference that I found inspiring when she spoke about how she realized that her getting the position, offered “a glimmer of hope and inspiration for so many”. Hopefully this can inspire some of you!
“If you work hard and you persevere and you’re driven and you just keep going, then eventually, your dream will come true.” Congrats and Good Luck, GM, Kim Ng!
