Ng takes part in inauguration events via video montage
Marlins general manager Kim Ng and others recited excerpts from past presidents’ inaugural addresses.
The Miami Marlins had representation Wednesday at events following the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president and Kamala Harris as the 49th vice president and first woman to hold the office.
Marlins general manager Kim Ng, the first female general manager in MLB history and believed to be the first woman hired as a general manager by any major professional men’s team in North America, was part of a pre-recorded video montage that aired during the introduction to Wednesday’s “Celebrating America” television special.
Ng, basketball Hall of Famer Kareem AbdulJabbar, labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, and Brayden Harrington, a teen Biden bonded with during the campaign, recited portions of inaugural addresses from past presidents.
Ng recited an excerpt of Ronald Reagan’s first inaugural address from Jan. 20, 1981.
“To a few of us here today, this is a solemn and most momentous occasion; and yet, in the history of our nation, it is a commonplace occurrence,” the speech states. “The orderly transfer of authority as called for in the Constitution routinely takes place as it has for almost two centuries and few of us stop to think how unique we really are. In the eyes of many in the world, this every-fouryear ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.”
Abdul-Jabbar recited a portion of Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address (“With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the
right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in.”) Huerta had Franklin Delano Roosevelt (“Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”) Harrington spoke the words of John F. Kennedy (“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”)
The show, hosted by Tom Hanks and filled with a bevy of celebrity guests and musical performers, was held in lieu of the usual inaugural balls that follow the day’s ceremonies.
Ng was one of several sports figures to participate in events surrounding Wednesday’s inauguration. Others included Vanderbilt’s Sarah Fuller, the first woman to participate in and score points in a football game for a Power 5 team; and Olympians Nathan Chen, Allyson
Felix and Katie Ledecky.
The Marlins’ Sixto Sanchez and Max Meyer are among MLB’s top right-handed pitching prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.
Sanchez checks in at No. 3 on Pipeline’s list, behind only the Toronto Blue Jays’ Nate Pearson and the Detroit Tigers’ Casey
Mize. Meyer, the Marlins’ first-round pick in the
2020 MLB Draft, is No. 7. Miami, Detroit and the
Seattle Mariners each had two pitchers in the top ten.
Meyer is also listed as having the best slider among right-handed pitcher prospects, while Sanchez is tied with the Baltimore Orioles’ Grayson Rodriguez for best changeup and with Mize for best control of his pitches among the group.