Smashing glass ceilings
Kim Ng’s time with Yankees helped her learn what it takes to win. Can it translate to Marlins? New Marlins general manager Kim Ng spent only four of her 30-plus years as a Major League Baseball executive with the New York Yankees, serving as the club’s a
But Ng credits that stint as one of the more insightful stops of her career, one that started with seven years at the White Sox, included a decade with the Los Angeles Dodgers and culminated with nine years at MLB’S central office before becoming the first woman in MLB history to hold the general manager title.
For a recap of those four years:
• Ng started with the Yankees at age 29, becoming the youngest person ever — male or female — to hold the assistant general manager title for an MLB team.
• She spearheaded arbitration cases, including a win over eventual all-time saves leader Mariano Rivera.
• She took the lead in negotiating Derek Jeter’s 10-year, $189 million contract following the 2000 season.
All this while assisting general manager Brian Cashman in assembling teams year over year that were among MLB’S best. The Yankees won three consecutive World Series titles from 1998-2000 and went 394-251-1 in the four seasons she was with the club. That included a franchise-record 114 wins in 1998.
“I got to see what winning — winning at a high, high level for an extended period of time — looked like and what that took,” Ng said. “And between Mr. (George) Steinbrenner, the staff there, obviously Brian, I got to see the many different facets of the operation and what it took from their perspective — in the drafts we had, the development, all the coaches in the player-development system and the
excellence that they demanded. That all came from the top, but it permeated down throughout the organization.”
Cashman, in a statement, said Ng was “indispensable to me when I first began my tenure as the GM. Kim was a tireless and dedicated executive back then, and in the ensuing years, she has ceaselessly added to her skill set to maximize her talent.”
**** Meanwhile, one of the players Ng watched flourish during her tenure in New York is now her boss in Miami.
Jeter, who earned his first All-star nod in 1998 (Ng’s first season in New York) en route to a Hall of Fame career, said he knew almost immediately during the Marlins’ general manager search over the past month that Ng was top candidate.
“When I first reached out to Kim, I think through our first couple of con
versations it became evident to both of us that this was a perfect fit,” Jeter said Monday. “We couldn’t be more excited to have her experience and leadership to help lead us down our path to sustained success.”
**** Sustained success has been the goal Jeter has preached since taking over prior to the 2018 season.
The Marlins saw glimmers of that hope last season, going 31-29 in MLB’S pandemic-shortened season and making it to the National League Division Series.
Ng’s first priority to extend that success revolves around getting to know everyone in the organization, from those on the 40-man roster to those in rookie ball and identifying the players who can have long-term impact.
“Throughout my career at each step of the way, we had young players. We
had young, core, premium players,” Ng said. “Obviously, Derek was part of the Core Four in New York. In LA, we had guys like Matt Kemp and Russell Martin. And I think it’s important to know who your players are into to evaluate them objectively.”
The Marlins’ minor league system went through a complete overhaul over the past three seasons, going from one of the worst in baseball to one of the top five, according to MLB Pipeline. Seven of the Marlins’ top-30 prospects made their MLB debuts last season.
“Looking at this system,” Ng said, “it’s rated one of the top systems in baseball right now, so obviously a good job has been done here, but we’re just looking to build on that more and more. And I think that’s how you get to this self-sustaining model that you need over an elongated period of time. You’ve got to go with a lot of good young players, and then fill in where you can.”