Kim Ng, formerly MLB’s first female and Asian American general manager, spoke on the Women’s Equality Night program panel on Aug. 26 at Guaranteed Rate Field nearly 25 years after she first began her baseball career with the Chicago White Sox.
Ng started with the Sox in 1990 as an intern after graduating from the University of Chicago. She quickly rose through the organization to become the assistant director of baseball operations. Ng has highly praised the Sox organization for her time and learning experiences earned with the organization for six years.
“I will say that the White Sox had a great program. No task was too small. And they put me on some projects that you really couldn’t believe you are working on as an intern.”
The Sox missed their opportunity to hire Ng when they named Chris Getz as the general manager a year ago. Ng was still GM of the Marlins at the time of Getz getting promoted, but there were rumblings she was on her way out despite Miami being in the middle of the NL wild-card race.
Getz is turning out to be a worse experiment than Pedro Grifol or Tony La Russa. The Sox are 31-107 this season under Getz, and even with interim manager Grady Sizemore, the team is still exhibiting an all-time low in morale and performance in the 21st century.
If the Sox hired Ng instead of Getz as their general manager, things would be very different today.
In her first general manager stint, she made pivotal moves to create a talented team, which included trading Tanner Scott in 2022 and acquiring infielders Jake Burger and Luis Arraez in 2023. Ng led the Marlins to the postseason in 2023
Ng’s time with the Marlins ended earlier than expected. Shortly after declining her fourth-year contract as the Marlins’ general manager, reports cited organizational changes as the reason for her departure.
Brittany Ghiroli of the New York Times noted that Marlins owner Bruce Sherman wanted to hire a president of baseball operations, which would’ve stripped Ng of key managerial decisions such as dictating operational personnel.
If Ng returns to MLB, the Sox must guarantee Ng that her decisions and direction won't be undermined to remain an eligible option for Ng. This shouldn’t be an issue, as she can spot young, long-lasting talent and change the Marlins’ organization for the better by hiring Skip Schumaker as the general manager.
Ng recently became a senior advisor for Athletes Unlimited Softball League and likely won’t be returning to the league any time soon. The Sox should have her at the top of their list of general manager candidates if she rejoins the league.