kim ng breaking baseball's barriers

Here's a cool profile on Kim Ng, assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers: Can Kim Ng break the gender barrier? According to the story, she's one of only two women who hold the title of assistant general manager in baseball—one of three ever. She's pioneer, no doubt.

At 39, she has advanced on the job for 17 years, the last 11 seated at the right hand of general managers for the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. A handful of women have become major-league owners and team presidents, but no woman has risen to lead an organization's day-to-day baseball operations. But she could be the one. Not that it's going to be easy.

You might recall that incident back in 2003 involving New York Mets special assistant to the general manager Bill Singer, who openly mocked Ng's Chinese background at a hotel bar during general manager meetings in Phoenix. He asked her who she was, why she was there, about her heritage... and then threw in some mock-Chinese gibberish for good measure. Singer was subsequently fired for his remarks. Damn right.

Throughout that whole ordeal, Ng kept her cool. You've got to respect how far she's come despite all the racist and sexist obstacles in a traditionally male-dominated field. She's built a solid resume and reputation in baseball and now stands among the most capable of candidates among the next generation of baseball's general managers. I guess it's only a matter of time now.