The New York Mets are in the beginning stages of a complete renovation. Don’t mind the appearance. This may look like a professional baseball team in shambles right now, but…yeah, actually it is.
However, the road flares and the hard hats may not be in use for long. It all depends on who draws up the blueprints for the remodeling effort.
There have been a few names in the rumor mill out there under “serious” consideration for the recently vacated GM position in the Mets organization. Names like Sandy Alderson, Rick Hahn, Allard Baird, Josh Byrnes, and Pat Gillick have all been rumored to be in the mix this past week, though Gillick has recently dropped out of the running.
Out of the names of those in the process, one intriguing name has mysteriously been missing: Kim Ng. This name is intriguing for several reasons, both good and bad. First, the most obvious reason of all is Kim Ng is female. There has never been a female general manager in MLB history. She was actually the first assistant GM in MLB history and the youngest at the time at the age of 29.
Teams have passed on her for the GM position over her career (Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, and the Los Angeles Dodgers) despite her experience (more than 13 years) as an assistant GM and in other administrative positions for the A.L. and teams like the Yankees, White Sox, and Dodgers.
Second, her experience is primarily all in big cities (New York, Chicago, and L.A.), the three biggest markets in baseball, in fact. If there was anyone who knows how to conduct business despite media uproar and eccentric personalities (i.e. the K-Rods and Manny Ramirez of the league) causing distractions, it would be her. She has had experience in salary arbitration cases, waivers, trades, and free agency by working in the offices of the A.L. for several years.
Third, she is from the NY/NJ area (Ridgewood, NJ). That native upbringing speaks of her knowledge of the community at large that she would be representing. She worked in the area already with the Yankees, so she knows and understands the New York area and fans.
Finally, on the plus side, she has an outsider’s perspective on the team (as do almost all of the candidates) despite being originally from the area. She can be objective in free-agent signings and trade negotiations as she most likely would not have a personal agenda or any ties to the current roster.
There is, however, one point that could swing to either side of the pendulum. In 2003, she was involved in a controversy with the Mets. Bill Singer, a special assistant to the GM at the time in the organization, made derogatory comments about her ethnicity (Chinese). The reason that could weigh for or against her is simple; it could appear to some that the Mets are trying to make further amends for one of their representatives scorning her.
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