Kim Ng on leaving Dodgers: I still want to be a GM
Kim Ng, Dodgers' vice president and assistant general manager, said her decision to leave the club and join the Major League Baseball commissioner's office in no way indicates she has lost her desire to become a team's general manager.
"In terms of my long-term aspirations, they're still there," Ng said Tuesday. "If anything, this makes me a more well-rounded candidate."
Ng, who could become the first female general manager in the major leagues, has served as an assistant general manager for 13 years. She has had three interviews for GM positions but no jobs, and on Tuesday she was announced as a new MLB senior vice president of baseball operations. She said she would specialize in international operations and report to former Dodgers manager Joe Torre, who was hired last month as executive vice president of on-field operations.
Ng noted that general managers and other club officials have been hired out of the commissioner's office -- most recently Sandy Alderson, the new general manager of the New York Mets. She said the opportunity "came together quickly" and intrigued her.
"It was something of interest to me," she said. "I finally came to the conclusion it was just a fantastic opportunity I couldn't let pass by."
She denied that the Dodgers' current ownership turmoil -- and the possibility that the divorce of Frank and Jamie McCourt ultimately could result in new ownership -- played a role in her decision to leave the club.
"I have a chance to help Joe and help the commissioner change policy and impact the game in a meaningful way," Ng said. "That really wasn't part of this. Frank has been very good to me. Ned (Colletti, the Dodgers' general manager) has been very good to me.
"This was an extremely difficult decision for me. I've been with this organization for almost half my career. That was a big factor. I just walked in the door with Sandy Koufax. That is one of the things I will miss."
Ng interviewed for the Dodgers' GM job in 2005, but Frank McCourt went outside the organization to hire Colletti, then the assistant general manager for the San Francisco Giants. Ng also interviewed for GM jobs with the Seattle Mariners in 2008 and San Diego Padres in 2009.
Ng previously worked in baseball's New York headquarters in 1997, as director of waivers and records for the American League. She served as an assistant general manager for the New York Yankees from 1998 through 2001, then joined the Dodgers in the same capacity in 2002. She stayed in that role under three general managers: Dan Evans, Paul DePodesta and Colletti.
"It's a truly great opportunity for Kim and one that will undoubtedly broaden her experience," Colletti said. "She has played a huge part in the successes we've had over the last several years, and her departure will certainly be a loss. I am extremely grateful for all that she's done for me and for the department."
Ng said she would remain with the Dodgers through opening day before moving to New York for her new job.
-- Bill Shaikin in Glendale, Ariz.
Photo: Kim Ng. Credit: Kirby Lee / US Presswire
Good. When MLB takes over the Dodgers, Ng can run things as the GM
Posted by: Blank Frank | 03/08/2011 at 08:55 AM
Good. The IQ points in an already challenged Dodger front office just went up. She's rising to the level of her mediocrity.
Posted by: SmackSaw | 03/08/2011 at 09:20 AM
Congratulations Kim......the Dodgers will miss you....maybe under new management you will return some day!!
Posted by: Michael E | 03/08/2011 at 09:39 AM
If frankie and jamey can own one and neddie can run one(ml team) then Kim Ng is on the fast track to the hall of fame as a GM......
Posted by: Jim McVeigh | 03/08/2011 at 09:49 AM
HORRIBLE, JUST HORRIBLE! Tremendous loss for the Dodgers.
I wish her well, and hope to see her back in the Dodgers organization in the future as GM.
Posted by: BIG LOSS | 03/08/2011 at 10:43 AM
If Frank was smarter than your average car valet he would have dumped Ned long ago and promoted Kim. She is going to be a great GM some day, hopefully for a new Dodger's owner.
Posted by: West Coast Ram | 03/08/2011 at 10:49 AM
Good for her! She deserves a chance with an MLB club.
Posted by: jef | 03/08/2011 at 10:54 AM
The Dodgers are a sinkingship. Smart of her to jump, especially since she no longer has "The Sheriff" to train under.
Still, this is the first time I can remember discussing next year's rookies in such detail- before the season even started.
It's going to be a long season.
Posted by: Big JIm Slade | 03/08/2011 at 12:55 PM
Good career move, get out from under the McCourt circus. There will be no players to develop and as they do every year the orginizations best minor leaguer, or promising rookie will be traded for some journeyman whose salary will be paid for remaining six weeks or so by the team who traded him. McCourt pockets the money, the Dodgers lose a future player, and the fans are the biggest suckers around. Kim Ng is a sharp young lady who as a Woman and an asian is and will continue to walk thru doors never opened to Women or Asians before. She has too much talent and too much class to stay with the carpetbaggers from the lowest slimest cesspools of the bowels of Boston.
Posted by: mark | 03/08/2011 at 01:29 PM
Kim Ng = competency. And competency does not mix well with McCrap and his goofballs.
Posted by: KoufaxFan | 03/08/2011 at 03:23 PM
It's too bad that Frank McCourt was too stupid to hire Kim as GM. He went with Ned instead, because he's afraid of being the stupidest guy in the room. Guess what Frank? You are always the dumbest guy in the room. Except when Tommy's around.
Posted by: Walt Alston | 03/08/2011 at 03:43 PM
The reason Frank McCourt hired Ned over Kim as GM is because Frank is deadly afraid of being the dumbest guy in the room. It's such a shame that the Dodgers have such a pathetic owner - I will resume rooting for, attending or following the Dodgers as soon as the McCourts get on the Greyhound out of town.
Posted by: Walt Alston | 03/08/2011 at 03:47 PM
It's always sad to see people leave but thisgal is too brilliant to tied down. With all the experience she has she'd certainly make a great GM. She should've been one already.
Posted by: OldBrooklyn Fan | 03/08/2011 at 04:03 PM
As for the move itself, I reiterate that this is good news for the franchise as it frees up more funds for the McCourt sons to spend on cars and houses. As for "Mark"'s comment below, "There will be no players to develop and as they do every year the orginizations best minor leaguer, or promising rookie will be traded for some journeyman whose salary will be paid for remaining six weeks or so by the team who traded him" I think it is way out of line. It's one thing to be critical of your team. It's another to steal and then publish its operating strategy.
Posted by: gentiga | 03/08/2011 at 04:08 PM
Kim did a great job, displaying intelligence, patience, loyalty and commitment. Going to MLB will expose her talents to the hierarchy, and perhaps, if a GM job isn't in the cards, maybe she could become Commissioner.
Posted by: GreggH | 03/08/2011 at 07:57 PM