Wednesday, October 17, 2018

State of the Giants: Kim Ng For GM

The Giants are interviewing a seemingly long list of candidates for their vacant GM post(who knows what the official title will be, but to make it easy, we'll call the position the GM).  One of those candidates is not like the others.  Kim Ng has long been the odds on favorite to become the first woman GM and over the years has built an impressive resume.  Unfortunately, her many interviews for various open GM slots have started to look suspiciously like tokenism, a box MLB can check off to prove it is "committed" to diversity.  Yet the actual, you know, jobs, always seem to end up going to youngish white guys who all seem to have gone to the same school or worked under some GM who won a World Series and is labelled "analytically minded".  So, let's go back and remind ourselves of who Kim Ng is and why she always seems to have some buzz in GM searches.

Kim first started hitting radar screens when she emerged as the assistant GM of the Dodgers under Dan Evans, who I still think is one of the most underrated GM's of all time.  Evans likely knew her from when they both worked for the White Sox before their Dodgers gigs.  For his part, Evans was one of the little known pioneers of baseball analytics and the use of technology for baseball evaluation.  He is currently a member of Baseball Prospectus Advisory Board and serves on the Board of Directors of the SABR Rocky Mountain Chapter.  But Evans was also very into traditional scouting.  You may recall he hired the legendary Logan White as Scouting Director for the Dodgers.  In my mind, Evans laid the foundation for the current sustained success the Dodgers have enjoyed.

OK, back to Kim Ng.  Her interest in baseball started with stickball games in Queens NY and softball in HS and college.  She started her formal baseball career as an intern with the White Sox and was hired full-time in 1991.  She started out a special projects analyst and was promoted to Assistant Director of Baseball Operations under GM Ron Schueler.  She became the youngest person and first woman to present a salary arbitration case which she won.

In 1997, she moved the the AL offices and was Director of Waivers and Records approving all MLB transactions.  In 1998, she went to work for Brian Cashman as his Assistant GM at age 29.  She is one of 3 women to ever hold the Assistant GM position in MLB.  In 2001, she was hired by the Dodgers as Vice President and Assistant GM under Dan Evans.  The next 4 years working with Evans and Logan White produced some of the most productive drafts in the history of baseball. It was reportedly her idea to convert Kenley Jansen from catching to pitching.  That's maybe not the hardest transition to envision, but it does show she was involved in player development at the micro level and all the way down to the lower levels of the farm system.

Kim interviewed for the Dodgers GM position when Evans left, but lost out to Ned Coletti, which has to be one of the great travesties in the history of baseball hirings.  Colletti kept her on as Assistant GM. Since 2011, she has served as Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations for Major League Baseball under Joe Torre. Over the years, she has interviewed for GM jobs with the Mariners, Padres and Angels.

Look, I don't know who the best person for the Giants GM job is.  Heck, I thought Bobby Evans' processes were OK, which shows how much I know.  I believe Kim Ng is as qualified as anyone and more than most.  She has a wide range of experiences and connections in the sport.  She appears to have an understanding of both "analytics" and scouting.  She is reputed to be whip-smart and is obviously comfortable working and thriving in an environment dominated by men, which  almost automatically puts her in an exceptional category.  That is why I am rooting for Kim Ng to be the next Giants GM, which is not the same as saying she is the best person for the job, because I do not know that about her or anyone else who is applying.

12 comments:

  1. Interesting post Doc. Kim NG sounds exceptional and its a plus for her to have an understanding of analytics and scouting which Sabean said the ideal candidate should have. Its interesting that she has worked with baseball people who have connections with Sabean who came from the Yankee organization and he is good friends with Ned Colletti. So if all things being equal between the candidates a good word from someone like Colletti could go a long way to help Kim get the job. That would be a very interesting hire!

    LG

    ReplyDelete
  2. Given the names and experience as well as the success of the people she has worked with; especially that old cagey catcher Joe Torre!
    I expect she would be extremely well schooled and ready for this position.
    I agree she would be a great selection!

    Richard in Winnipeg

    ReplyDelete
  3. Doc, when are you interviewing to be Kim Ng's agent? Thanks for the information. I agree, she would be a good choice.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Since Baer & Co are still interviewing candidates, it’s almost certain that no consensus exists as to who’s the best for the job, so I feel more than OK in joining DrB et al in rooting for Kim Ng. She has experience in working for successful, big-market teams in both leagues as well as dealing with international scouting. As a repeated interviewee for GM jobs, she would have a lot riding on being successful with the Giants and also with being distinctive in her approach. She must work well in collaborative environments, from wide experience in doing so; and one gathers that the Giants cultivate collaborative decision making more than most teams.

    I’m hoping that her willingness to go through the interview process indicates that the Giants have given her good reason to believe that they’re very serious about her, so that when the W Series is over the Giants will be on the verge of making her head of baseball operations and someone of her choice—Sawdaye?—GM. If David Bell or Hensley Meulens ends up as the Reds’ manager, there will be at least one significant staffing decision to be made soon, as well as some significant off-season trade and signing decisions.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kim Ng might be one of the few good qualified candidates who might consider taking the job even with the shadow of Brian Sabean hanging over her. Most of the qualified candidates wouldn't want the position given that Brain Sabean still looms large in the organization- they want to run their own show with their own people.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Whoever comes in needs to do something about the composition of the team or will see attendance drop below 3,000,000 for the first time since 2009.
    With peak attendance of 3,387,303 in 2011 following 2010's run back to 3MM, attendance has been in a slow decline that began to accelerate in 2017, then dropped 150K in 2018.
    Another 150K drop will leave the Giants 1-full bleacher above 3 mil.
    Somewhere, there is a bottom line, and the concessions are already eye-popping.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MLBTR suggests:
      Whoever takes the reins will be ... tasked with implementing the strategic pitch that wins them the job.
      If interviewing for this is NOT just waving a resume, are the interviewees coming in with a plan? Is that the way this job normally is filled: tell us what you would do?
      Os that a learning opportunity for SF?

      Delete
  7. This seems like an incredible opportunity for any of the names that have been mentioned and none more than Ng. The problem I think is that there are no quick fixes for this team in the short term and anyone coming in would have to still answer to Baer and Sabes. I thought Bobby Evans was a good soldier and his moves weren’t aweful but it seemed like he either needed Sabean and ownerships approval for each move or was trying to win their approval with each move.

    Would Ng have the freedom to do what is necessary to build this team back up or is she the next scape goat when ownership doesnt let her “rebuild”? Evans isnt to blame for the Giants current state yet he was the one who took the fall. Do the Giants want a puppet or someone who can actually make tough decisions? Is she going to want to take her first GM job knowing she isnt in control of her own destiny?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Evans was partially to blame for the current mess. He has been in the organization for over 20 years and the general manager for the last couple of years. His trades leave a lot to be desired, especially the trades involving Duffy and Fox. His free agent signings have basically been a bust. He did get lucky on the minor league signing of Rodriguez, but every squirrel finds a nut once in awhile.

    Agree with you that any new head of baseball operations must have COMPLETE control of the baseball decisions with no interference from Brian Sabean or Bruce Bochy for any chance of success.

    Go Giants, just get it done.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Franchise is worth nearly $3,000,000,000 (that's THREE BILLION DOLLARS!)
      COMPLETE control?
      Probably not.

      Delete
    2. Fox and Duffy were part of the same deal that brought us Matt Moore. Duffy is an average 3rd baseman when healthy and Fox is unproven while Moore went on to win one of the last 3 games of the season against the dodgers in 2016 to get us into the playoffs. He then went on to pitch 8 innings and left with a lead against the cubs in the division series. Without Moore we probably dont make the playoffs or have such an overreaction after the bullpen blew that lead which in large part led to the signing of Melancon.

      Somehow some way, Evans was able to get another team to take Moore off our hands after he fell apart in 2017 and he also was able to trade Span as well. He cleared enough room to be able to make the bold moves of bringing McCutchen and Longoria for basically peanuts and STILL managed to keep this team under the CBA tax threshold.

      Evans moves all made sense at the time and unfortunately many of the players have underperformed or have been injured. I have a hard time blaming Evans for underperforming players or injuries. If anything I would say he hasnt done well in scouting/drafting/development but that is more the scouting department than him. Evans worked hard and had bad luck more than anything IMO

      Delete
    3. Matt Duffy hit .294 in 2018 while playing third base and shortstop for the Rays. This was the 13th best average in the American League.

      Luscious Fox played in A+ and AA ball for the Rays in 2018 while playing shortstop. He is currently playing in the prestigious Arizona Fall League and is hitting .412, which is the fourth best average in the AFL. Fox and Hiura, who is also playing in the AFL, look like the Rays middle infield in 2020 with Matt Duffy playing third base.

      In evaluating the trade of Fox and Duffy for Moore today, I'd say advantage Tampa Bay.

      Delete