The Miami Marlins made MLB history in 2021 by naming Kim Ng as general manager, making her the first woman general manager in MLB history. Just a few years later, Ng has resigned after philosophical differences over how to run baseball operations.
Miami is coming off one of its best seasons in decades. From 2004-’21, the Marlins made the MLB playoffs just once and had a winning record in only five seasons. With Ng at the helm, Miami went 84-78 this season and made the postseason. Now, with the offseason just beginning, the Marlins are searching for a new general manager.
On Monday, the Marlins’ principal owner Bruce Sherman announced that Ng would not be returning as general manager after she declined her mutual option for the 2024 season. While it was a cut-and-dry press release, Ng provided some detail on what led to the split.
Speaking to Tyler Kepner of The Athletic, Ng shared that a meeting at the start of the offseason with Sherman led her to step away. With the organization and Ng not on the same page regarding how the team should be run, she stepped down as general manager.
“Last week, Bruce (Sherman) and I discussed his plan to reshape the Baseball Operations department. In our discussions, it became apparent that we were not completely aligned on what that should look like and I felt it best to step away. I wish to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Marlins family and its fans for my time in South Florida. This year was a great step forward for the organization, and I will miss working with Skip and his coaches as well as all of the dedicated staff in baseball operations and throughout the front office. They are a very talented group and I wish them great success in the future.”
Former Miami Marlins general manager Kim Ng
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Ng isn’t the first Marlins executive to resign in recent years. She helped replace Derek Jeter, who stepped down as the club’s CEO in February 2022. While Miami classified the separation from Jeter as a personal decision, Joel Sherman of the NY Post later reported that the Hall of Fame shortstop left for different reasons.
According to Sherman, Jeter stepped down as CEO in part because Sherman approved the team to spend an additional $10 million to $15 million on players before the lockout. When it came time to spend on the talent, though, Sherman allegedly backed out on the promise. Following his resignation, Jeter made it clear there were very different philosophical differences between him and Sherman.
““The vision for the future of the franchise is different than the one I signed up to lead. Now is the right time for me to step aside as a new season begins.”
Derek Jeter in 2022 after resigning as Miami Marlins CEO
Very little has changed since that time. After having the fifth-lowest payroll in 2022 ($82.954 million), Miami had the ninth-lowest payroll in 2023 ($105.4 million). Despite spending less money than a majority of teams in MLB, Ng helped turn the Marlins into a playoff team. However, just like Jeter, she discovered the organization’s approach to team building and spending isn’t changing. Now, Miami must look for a new lead executive again.
