Athletes Unlimited names former MLB executive Kim Ng its softball league’s commissioner
Miami Marlins general manager Kim Ng speaks with the news media, Jan. 19, 2023, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
Former Major League Baseball executive Kim Ng has been named commissioner of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League.
Ng is the former general manager of the Miami Marlins and has three World Series rings from a combined 21 years in the front offices of the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.
The AUSL brought Ng on as a senior adviser to get the league off the ground for its first year, and she helped hire the general managers and coaches. Athletes Unlimited co-founder Jon Patricof decided after watching her deliver for six months that she deserved a permanent role.
“I think this is truly one of the most pivotal moments in the history of the sport here in the United States, and certainly for Athletes Unlimited,” Patricof said. “Kim is probably the biggest executive addition we’ve made to the team since the founding of the company. She is a universally known and well-regarded executive. To have her join us as commissioner, honestly is massive. A massive win.”
The AUSL will feature four teams playing a 24-game season in a traditional league, starting on June 7. The teams will tour the country in the league’s first season before becoming city-based next year.
Ng said being named commissioner is significant, but the title isn’t as important as the opportunity.
“Having this be a project and then sort of blossom into this position has been has been a lot of fun,” she said. “It’s been a process.”
Instead of having two individual championship seasons, Athletes Unlimited now will crown an individual champion and a traditional team champion. After the initial AUSL season ends, Athletes Unlimited will feature its AUSL All-Star Cup, the former AU Pro Softball Championship Season that has crowned individual champions since 2020.
Even with the success the individual format has brought Athletes Unlimited, establishing a league with a traditional format has become a priority with the blessing of USA Softball as the preparation for the sport’s return at the 2028 Summer Olympics ramps up.
Ng already has things moving ahead of schedule. Originally, the league was set to tour in up to eight cities this season. That number has increased to 10.
“There was just such great interest in the league, in AUSL and what we’re putting together,” she said. “So, we originally started out, you know with the mindset of six to eight different markets. As we engaged in dozens and dozens of conversations with sports commissions ... different government officials across the country, it became really apparent that there was a great desire for AUSL to become a part of their community.”
Patricof said naming Ng commissioner is a byproduct of growth in the sport. He said it’s the kind of move that eventually could help put the league in the same category as the Women’s National Basketball Association and the National Women’s Soccer League.
“A lot of work gets done over a long period of time, and then it’s a few things that really serve as the rocket fuel and the catalyst for dramatic growth, and I think that’s what you’re seeing right now,” he said.