NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Mets have hired Elizabeth Benn as director of major league operations, making her the franchise’s highest-ranking female baseball operations employee ever, according to a person with knowledge of the hiring.
The person confirmed Benn’s hiring to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Sunday because the Mets had not announced it.
Benn has worked for Major League Baseball since finishing a master’s degree in philosophy at Columbia in 2017. She’s had roles in youth programs, labor relations and baseball operations with the league.
Several women hold prominent roles in front offices across the male-dominated sport, including Miami Marlins general manager Kim Ng. The crosstown Yankees have had two women serve as assistant general managers in Ng and Jean Afterman.
The Mets are shaking their front office for the second straight offseason, a series of moves that included the brief tenure of Jared Porter as general manager following the 2020 season. Porter was fired over sexually explicit text messages he had sent to a female reporter in 2016 while working for the Chicago Cubs.
Billy Eppler was hired as general manager in November. His front office now has women working in analytics, player performance and minor league operations, but none have held the director title given to Benn. New York also hired Gretchen Aucoin as a minor league coach this offseason, making her the team’s first on-field female coach.
Benn has been an adjunct lecturer at Lehman College and is also a right-handed pitcher who was the first woman to play in the New York City Metro Baseball League, a weekend rec league that includes many former college players.
TOP PHOTO: The home-opener at New York Mets stadium, Citifield, April 8, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
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