Baseball America is honoring Yankees assistant general manager and senior vice president Jean Afterman with the organization's first Trailblazer of the Year Award. Afterman replaced Kim Ng as the team’s assistant GM in December 2001 and has been in that role since, while also becoming a senior vice president in

Baseball America is honoring Yankees assistant general manager and senior vice president Jean Afterman with the organization's first Trailblazer of the Year Award. Afterman replaced Kim Ng as the team’s assistant GM in December 2001 and has been in that role since, while also becoming a senior vice president in 2012.

As part of Baseball America’s coverage of the award, Afterman said she hopes she has “blazed a trail others will follow” -- encouraging more women to become involved in baseball operations. She also credited Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and the late George Steinbrenner for their own trailblazing in hiring not only one, but two female assistant GMs in Ng and Afterman.

As of 2015, Afterman is also part of the advisory committee for Major League Baseball’s Diversity Pipeline program, which aims to develop and grow the existence of minority and female candidates for on-field and baseball operations jobs across the industry.

Before joining the Yankees, Afterman used her law degree in a number of areas concerning sports, providing athletic representation and working on arbitration. She was general counsel at KDN Sports Inc., handling business and legal affairs for clients that included Hideo Nomo and Hideki Irabu.

Sarah Langs is a reporter/editor for MLB.com based in New York. Follow her on Twitter @SlangsOnSports.