Ellen McDermott

Jean Afterman '79 defines herself professionally as an attorney. That she is the vice president and assistant general manager of the New York Yankees comes next. Being one of only three women holding front office executive positions in Major League Baseball is also part of the deal. Nine times out of ten at baseball operations meetings she is the only woman in a room filled with men.

"To say that the gender aspect doesn't matter is naive," Afterman says. "But in any situation where you're the other, you have to find your own way of dealing with that." She took the direct approach and trained her boss, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, to introduce her as the assistant general manager. "He even does me the service of saying 'Be careful, she's a pit bull attorney!' But truly, if he does say 'this is my assistant'—then it's all about getting coffee and typing letters."

Afterman is a top negotiator—last winter she handled $423.5 million in free agent player contracts. Negotiating is also what she says she loves most about her job. Before joining the Yankees in 2001, she worked for the "other side," representing players. "It was fantastic because baseball players were probably the last demographic group to respect lawyers," she jokes.

With Japanese player-agent Don Nomura, she found a contractual loophole that allowed Japanese pitcher Hideo Nomo to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers and helped pave the way for the current influx of Japanese players into the U.S. Major League. She has also scouted, signed, and represented Latin American players.

Cashman had sat across from her during contract negotiations and witnessed her in action. "Jean was someone you could talk to and she was funny, but if and when things got complicated, she could roll her sleeves up and be a strong advocate for her client," he says. When the job with the Yankees came up Cashman thought she was the person to fill it. "I was impressed with her intelligence and ability to react to the circumstances at hand," he says.

"She doesn't let much bog her down," says Kim Ng, who preceded Afterman with the Yankees and is now the assistant general manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers. "She's got a no-nonsense, no-holds-barred attitude, and if you ask her a question, you won't walk away wondering where she stands. That's actually quite refreshing." But Afterman, she says, isn't just efficient—she brings a sense of humor to the job as well. "It's a great mix of irony and sharp sarcasm that keeps everyone on their toes," Ng says. "Jean's made many a boring meeting worthwhile."

With the Yankees, Afterman says the goal is simple: Win the championship. Anything less is a disappointment. "There are high expectations of high performance and we're under the microscope on everything so there's no margin for error," she says.

While she contributes to the process of building and growing the team, one of her specific duties is determining the precise wording in contracts. "It's about 15 pages of stuff. The Yankees take pride in—we hope—having the most air-tight language that—we hope—covers almost everything," Afterman says. "Each year we have to add to it, just to keep up!" She feels she's a stronger negotiator knowing the mindset of both sides. "You throw in everything but the kitchen sink and then they try and take it away from you. You have to allow them to think they get something."

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