INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Former Dodgers general manager Dan Evans said he would "applaud big-time" if Kim Ng becomes the Dodgers' next GM.

"I hired her as an intern when I was the director of baseball operations for the White Sox in 1990 and then hired her as my assistant general manager in Los Angeles," Evans said Monday. "I have great respect for her and whatever happens with her down the line, it will happen because she has earned the opportunity."

The 36-year-old Ng, who also has assistant GM experience with the Yankees, is among the Dodgers' GM candidates. The list is believed to include former Rangers and Red Sox GMs John Hart and Theo Epstein.

Dodgers chairman Frank McCourt interviewed Ng on Saturday, spoke with Hart on Sunday, and hopes to similarly gauge Epstein's interest in the position that came open on Oct. 29 when Paul DePodesta was dismissed.

Ng, who is attending the annual general managers meetings, wouldn't comment on the possibility of becoming the first female GM in Major League Baseball history.

"I am from the mind-set that if someone is qualified to do the job, it doesn't really matter what their background is, or what their race or gender is," Cubs GM Jim Hendry said. "Either you can do it, or not. My dealings with Kim always have been good and she obviously has a very good reputation wherever she has worked."

Evans recalled the first time he met Ng.

"She was recommended by the athletic director at the University of Chicago and was just one of the multiple interviews we had for the internship," he said. "I had one interview with her and it was just outstanding.

"I had the advantage of being married to a television producer who was a little bit of a pioneer herself and that was in the back of my mind. It made me think that there shouldn't be any barriers."

Ng got the intern job and worked on arbitration research.

"We didn't win all of them," Evans said, "but we were prepared. Kim is one of the hardest-working people I have ever met. She continues to ask questions and never asks the same question a second time."

The big question is how the other Major League general managers would react.

"She has been in this game for 15 years, and anyone in the game now will have dealt with her and will have respect for her," Evans said. "It's not about friendships. You don't have to be friends with the people you work against, but you have to respect her.

"She works as hard, or harder, than anyone. Whether they are ready, that's their problem if they are not ready. I know I couldn't have asked for a better person to work for me at the White Sox or the Dodgers.

"I have two teenage daughters who consider Kim as their role model, and that's pretty cool."