GM candidate: Rick Hahn
Current job: Assistant GM, White Sox (VP,AGM)
Job history from Baseball America
Puff bio from the MLB site:
Hahn’s primary responsibilities include assisting Senior Vice President/General Manager Ken Williams with all player acquisitions, evaluations and contract negotiations, as well as with overseeing all elements of the club’s baseball operations, including the scouting and player development departments. Williams credits Hahn with negotiating multiyear contracts with several current White Sox players, including 2006 All-Stars Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras, Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski.
(shudder) Sorry. Make of that list what you will.
Former agent.
Other GM job news:
Previously interviewed for the Cardinals job along with Antonetti and Peter Woodfork, who you’ll also see on our leaderboard. The Cardinals hired their interim GM.
Declined to interview for the Pirates job, as did Antonetti. LaCava, who you’ll see on our leaderboard, did.
Background scoring:
Contracts and player negotiation: strong
Player scouting and development: ?
Modern baseball analysis: ?
Relevant articles… ummm…. if you find anything good, please drop them into the contents. I didn’t turn anything up except this radio interview: Hahn discusses offseason needs, 11/30/2007
boy, not much out there.
from Phil Rogers back in June: “Don’t be surprised if White Sox assistant general manager Rick Hahn surfaces as a serious candidate for the GM opening in Seattle. He pulled his name out of the search in St. Louis last year, preferring to raise his family in Chicago, but the Mariners job could be more attractive.”
brief note from Stone on Hahn
It’s not much but it is something…
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/sports/baseball/11score.html
Hey, win values! I like Hahn more already.
Yeah, that’s good. How does he figure his runs and wins, though? Bavasi used to say stuff like that too, only it was more like “Well, Everett looks like he’s worth about ten wins right there”.
Hahn does sound better than that.
But what is going to happen when he says stuff like that in his interview with Lincoln and Armstrong? I can hear them now: “You don’t play this game with a calculator, son”.
from an article by Danielle Sessa:
“Hahn, 34, the assistant general manager in Chicago, joined the White Sox without any training on how to identify flaws in a pitcher’s motion or a hitter’s batting stance. General Manager Kenny Williams had Hahn shadow the club’s director of scouting, Duane Shaffer, to learn about judging talent.
“I had more familiarity with the objective and statistical side of the evaluation,†Hahn says. “The void I had was on the scouting side. I got a crash course on that side of the business.†“
if you can access the NY Times, there is an article on just what is an ‘average” player, quoting Hahn among others.
Peter Gammons talking about who the Red Sox may hire to replace Epstein after his unexpected departure a few years back:
http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/gammons/story?id=2210636
Hm. Not so bad, at first glance.
Hahn is very careful about what he says in the press, so it’s understandable that you’re unable to come up with much on his, let’s call it a, saber profile. He’s the oft-ignored, but highly respected, saber-influence inside the White Sox front office.
I’d imagine that his willingness to interview and accept a job outside the organization will have a lot to do with the rumored extension of on Kenny Williams, whose own current contract is something of a mystery. If Hahn is out-and-out promised the GM job when the current Sox FO disappears — slated for 2012 when Reinsdorf steps down to relinquish control to his son — he might be a tough get.
Williams credits Hahn with negotiating multiyear contracts with several current White Sox players, including 2006 All-Stars Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras, Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski.
So is this like Armstrong “crediting” Olkin with signing Silva and trading for Bedard, then?
Found this: http://tinyurl.com/4njj7h
Prospectus had him on their “Next 10” list but you need be a subscriber to see the content.
I’d imagine that his willingness to interview and accept a job outside the organization will have a lot to do with the rumored extension of on Kenny Williams, whose own current contract is something of a mystery. If Hahn is out-and-out promised the GM job when the current Sox FO disappears — slated for 2012 when Reinsdorf steps down to relinquish control to his son — he might be a tough get.
On the other hand, he has been interviewing outside the Sox organization already. Is Chicago his dream job, or is GM his dream job and being one in Chicago would just be gravy? Is Chicago in a few years better than elsewhere today? After all, 2012 is still four years away. While being inside the org might give him the inside track to succeed Williams, there’s something to be said for getting experience at the GM level elsewhere, too. He could still be in the running to go back to Chicago in 2012, especially if “turned around Mariners org and took it from last to first in the AL West” is on his resumé that point. (Of course in that case we could hope the joy of running a winning franchise in the beautiful pacific northwest overcomes the whatever allure returning Chicago still holds on him.)
For some, getting away from Kenny and Ozzie all by themselves might be a plus.
The Sox are looking at an unspoken regime chance — to use a bushism (I feel dirty) — in 2012 when JR steps down. One would assume that would include Williams (contract unknown) and Guillen (set to expire in ’12).
I don’t think it is. Here’s a link…
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=7683