Rick Hahn (born March 20, 1971) is an American former baseball executive who most recently served as the Senior Vice President/General Manager of the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

Early life

Hahn was raised in

Winnetka, Illinois Winnetka () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, north of downtown Chicago. The population was 12,475 as of the 2020 census. The village is one of the wealthiest places in the United States in terms of household income. It was ...

, and graduated from

New Trier High School New Trier High School (, also known as New Trier Township High School or NTHS) is a public four-year high school whose main campus for sophomores through seniors is in Winnetka, Illinois, United States, with a campus in Northfield, Illinois, for ...

. He then went on to receive his undergraduate degree from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

and his

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

from the

Kellogg School of Management The Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management (branded as Northwestern Kellogg) is the graduate business school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois. History Early ...

. His aspirations of becoming a baseball executive were spurred on early in life at age eleven when he wrote a letter to Dallas Green, the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

Vice President and General Manager at the time, suggesting possible trades, and Green responded to him in the form of a letter.

Career

Hahn began his professional career as an agent at Steinberg, Moorad and Dunn in 2000. He worked there for two years before joining the White Sox in 2002. Following the 2007 season, Hahn withdrew his name from consideration for the General Manager's job of the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

, who eventually named

John Mozeliak John Mozeliak (born January 18, 1969) is an American professional baseball executive who is the president of baseball operations of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Never a professional player, Mozeliak came to the Cardin ...

to the position, and he also declined the opportunity to interview for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

GM job prior to

Neal Huntington Neal Alden Huntington (born February 4, 1969) is an American former General Manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball and currently works in the front office of the Cleveland Guardians as a special assistant to baseball projects. ...

being named to that post. Additionally, the White Sox declined Hahn permission to interview for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

GM job following the 2008 season. During the 2008 season, ''

Baseball Prospectus Baseball Prospectus (BP) is an organization that publishes a website, BaseballProspectus.com, devoted to the sabermetric analysis of baseball. BP has a staff of regular columnists and provides advanced statistics as well as player and team perf ...

'' had named Hahn one of the top-ten GM candidates in the game. In July 2011, SportsIllustrated.com ranked Hahn as the No. 1 General Manager Candidate in

. Similarly, in March 2010, ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

'' named Hahn the No. 1 General Manager prospect in baseball. On October 26, 2012, the White Sox promoted Kenny Williams from general manager to executive vice president, and promoted Hahn from assistant general manager to general manager. Following the 2020 season, in which the White Sox made their first post-season appearance since 2008, Hahn was voted winner of the ''Sporting News'' Executive of the Year Award by a panel of his peers. Hahn joined

Roland Hemond Roland A. Hemond (October 26, 1929 – December 12, 2021) was an American professional baseball executive who worked in Major League Baseball. He served as the scouting director of the California Angels, general manager of the Chicago White Sox ...

(1972) and

Bill Veeck William Louis Veeck Jr. ( ; February 9, 1914 – January 2, 1986), also known as "Sport Shirt Bill" and "Wild Bill" was an American Major League Baseball franchise owner and promoter. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indian ...

(1977) to become only the third White Sox executive to win the honor in the 85-year history of the award. During Hahn's tenure, the White Sox made the post-season in back-to-back seasons for the first time in the franchise's 121-year history when they won the 2021 American League Central Division. The White Sox fired Hahn and Williams on August 22, 2023. This was amidst a season in which the White Sox would go on to lose 101 games.

Personal life

Hahn resides in

Glencoe, Illinois Glencoe () is a lakefront village in northeastern Cook County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,849. Glencoe is part of Chicago's North Shore and one of the wealthiest communities in Illinois. According to t ...

with his wife Jean and their two sons. Hahn is Jewish.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hahn, Rick Living people Chicago White Sox executives Harvard Law School alumni Kellogg School of Management alumni University of Michigan alumni 1971 births People from Winnetka, Illinois New Trier High School alumni