New White Sox GM Rick Hahn comes with Harvard pedigree

New Chicago White Sox GM Rick Hahn worked his way up the ranks of the organization, but before that he was discouraged from entering baseball by team owner Jerry Reinsdorf. When Hahn first met Reinsdorf in 1996, the owner looked at Hahn's resume -- which included degrees from the University of Michigan and Harvard -- and told him to "go do something real" with his life.

Hahn, instead, took an offer to learn from the team's scouts, and 12 years later is now the team's general manager. Hahn will still work intimately with ex-GM Kenny Williams, who was recently promoted to executive vice president and will still have final say on personnel decisions.

Hahn has long been considered one of the top front office lieutenants in baseball. In 2011, he was named by SI.com's Will Carroll as the top general manager "prospect" in the game. In 2007, Hahn declined an opportunity to interview for the Pittsburgh Pirates' GM job and removed himself from consideration for the same position with the St. Louis Cardinals. In 2008, the White Sox denied Hahn permission to interview to be the general manager of the Seattle Mariners.