Well, it finally happened. Most Sox fans have been praying for this day for a long time and it finally came to fruition. Rick Hahn and Kenny Williams have been fired. There were plenty of rumors of potential evaluation within the front office, but nobody believed that any change would actually happen, but somehow it did.
Now, the Sox will look to move forward from Rick Hahn’s era that underachieved and left the Sox with only two playoff wins and a losing record. Will the Sox hire a competent front office, or will it be much of the same with different names? Time will tell, but first, we say our goodbyes to Rick and Kenny.
As they were out the door, they both released statements. Both say relatively the same thing, but Rick Hahn’s did not seem nearly as heartfelt or appreciative as Kenny’s. Rick Hahn left us with one last statement that has fans really pondering what he said.
Here is Hahn’s statement:
For someone who was in his role for a decade plus, you would think he would have a much more sincere tone, rather than his typical “Havard Talk,” but that is not the case.
Here is Kenny’s statement for comparison:
The main difference here is the fact that his statement took up two pages. Now that doesn’t always mean anything, but in this case, he goes further than just thanking them, as he goes into more detail than that.
Perhaps Kenny knew his time was coming to an end, while Rick was trying to fight it to the last minute. Nobody knows for sure, but it really seems like Kenny was truly appreciative of his time here. Now, maybe I am reading into it too much, but Kenny just goes into so much more detail on what the Sox organization meant to him, as he listed a few specific instances of how they were so special to him. Compare that to Hahn who just does his round of thanking everyone. Behind the scenes could be different, but from the statement, it does seem like a stark contrast.
Now, we never want to see anyone ever lose their job, but at this point, it was long overdue for both of them to move on to the next steps of their career. Either one of them could easily get another job with a different organization, but I’m sure they will want to just take some time to reflect before that happens.
We can thank Kenny Williams for that wonderful ’05 World Series team and Hahn for his attempt to build a dynasty, as we wish them luck in their future endeavors.
Here’s to hoping the Sox go outside the organization to hire their next GM and VP, as they desperately need a new voice and a brand-new analytics department.
