Baseball player
Michael Norman Hazen
(born January 7, 1976) is an
American
professional baseball
executive and current
executive vice president
and
general manager
of the
Arizona Diamondbacks
of
Major League Baseball
(MLB).
[1]
A
Princeton University
graduate and former
minor league
outfielder
, he previously served as the GM and senior vice president of the
Boston Red Sox
and worked under
Ben Cherington
.
[2]
Early life
[
edit
]
Hazen was born in
Weymouth, Massachusetts
, and grew up in nearby
Abington
.
[3]
He played four years of varsity baseball for the
Princeton Tigers
and was selected in the 31st round by the
San Diego Padres
in the
1998 Major League Baseball draft
. After
batting
.307 with 62
hits
in the
Rookie-level
Pioneer League
with the
Idaho Falls Chukars
in 1998, he was promoted to the
Class A
Fort Wayne Wizards
of the
Midwest League
. He batted only .203 in 72
games played
in 1999 and a chronic shoulder injury ended his active career.
[4]
As a player, he threw left-handed, batted right-handed and was listed at 6 feet 1 inch (185 cm) tall and 195 pounds (88 kg).
Career
[
edit
]
Hazen joined the
Cleveland Indians
as an intern
[4]
then became one of the club's
advance scouts
in 2001?02. Promoted to assistant director of professional scouting in 2003, he then spent two full seasons (2004?05) as Cleveland's assistant director of player development, working directly under
John Farrell
, who would serve as
manager
of the Red Sox from 2013?17.
[3]
Hazen initially came to the Red Sox as director of player development in February 2006 (Farrell would follow as the team's
pitching coach
eight months later), and then was named vice president, player development and amateur scouting, in 2011. He was promoted to vice president and assistant general manager (under Cherington) in 2012, then named a senior vice president and assistant GM in early 2015.
[3]
On September 23, 2015, Hazen was named general manager by the Red Sox' president of baseball operations,
Dave Dombrowski
.
[5]
Although Dombrowski assumed final authority for baseball decisions, Hazen served as a top aide and had input in the club's decision-making.
[6]
During his one full season in the post, Boston won the
2016 American League East Division
championship, but fell in the
ALDS
to the eventual league champions, the Indians.
On October 16, 2016, Hazen agreed to become the executive vice president and general manager of the
Arizona Diamondbacks
,
[7]
to serve as the team's top baseball operations executive.
On June 11, 2021, Hazen announced he would be taking a physical leave of absence to spend more time with his wife Nicole, who was battling brain cancer. Hazen stated that he didn’t feel he could devote the time required to lead the team’s trade deadline and draft preparation while attending to his family responsibilities.
[8]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Hazen's wife Nicole died of cancer on August 4, 2022.
[9]
They had four sons together.
[10]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Mastrodonato, Jason (October 16, 2015).
"Red Sox name Mike Hazen new GM"
.
The Boston Herald
. Retrieved
September 24,
2015
.
- ^
"Sox name Mike Hazen as new general manager"
. September 25, 2015.
- ^
a
b
c
2015 Boston Red Sox media guide
, page 40
- ^
a
b
Lauber, Scott (September 25, 2015).
"Princeton coach recalls Mike Hazen's road to becoming Red Sox GM"
.
The Boston Herald
. Retrieved
September 25,
2015
.
- ^
Pescaro, Mike (September 24, 2015).
"Mike Hazen Named Red Sox General Manager"
.
NECN
. Retrieved
March 28,
2019
.
- ^
Britton, Tim.
"Mike Hazen aims to learn from time spent under Dombrowski"
.
The Providence Journal
. Retrieved
November 7,
2016
.
- ^
Piecoro, Nick.
"Arizona Diamondbacks name Mike Hazen general manager"
.
Arizona Republic
. Retrieved
October 16,
2016
.
- ^
"Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen to Take Physical Leave of Absence"
.
- ^
"Nicole Hazen, wife of Arizona Diamondbacks GM, dies of cancer"
.
- ^
"World Series a new chapter in Nicole and Mike Hazen's love story"
.
MLB.com
. Retrieved
November 16,
2023
.
External links
[
edit
]
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AL
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NL
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Note: Those listed here hold one or more of the titles
President of Baseball Operations
,
Vice President of Baseball Operations
,
Chief Baseball Officer
, or
General Manager
and in each case have final say in personnel decisions.
|