Hutch Award nominees await final vote

Ten Major League Baseball players are in the running for the 46th annual Hutch Award. Last week a national committee of baseball and media representatives released the list of finalists, one of whom will go on to receive the award at Safeco Field in January. They are:

• Jeremy Affeldt, San Francisco Giants
• Craig Breslow, Oakland Athletics
• Michael Cuddyer, Minnesota Twins
• Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves
• Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
• Mike Lowell, Boston Red Sox
• Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
• Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds
• Vernon Wells, Toronto Blue Jays
• Josh Willingham, Washington Nationals

Former awardees will vote this month to select the winner. A total of 45 players have been honored since 1965, when Mickey Mantle accepted the inaugural award. Baseball Hall-of-Famers Sandy Koufax, Carl Yastrzemski, Willie McCovey and Lou Brock all received the Hutch Award; in more recent years Jamie Moyer, Craig Biggio, Jon Lester and Mark Teahen joined their ranks.

Each year the award goes to a major league player who exemplifies the honor, courage and dedication of legendary baseball player and manager Fred Hutchinson, namesake of the Center. The 2010 award will be presented at a fundraising luncheon on Jan. 26 at Safeco Field; the keynote speaker will be ESPN commentator Joe Morgan. Proceeds benefit the Center’s early cancer detection research.

For more information about the Hutch Award or to register for the January award luncheon, visit www.fhcrc.org/hutchaward.