SEATTLE — Oct. 8, 2009 — Ten Major League Baseball players have just learned they're in the running for the 2009 Hutch Award®. A national committee has released a list of 10 players, one of whom will go on to receive the prestigious Hutch Award and visit Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in January. The finalists for the 45th annual Hutch Award are:
• Jonny Gomes, Cincinnati Reds
• Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves
• Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
• Mark Lowe, Seattle Mariners
• Mike Lowell, Boston Red Sox
• Nick Markakis, Baltimore Orioles
• Kevin Millwood, Texas Rangers
• Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins
• Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
• Mark Teahen, Kansas City Royals
This year's Hutch Award recipient will be selected in November through a vote of all surviving former awardees. A total of 44 players have been honored since 1965, when Mickey Mantle accepted the inaugural award. Hall-of-Famers Sandy Koufax, Carl Yastrzemski, Al Kaline, Willie McCovey and Lou Brock all have received the Hutch Award, and in more recent years Jamie Moyer, Trevor Hoffman, Craig Biggio, Mark Loretta, Mike Sweeney and Jon Lester have joined their ranks.
The Hutch Award is given annually to the major league player who best exemplifies the honor, courage and dedication of renowned baseball player and manager Fred Hutchinson ("Hutch"). Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center -- which was named in Hutch's honor by his brother Dr. Bill Hutchinson, a surgeon, after Fred succumbed to cancer at age 45 -- is an independent, nonprofit research institution dedicated to the understanding, treatment and prevention of cancer and related diseases.
The award is presented each January in Seattle, Hutch's hometown and the site of the renowned cancer center that bears his name. The Hutch Award will be presented at a fundraising luncheon honoring the awardee on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010 at Safeco Field in Seattle.
For more information about the Hutch Award, including a full list of past recipients, or to learn more about the January luncheon, visit www.fhcrc.org/hutchaward.
MEDIA CONTACT
Christi Ball Loso
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
(206) 667-5215
closo@fhcrc.org
For the Media