Hutch Award

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The Hutch Award is a Major League Baseball award^[1] given to an active player who best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire to win. The award was created in 1965 in honor of Fred Hutchinson, the former major league baseball pitcher and manager, who died of cancer in November 1964 at the age of 45.

The Hutch Award was created by Hutch's longtime friends Bob Prince, broadcaster of the Pittsburgh Pirates; Jim Enright, Chicago sportswriter; and Ritter Collett, sports editor of the Dayton Journal Herald. They also created a scholarship fund for medical students engaged in cancer research to honor Hutch's memory.

The award is now presented each January in Seattle, Hutch's hometown and the site of the renowned cancer center that bears his name. The award is hosted by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and is bestowed at the annual Seattle Post-Intelligencer "Sports Star of the Year" Banquet. Recipients traveling to Seattle to accept the award have visited and lifted the spirits of patients at the Hutchinson Center.

The permanent display of the Hutch Award trophy is at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, where it has been since 1979, with the list of winners updated yearly. A replica is on display in Seattle.

Danny Thompson, the 1974 recipient, was diagnosed with leukemia earlier that year. He continued to play through the 1976 season; he died that December at the age of 29.^[2]

[edit] Award Recipients

1965 Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees
1966 Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers
1967 Carl Yastrzemski, Boston Red Sox
1968 Pete Rose, Cincinnati Reds
1969 Al Kaline, Detroit Tigers
1970 Tony Conigliaro, Boston Red Sox
1971 Joe Torre, St. Louis Cardinals
1972 Bobby Tolan, Cincinnati Reds
1973 John Hiller, Detroit Tigers
1974 Danny Thompson, Minnesota Twins
1975 Gary Nolan, Cincinnati Reds
1976 Tommy John, Los Angeles Dodgers
1977 Willie McCovey, San Francisco Giants
1978 Willie Stargell, Pittsburgh Pirates
1979 Lou Brock, St. Louis Cardinals
1980 George Brett, Kansas City Royals
1981 Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds
1982 Andre Thornton, Cleveland Indians
1983 Ray Knight, Houston Astros
1984 Don Robinson, Pittsburgh Pirates
1985 Rick Reuschel, Chicago Cubs
1986 Dennis Leonard, Kansas City Royals
1987 Paul Molitor, Milwaukee Brewers
1988 Ron Oester, Cincinnati Reds
1989 Dave Dravecky, San Francisco Giants
1990 Sid Bream, Pittsburgh Pirates
1991 Bill Wegman, Milwaukee Brewers
1992 Carney Lansford, Oakland Athletics
1993 John Olerud, Toronto Blue Jays
1994 Andre Dawson, Boston Red Sox
1995 Jim Abbott, California Angels
1996 Omar Vizquel, Cleveland Indians
1997 Eric Davis, Baltimore Orioles
1998 David Cone, New York Yankees
1999 Sean Casey, Cincinnati Reds
2000 Jason Giambi, Oakland Athletics
2001 Curt Schilling, Arizona Diamondbacks
2002 Tim Salmon, Anaheim Angels
2003 Jamie Moyer, Seattle Mariners
2004 Trevor Hoffman, San Diego Padres
2005 Craig Biggio, Houston Astros
2006 Mark Loretta, Boston Red Sox
2007 Mike Sweeney, Kansas City Royals

[edit] Other baseball awards for spirit

The Major League Baseball Alumni Association initiated the Heart & Hustle Award in 2005 for the "active player who best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire to win".
The San Francisco Giants have given out the Willie Mac Award since 1980 to "the player on the San Francisco Giants who best exemplifies the spirit and leadership consistently shown by Willie McCovey throughout his long career."

Omar Vizquel has won all three of the Hutch Award, the Heart & Hustle Award and the Willie Mac Award. The only other player that has won more than one of these awards is Dave Dravecky, although Willie McCovey himself won the Hutch Award in 1977.