10 Major League Baseball players nominated for 2015 Hutch Award

SEATTLE, Oct. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- On the diamond, they've collectively crushed more than 800 home runs. But off the field their clout truly goes deep, boosting safer water, cancer research and more.

For their competitive fire and altruistic sweat, 10 Major League Baseball players — including sluggers Andrew McCutchen and Adrian Beltre — have been nominated for the annual Hutch Award, one of the game's most respected, humanitarian accolades.

The 51^st award will be presented Jan. 27 at Safeco Field in Seattle, home city of big league pitcher and manager Fred Hutchinson and the cancer research center that carries his name. For the 2016 ceremony, former Red Sox Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk will serve as the keynote speaker.

Each year, MLB teams are invited to nominate a player for the award. Past winners cast ballots to choose the next recipient.

"Former winners who vote … would most assuredly focus on a player's philanthropic activities as that is the real purpose of the award — someone with outstanding character and who makes a difference in their community," said Sheri Ward, co-chair of the organizing committee for the Hutch Award.

The 2015 Hutch Award nominees are:

• Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers
• Brock Holt, Boston Red Sox
• J.J. Hoover, Cincinnati Reds
• Eric Hosmer, Kansas City Royals
• Javier Lopez, San Francisco Giants
• Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates
• Logan Morrison, Seattle Mariners
• George Springer, Houston Astros
• Stephen Vogt, Oakland Athletics
• Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals

As a group, this year's nominees have amassed 14 All-Star Game appearances, one Most Valuable Player award (McCutchen), and nine Gold Glove awards.

"Our list of nominees is absolutely loaded with on-field talent and some are arguably at the top of the list of position players," Ward said. "Adrian Beltre, Andrew McCutchen and Adam Wainwright all are superb players. George Springer is a young player who had a great year this year There's no question, all of the nominees are accomplished athletes.

"But the award is really more about what these guys do off the field and their overall character as opposed to their on-field prowess," Ward said.

Case in point: Hosmer. This year, following the cancer death of an 7-year-old boy with whom Hosmer had developed a friendship, the player worked with Royals Charities to lead a three-day bandage drive at Kauffman Stadium, helping fulfill the boy's dream to collect colorful, kid-friendly bandages to be donated to area hospitals and school nurse's offices so kids had something fun to wear when needed. More than 7,000 bandages were collected and $16,000 was raised to support childhood cancer research. 

The Hutch Award is given to the MLB player who best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire of Fred "Hutch" Hutchinson. After a career that included pitching for the Detroit Tigers and managing the Tigers, Cardinals and Reds, Hutchinson died of lung cancer at age 45 in 1964. Following his death, Seattle surgeon Bill Hutchinson founded Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center as a living tribute to his brother. One year after his passing, friends Bob Prince, a Pirates broadcaster, Jim Enright, a Chicago sportswriter, and Ritter Collett, sports editor of the Dayton Journal Herald, created the Hutch Award. They also established a scholarship fund for medical students engaged in cancer research to honor the ex-player and manager.

The first Hutch Award went to Mickey Mantle, a New York Yankees Hall of Famer. Last year, the winner was Royals left fielder Alex Gordon. Away from the game, Gordon supports Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, which grew from the front yard lemonade stand of cancer patient Alexandra "Alex" Scott and her work to raise money for kids with cancer. Alex died in 2004 at the age of 8. Since then, the foundation carrying her name has raised more than $80 million for the cause, including more than $1 million for cancer research at Fred Hutch.

Other Hutch Award recipients have included baseball legends Sandy Koufax, Carl Yastrzemski and Willie McCovey. One of the most inspiring winners was Jon Lester, whose pitching helped Boston clinch the 2007 World Series — a little more than a year after he underwent treatment for anaplastic large cell lymphoma at Fred Hutch.

During the past 15 years, the Hutch Award Luncheon has raised gross proceeds of more than $4.8 million to support lifesaving research at Fred Hutch.

Among the nominees, Wainwright has worked to provide sustainable, safe water for people in developing countries, and Morrison (with his wife, Christie) organized the 2015 Uncork for a Cause charity program to benefit Fred Hutch. Hoover spends time with wounded veterans. McCutchen created Cutch's Crew, a program that mentors at-risk kids in Pittsburgh and raises charity funds by teaming with events like local marathons. Vogt (and his wife, Alyssa) partner with the School of Imagination in Northern California, which helps special-needs kids find acceptance for who they are while guiding them toward an eventual return to public school.

Additional information about the Hutch Award, including a full list of recipients, can be found here. http://www.fredhutch.org/en/events/hutch-award.html

FRED HUTCH: 40 YEARS OF CURES 1975-2015

At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, home to three Nobel laureates, interdisciplinary teams of world-renowned scientists seek new and innovative ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening diseases. Fred Hutch's pioneering work in bone marrow transplantation led to the development of immunotherapy, which harnesses the power of the immune system to treat cancer with minimal side effects. An independent, nonprofit research institute based in Seattle, Fred Hutch houses the nation's first and largest cancer prevention research program, as well as the clinical coordinating center of the Women's Health Initiative and the international headquarters of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network. Private contributions are essential for enabling Fred Hutch scientists to explore novel research opportunities that lead to important medical breakthroughs. For more information visit fredhutch.org or follow Fred Hutch on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.

Contact
Kristen Woodward
206.667.5095
[email protected]

SOURCE Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

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