Awardee to visit Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in January SEATTLE, Oct. 7
SEATTLE, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- A national committee of Major League
Baseball and media representatives has released a list of 10 players, one of
whom will go on to receive the prestigious Hutch Award(R) in January. The
finalists for the 2008 Hutch Award are:
-- Rocco Baldelli, Tampa Bay Rays
-- Lance Berkman, Houston Astros
-- Doug Davis, Arizona Diamondbacks
-- Ken Griffey Jr., Chicago White Sox
-- Raul Ibanez, Seattle Mariners
-- Cliff Lee, Cleveland Indians
-- Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox
-- Aaron Rowand, San Francisco Giants
-- Mark Teahen, Kansas City Royals
-- Vernon Wells, Toronto Blue Jays
The 2008 Hutch Award recipient will be selected in mid-November through a
vote of all surviving former awardees. Through the years, 43 players have been
honored. Mickey Mantle accepted the inaugural award in 1965, the year after
baseball great Fred Hutchinson (known as "Hutch") succumbed to cancer at age
45. 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 and Mike Sweeney have
joined their ranks.
The Hutch Award is given annually to the major league player who best
exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire of Hutch. Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center -- which was named in Hutch's honor by his
brother Bill, a surgeon -- is an independent, nonprofit research institution
dedicated to the understanding, treatment and prevention of cancer and other
potentially fatal diseases.
Each year in January the award is presented in Seattle, Hutch's hometown
and the site of the renowned cancer center that bears his name. While in
Seattle, Hutch Award recipients often visit with young cancer patients
undergoing treatment on the Hutchinson Center campus. The Hutch Award will be
presented at a luncheon honoring the awardee on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009 at
Safeco Field in Seattle. MLB pitching legend Tom Seaver will serve as keynote
speaker for the ceremony.
For more information about the Hutch Award, including a full list of
recipients, or to learn more about the January award luncheon, visit
http://www.fhcrc.org/hutchaward.
At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, our interdisciplinary teams of
world-renowned scientists and humanitarians work together to prevent, diagnose
and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Our researchers, including
three Nobel laureates, bring a relentless pursuit and passion for health,
knowledge and hope to their work and to the world. For more information,
please visit http://www.fhcrc.org.
CONTACT
Christi Ball Loso
(206) 667-5215
closo@fhcrc.org
SOURCE Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
