HUTCH AWARD

Most Competitive Major League Baseball Player | Baseball Almanac

The Hutch Award was created in 1965 in honor of the late Fred Hutchinson. Fred "Hutch" Hutchinson made his Major League debut as a pitcher in 1939 and later in his career managed the Reds to a National League pennant.

In December of 1963, Hutchinson felt a lump in his throat and sought medical attention from his brother who was a cancer surgeon. His brother told him he would only live for one more year. Fred returned to the ballclub, concealed his illness, and led his team through most of the season until the illness overtook him at mid-season.

One year after Hutchinson's death, the Hutch Award was created and given to the Major League ballplayer that best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire of the late Fred Hutchinson. Research by Baseball Almanac.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"Never borrow money from your ballclub and never try to fool your manager." - Fred Hutchinson Rules For Rookies

Hutch Award

Hutch Award

In Chronological Order | Fred Hutchinson Stats

1965 Mickey Mantle (1) OF New York Yankees (1)
1966 Sandy Koufax (1) P Los Angeles Dodgers (1)
1967 Carl Yastrzemski (1) OF Boston Red Sox (1)
1968 Pete Rose (1) OF Cincinnati Reds (1)
1969 Al Kaline (1) OF Detroit Tigers (1)
1970 Tony Conigliaro (1) OF Boston Red Sox (2)
1971 Joe Torre (1) 3B St. Louis Cardinals (1)
1972 Bobby Tolan (1) OF Cincinnati Reds (2)
1973 John Hiller (1) P Detroit Tigers (2)
1974 Danny Thompson (1) SS Minnesota Twins (1)
1975 Gary Nolan (1) P Cincinnati Reds (3)
1976 Tommy John (1) P Los Angeles Dodgers (2)
1977 Willie McCovey (1) 1B San Francisco Giants (1)
1978 Willie Stargell (1) OF Pittsburgh Pirates (1)
1979 Lou Brock (1) OF St. Louis Cardinals (2)
1980 George Brett (1) 3B Kansas City Royals (1)
1981 Johnny Bench (1) C Cincinnati Reds (4)
1982 Andre Thornton (1) 1B Cleveland Indians (1)
1983 Ray Knight (1) 3B Houston Astros (1)
1984 Don Robinson (1) P Pittsburgh Pirates (2)
1985 Rick Reuschel (1) P Chicago Cubs (1)
1986 Dennis Leonard (1) P Kansas City Royals (2)
1987 Paul Molitor (1) 3B Milwaukee Brewers (1)
1988 Ron Oester (1) 2B Cincinnati Reds (5)
1989 Dave Dravecky (1) P San Francisco Giants (2)
1990 Sid Bream (1) 1B Pittsburgh Pirates (3)
1991 Bill Wegman (1) P Milwaukee Brewers (2)
1992 Carney Lansford (1) 3B Oakland Athletics (1)
1993 John Olerud (1) 1B Toronto Blue Jays (1)
1994 Andre Dawson (1) OF Boston Red Sox (3)
1995 Jim Abbott (1) P California Angels (1)
1996 Omar Vizquel (1) SS Cleveland Indians (2)
1997 Eric Davis (1) OF Baltimore Orioles (1)
1998 David Cone (1) P New York Yankees (2)
1999 Sean Casey (1) 1B Cincinnati Reds (6)
2000 Jason Giambi (1) 1B Oakland Athletics (2)
2001 Curt Schilling (1) P Arizona Diamondbacks (1)
2002 Tim Salmon (1) OF Anaheim Angels (2)
2003 Jamie Moyer (1) P Seattle Mariners (1)
2004 Trevor Hoffman (1) P San Diego Padres (1)
2005 Craig Biggio (1) 2B Houston Astros (2)
2006 Mark Loretta (1) 2B Boston Red Sox (4)
2007 Mike Sweeney (1) DH Kansas City Royals (3)
2008 Jon Lester (1) P Boston Red Sox (5)
2009 Mark Teahan (1) 1B Chicago White Sox (1)
2010 Tim Hudson (1) P Atlanta Braves (1)
2011 Billy Butler (1) DH Kansas City Royals (4)
2012 Barry Zito (1) P San Francisco Giants (3)
2013 Raul Ibanez (1) OF Seattle Mariners (2)
2014 Alex Gordon (1) OF Kansas City Royals (5)
2015 Adam Wainwright (1) P St. Louis Cardinals (3)
2016 Dustin McGowan (1) P Miami Marlins (1)
2017 Jake Diekman (1) P Texas Rangers (1)
2018 Stephen Piscotty (1) OF Oakland Athletics (3)
2019 Dee Gordon (1) 2B Seattle Mariners (3)
2020 Not Awarded * -- COVID-19 Pandemic
2021 Not Awarded * -- COVID-19 Pandemic
2022 Not Awarded * -- COVID-19 Pandemic
2023 Not Yet Announced (x) -- --
Hutch Award | Baseball Awards Menu
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The Hutch Award was the brainchild of Fred Hutchinson's three good friends: Bob Prince, broadcaster for the Pirates; Jim Enright, sportswriter; and Ritter Collett, editor of the Dayton Journal Herald.

Did you know that the panel who selects the winner of the Hutch Award is made up of players who have won the Hutch Award themselves?

* Press Release: To help keep our community safe, we have paused the Hutch Award Luncheon until May 2023. We look forward to celebrating together in the future!

A scholarship was also created in honor of Fred Hutchinson and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center website has more details and information for you to participate and learn about their efforts.