Awards Cabinet
The Red Sox offseason trophy cabinet has a few shiny new additions.
Jon Lester was awarded the 2008 Hutch Award, given annually to the ballplayer who best exemplifies the honor, courage and dedication of baseball great Fred Hutchinson (who died from cancer in 1964 at age 45), both on and off the field. Jon bested the field of ten finalists to win the award, including Rocco Baldelli, Ken Griffey Jr., Aaron Rowand and Lance Berkman.
The Award is even more special for Jon, who is also a cancer survivor and a native Washingtonian, who was actually treated in Seattle by the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, the treatment arm of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (the group, founded by Fred Hutchinson’s brother in Seattle). He’ll receive the Award at a luncheon on January 21, 2009 — actually out on the grass at Seattle’s Safeco Field — and legend Tom Seaver will be the guest speaker.
“Congratulations to Jon Lester on the Hutch Award. Jon handled his adversity with grace and dignity,” said Red Sox Manager Terry Francona. “He is an inspiration to us all, on top of just being a really good kid.
And from Jon:
“This is a tremendous honor for me and my family to have been selected for the Hutch Award,” Lester said in a statement released by the Fred Hutchinson Center. “I’m humbled to know that legends such as Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax and Lou Brock have won this award in the past.”
Next up: Jacoby Ellsbury claims the James “Cool Papa” Bell Award – a Legacy Award presented by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City to the AL stolen base leader. He’ll get to pick up his honor at a banquet in KC in January, along with all the other Legacy Award winners.
Jacoby also finished a strong third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting, behind the unanimous winner Evan Longoria and the second place vote-getter Alexei Ramirez. Why MLB.com chose to memorialize the occasion with a photo that looks like Jacoby is taking a dump, I do not know.
In any event: Congratulations to both Jon and Jacoby!
They had to choose that picture of Ellsbury. Don’t want all the other players getting too jealous of him, you know? If they put up a pretty picture, who knows what could happen.
Congrats to Jon and Jacoby!! There’s no bad picture of Jacoby – no matter what the pose. Even Papelbon calls him “the stud at the wall”….
From the movie “Cobb” — “Cool Papa Bell was so fast, he hit a line drive up the middle and it hit him in the head sliding into 2nd base.”
Congrats to both Jon and Jacoby!
Congrats to both. I wish Jacoby had won, he is so awesome.
Congrats Jon and Jacoby!
Jacoby my love, i still love that pic of you :)
I find it ever so amusing!
And still congrats on 3rd..
youre loved here in sox nation!
CANT WAIT TO SEE BOTH JACOBY AND JON NEXT SEASON!!!!
[ the off season is a killer... ]
And we can add a Silver Slugger for El Caballito!
I love this site, but I fail to see anything about Dustin’s Silver Slugger award.):