Fred Hutchinson
Encyclopedia
Frederick Charles Hutchinson (August 12, 1919 – November 12, 1964) was an American
professional baseball
player, a major league
pitcher
for the Detroit Tigers
. He also was a manager
for three major league teams. Stricken with fatal lung cancer
at the height of his managerial career as leader of the pennant-contending Cincinnati Reds
, he was commemorated one year after his death when his brother, Dr. William Hutchinson, created the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
as a division of the Pacific Northwest Research Foundation, in the Hutchinsons’ native city of Seattle, Washington
. The FHCRC
, which became independent in 1972, is now one of the best-known facilities of its kind in the world.
, where he was a 1939 initiate of Alpha Sigma Phi
Fraternity. A right-handed pitcher, he entered the organized baseball ranks in 1938 with the unaffiliated Seattle Rainiers
of the AA Pacific Coast League
and caused an immediate sensation at age 19, winning
a league-best 25 games and that season’s Minor League Player of the Year award as bestowed by The Sporting News
.
After his contract was purchased by the Detroit Tigers
of the American League
, Hutchinson struggled in his early major league career with a 6-13 record and an earned-run average of 5.43 during the 1939-41 seasons. His ineffectiveness caused his return to the minor leagues
in each season. In 1941, at Buffalo
of the AA International League
, he enjoyed another stellar campaign, leading the league in victories (26) and innings pitched
(284). A successful major league career seemed to await Hutchinson, then 22, when the U.S. entered World War II
. He saw active duty in the U.S. Navy
, rose to the rank of lieutenant commander
, and lost four full seasons (-45
) to military service.
In , Hutchinson – approaching 27 – returned to baseball with a vengeance, winning a place in the defending World Series
champion Tigers’ starting rotation and beginning a string of six straight campaigns of ten or more wins, including seasons of 18 and 17 victories . He was selected to the American League All-Star
team, and pitched three innings of the junior loop’s 8-3 loss at Hutchinson’s home park, Briggs Stadium.
Overall, Hutchinson compiled a 95-71 career record over 11 seasons, all with Detroit – a stellar mark considering his early-career mishaps. He was known as a good teammate and a ferocious competitor, who once reportedly shattered every light bulb from the dugout to the clubhouse after being lifted from a ballgame. He also was one of the best-hitting pitchers of his time; a left-handed batter, he frequently pinch-hit and batted
over .300 four times during his major league career. His career batting average was .263, with four home run
s and 83 runs batted in — excellent totals for a pitcher.
On a dubious note, he is also recalled as the pitcher who gave up the longest homer in Ted Williams
' career, a 502-foot (153 m) blast in that broke the straw hat of a startled fan sitting in Fenway Park
’s right-center-field bleachers. The seat where the home run landed has been painted red since to mark the long ball. Hutchinson led the AL in home runs allowed with 32 during the season.
and handed the job to Hutchinson, still an active player and five weeks shy of his 33rd birthday. Hutchinson was chosen based on his leadership skills; he had been the AL’s Player Representative since 1947. Hutchinson managed the Tigers for the next 2½ years, serving into as a playing manager. He guided them from their eighth-place finish in 1952 to sixth and fifth place during the next two seasons. His reign included the debut of future Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder
Al Kaline
. However, Detroit’s ownership and front office were in flux and, at the end of , Hutchinson was forced out as manager and replaced by the veteran Bucky Harris
. It marked the end of a 16-year association with the Tigers.
Out of the major leagues for the first time since , Hutchinson went home to Seattle
and the Rainiers
of the PCL
, becoming their manager in 1955. Even though the club did not enjoy a major league affiliation, Hutchinson led Seattle to a 95-77 record and a first place finish. His success led to his second major league managerial job when he replaced Harry Walker
as skipper of the St. Louis Cardinals
for the 1956 season. The Cardinals, one of baseball's storied franchises, had fallen into the second division
. With general manager
“Frantic” Frank Lane
constantly revamping the roster through trades and Hutchinson’s steady hand at the helm, the Cardinals improved by eight games in , and catapulted to second place in , behind only the eventual world champion Milwaukee Braves
. Hutchinson was named National League
Manager of the Year, and his popularity in the Mound City resulted in a new nickname, "The Big Bear", bestowed by Cardinal broadcaster Joe Garagiola. Hutchinson's typical unsmiling expression also led Garagiola to joke that Hutchinson was "really happy inside, only his face didn't know it." However, Lane's departure from the St. Louis front office and the Cardinals’ disappointing season resulted in Hutchinson’s dismissal that September, with the team six games below .500 and in fifth place.
, who had stumbled badly in the National League standings coming out of the gate. In July , with the Reds 10 games under .500, Hutchinson was called to Cincinnati to take over the club, replacing Mayo Smith
. Under Hutchinson, Cincinnati went 39-35 and improved two notches in the standings, but the following season
saw the Reds struggle again to a 67-87 record and sixth place finish. Like Detroit and St. Louis before, the Reds also were in front office turmoil, as the general manager who originally hired Hutchinson, Gabe Paul
, departed for the expansion Houston Colt .45s
and was replaced by Bill DeWitt
. The sudden death of longtime owner Powel Crosley less than three weeks before the start of the 1961 regular season meant the team would soon be sold.
As a result, was a crucial season for Hutchinson. The Reds were projected as a second division team, lagging well behind the defending world champion Pittsburgh Pirates
, the 1959 champion Los Angeles Dodgers
, and strong San Francisco Giants
, Cardinals and Braves outfits. But the Reds stunned the league. Led by NL MVP
Frank Robinson
, they were buoyed by three other factors: the maturation of young players such as outfielder Vada Pinson
and pitchers Jim O'Toole
, Ken Hunt and Jim Maloney
; the acquisition of key contributors such as pitcher Joey Jay
(who became a 20-game winner) and third baseman
Gene Freese
; and surprise slugging and clutch hitting performances by first baseman
Gordy Coleman
, Jerry Lynch
(one the greatest pinchhitters in baseball history), and veteran Wally Post
. The Reds surged into contention with a nine-game winning streak in May, and took first place for good August 16 when they swept the Dodgers in a doubleheader in Los Angeles.
The season was marked by numerous dramatic late-inning comeback victories, overcoming large margins, sometimes in a single inning. The Reds seemed never to be out of any game, until the last out. The Reds won 93 games and their first NL pennant since . It would be Hutchinson’s second trip to the World Series
; ironically, he was a Detroit pitcher in 1940
when his Tigers lost the Fall Classic to Cincinnati in seven games. However, the 1961 Reds drew one of the best teams of its era as its World Series foe: the New York Yankees
of Roger Maris
, Mickey Mantle
, Whitey Ford
, et al., who had won 109 games. The Reds could muster only one victory, in Game 2, with utility infielder Elio Chacon
racing home on a passed ball
with the go-ahead run, barely before the crunching body tag of Elston Howard
. Cincinnati lost the 1961 Series
in five games.
and second baseman Pete Rose
, who was named the National League's Rookie of the Year. With a solid corps of veterans and a strong farm system, the Reds were considered a contending club in , provided that its pitching staff made a comeback. Tragically, an off-season medical examination revealed malignant tumors in Hutchinson's lungs, chest and neck. Given the cancer treatments available at the time, the prognosis was grim. The Reds made their manager’s illness public on January 3, 1964. As The Sporting News
noted, the team played the 1964 season with the terrible knowledge that Hutchinson “probably was at death’s door.”
His health failing, Hutchinson nevertheless managed the Reds through July 27, when he was hospitalized. He returned to the dugout August 4, but could only endure nine more days before he turned the team over to his first-base coach Dick Sisler
, one day after Hutch's 45th birthday. With their manager now critically ill, the inspired Reds caught fire and won 29 out of their last 47 games as the first-place Philadelphia Phillies
collapsed, but the team finished in a tie with the Phillies for second, one game behind the Cardinals, who went on to win that year's World Series
. Hutchinson formally resigned as manager October 19; he died three weeks later in Bradenton, Florida
. SPORT magazine
posthumously named him "Man of the Year" for 1964 in tribute to his courage in battling his final illness and the Reds permanently retired his uniform number (1). The Hutch Award
is given annually by Major League Baseball
in his memory as well.
Fred Hutchinson was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1965. His career record as a major league manager, in all or parts of 12 seasons, was 830-827 (.501) with nine tie games. He should be remembered not only for his winning baseball teams, and as the man who launched Cincinnati into an historic winning era (which ended years after his death with the Big Red Machine in the 70's) but for his sometimes hard-driving management of developing talent, such as the young Frank Robinsion — who according to the sports press of the time felt that Hutchinson sometimes rode him excessively hard. On the other hand, Hutchinson is described favorably by pitcher/author Jim Brosnan
in his two season memoirs, The Long Season (an account of Brosnan's 1959 campaign) and Pennant Race (about 1961). Brosnan describes the team's wariness of the manager's hot temper and its respect for his competitive nature and leadership skills, and notes Hutchinson's sense of humor as well.
Wrote Brosnan in 1959: "Most ballplayers respect Hutch. In fact, many of them admire him, which is even better than liking him. He seems to have a tremendous inner power that a player can sense. When Hutch gets a grip on things it doesn't seem probable that he's going to lose it. He seldom blows his top at a player, seldom panics in a game, usually lets the players work out of their own troubles if possible."
On December 24, 1999, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
named Hutchinson Seattle's athlete of the 20th Century.
Meanwhile, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
continues to make news as a cancer treatment center — in medical and baseball circles. When Boston Red Sox
rookie left-handed pitcher Jon Lester
, a Washington native, was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma
during the season, he chose to receive his chemotherapy
regimen at the Seattle facility. Coming full circle, on November 11, 2008, Lester — a 16-game winner and postseason pitching star — was chosen as the winner of the 2008 Hutch Award.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player, a major league
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
for the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
. He also was a manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
for three major league teams. Stricken with fatal lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
at the height of his managerial career as leader of the pennant-contending Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
, he was commemorated one year after his death when his brother, Dr. William Hutchinson, created the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is one of the world’s leading cancer research institutes...
as a division of the Pacific Northwest Research Foundation, in the Hutchinsons’ native city of Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. The FHCRC
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is one of the world’s leading cancer research institutes...
, which became independent in 1972, is now one of the best-known facilities of its kind in the world.
Pitching career
Fred Hutchinson, known throughout baseball as “Hutch,” attended the University of WashingtonUniversity of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, where he was a 1939 initiate of Alpha Sigma Phi
Alpha Sigma Phi
Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity is a social fraternity with 71 active chapters and 9 colonies. Founded at Yale in 1845, it is the 10th oldest fraternity in the United States....
Fraternity. A right-handed pitcher, he entered the organized baseball ranks in 1938 with the unaffiliated Seattle Rainiers
Seattle Rainiers
The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a minor league baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903-06 and 1919-68...
of the AA Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
and caused an immediate sensation at age 19, winning
Win (baseball)
In professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only...
a league-best 25 games and that season’s Minor League Player of the Year award as bestowed by The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
.
After his contract was purchased by the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
of the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
, Hutchinson struggled in his early major league career with a 6-13 record and an earned-run average of 5.43 during the 1939-41 seasons. His ineffectiveness caused his return to the minor leagues
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
in each season. In 1941, at Buffalo
Buffalo Bisons
The Buffalo Bisons are a minor league baseball team based in Buffalo, New York. They currently play in the International League and are the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets...
of the AA International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
, he enjoyed another stellar campaign, leading the league in victories (26) and innings pitched
Innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...
(284). A successful major league career seemed to await Hutchinson, then 22, when the U.S. entered World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He saw active duty in the U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, rose to the rank of lieutenant commander
Lieutenant commander (United States)
Lieutenant commander is a mid-ranking officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3...
, and lost four full seasons (-45
1945 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Detroit Tigers over Chicago Cubs *All-Star Game cancelled due to flight restrictions. However, inter-league games were played during the All-Star break.-Other champions:...
) to military service.
In , Hutchinson – approaching 27 – returned to baseball with a vengeance, winning a place in the defending World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
champion Tigers’ starting rotation and beginning a string of six straight campaigns of ten or more wins, including seasons of 18 and 17 victories . He was selected to the American League All-Star
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
team, and pitched three innings of the junior loop’s 8-3 loss at Hutchinson’s home park, Briggs Stadium.
Overall, Hutchinson compiled a 95-71 career record over 11 seasons, all with Detroit – a stellar mark considering his early-career mishaps. He was known as a good teammate and a ferocious competitor, who once reportedly shattered every light bulb from the dugout to the clubhouse after being lifted from a ballgame. He also was one of the best-hitting pitchers of his time; a left-handed batter, he frequently pinch-hit and batted
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
over .300 four times during his major league career. His career batting average was .263, with four home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s and 83 runs batted in — excellent totals for a pitcher.
On a dubious note, he is also recalled as the pitcher who gave up the longest homer in Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
' career, a 502-foot (153 m) blast in that broke the straw hat of a startled fan sitting in Fenway Park
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
’s right-center-field bleachers. The seat where the home run landed has been painted red since to mark the long ball. Hutchinson led the AL in home runs allowed with 32 during the season.
A Major League manager at 32
A slow decline in Hutchinson’s pitching career coincided with an alarming drop in the fortunes of his usually contending Tigers. On July 5, 1952, with Detroit in the surprising position of last place in the eight-team American League, the club fired manager Red RolfeRed Rolfe
Robert Abial "Red" Rolfe was an American third baseman, manager and front-office executive in Major League Baseball. A native of Penacook, New Hampshire, he is one of the most prominent players to come from the Granite State...
and handed the job to Hutchinson, still an active player and five weeks shy of his 33rd birthday. Hutchinson was chosen based on his leadership skills; he had been the AL’s Player Representative since 1947. Hutchinson managed the Tigers for the next 2½ years, serving into as a playing manager. He guided them from their eighth-place finish in 1952 to sixth and fifth place during the next two seasons. His reign included the debut of future Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
Al Kaline
Al Kaline
Albert William "Al" Kaline is a former Major League Baseball right fielder. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Kaline played his entire 22-year baseball career with the Detroit Tigers. Kaline still works for the Tigers as a front office official. Because of his lengthy career and...
. However, Detroit’s ownership and front office were in flux and, at the end of , Hutchinson was forced out as manager and replaced by the veteran Bucky Harris
Bucky Harris
Stanley Raymond "Bucky" Harris was a Major League Baseball player, manager and executive. In 1975, the Veterans Committee elected Harris, as a manager, to the Baseball Hall of Fame.-Biography:...
. It marked the end of a 16-year association with the Tigers.
Out of the major leagues for the first time since , Hutchinson went home to Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
and the Rainiers
Seattle Rainiers
The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a minor league baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903-06 and 1919-68...
of the PCL
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
, becoming their manager in 1955. Even though the club did not enjoy a major league affiliation, Hutchinson led Seattle to a 95-77 record and a first place finish. His success led to his second major league managerial job when he replaced Harry Walker
Harry Walker
Harry William Walker, known to baseball fans of the middle 20th century as "Harry the Hat" , was an American baseball player, manager and coach.-Early life and family:...
as skipper of the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
for the 1956 season. The Cardinals, one of baseball's storied franchises, had fallen into the second division
First division (baseball)
First division is a term that has had various meanings, at various times, in the sport of baseball, but originally referred to the rankings within a league...
. With general manager
General manager (baseball)
In Major League Baseball, the general manager of a team typically controls player transactions and bears the primary responsibility on behalf of the ballclub during contract discussions with players....
“Frantic” Frank Lane
Frank Lane
Frank Lane was an American executive in professional baseball, most notably serving as a general manager in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox, St...
constantly revamping the roster through trades and Hutchinson’s steady hand at the helm, the Cardinals improved by eight games in , and catapulted to second place in , behind only the eventual world champion Milwaukee Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
. Hutchinson was named National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
Manager of the Year, and his popularity in the Mound City resulted in a new nickname, "The Big Bear", bestowed by Cardinal broadcaster Joe Garagiola. Hutchinson's typical unsmiling expression also led Garagiola to joke that Hutchinson was "really happy inside, only his face didn't know it." However, Lane's departure from the St. Louis front office and the Cardinals’ disappointing season resulted in Hutchinson’s dismissal that September, with the team six games below .500 and in fifth place.
Success in Cincinnati
Once again, Hutchinson returned to Seattle as manager of the Rainiers. The 1959 team did not have the on-field success of 1955's edition but the Rainiers were by then the top farm club of the Cincinnati RedsCincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
, who had stumbled badly in the National League standings coming out of the gate. In July , with the Reds 10 games under .500, Hutchinson was called to Cincinnati to take over the club, replacing Mayo Smith
Mayo Smith
Edward Mayo Smith was an American player, manager, and scout in Major League Baseball.Smith was born in New London, Missouri, but grew up in Florida. A left-handed batter who threw right-handed, Smith was a career minor league outfielder who spent many seasons in the International League with the...
. Under Hutchinson, Cincinnati went 39-35 and improved two notches in the standings, but the following season
1960 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates over New York Yankees ; Bobby Richardson, MVP*All-Star Game , July 11 at Municipal Stadium: National League, 5-3*All-Star Game , July 13 at Yankee Stadium: National League, 6-0...
saw the Reds struggle again to a 67-87 record and sixth place finish. Like Detroit and St. Louis before, the Reds also were in front office turmoil, as the general manager who originally hired Hutchinson, Gabe Paul
Gabe Paul
Gabriel Howard Paul was an American executive in Major League Baseball who served as general manager of three teams and, perhaps most famously, as president of the New York Yankees under George Steinbrenner during the 1970s....
, departed for the expansion Houston Colt .45s
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
and was replaced by Bill DeWitt
Bill DeWitt
William Orville DeWitt Sr. was a longtime executive in Major League Baseball whose career spanned more than 50 years in the game. His son William DeWitt, Jr. is currently the principal owner and managing partner of the St. Louis Cardinals, while grandson William O...
. The sudden death of longtime owner Powel Crosley less than three weeks before the start of the 1961 regular season meant the team would soon be sold.
As a result, was a crucial season for Hutchinson. The Reds were projected as a second division team, lagging well behind the defending world champion Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
, the 1959 champion Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
, and strong San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
, Cardinals and Braves outfits. But the Reds stunned the league. Led by NL MVP
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson , is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He played from 1956–1976, most notably for the Cincinnati Reds and the Baltimore Orioles. He is the only player to win league MVP honors in both the National and American Leagues...
, they were buoyed by three other factors: the maturation of young players such as outfielder Vada Pinson
Vada Pinson
Vada Edward Pinson, Jr. was an American center fielder and coach in Major League Baseball. Pinson played in the major leagues for 18 years, from 1958 through 1975, and his greatest seasons were with the Cincinnati Redlegs/Reds, for whom he played from 1958–68.Pinson combined power, speed and...
and pitchers Jim O'Toole
Jim O'Toole
James Jerome O'Toole is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball during the early 1960s.-College and minor league:...
, Ken Hunt and Jim Maloney
Jim Maloney
James William Maloney is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with the Cincinnati Reds and California Angels...
; the acquisition of key contributors such as pitcher Joey Jay
Joey Jay
Joseph Richard Jay is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1953 through 1966, Jay played for the Milwaukee Braves , Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves...
(who became a 20-game winner) and third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
Gene Freese
Gene Freese
Eugene Lewis Freese is a former third baseman in American Major League Baseball for 12 seasons . A journeyman, he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates , St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox , Cincinnati Reds and Houston Astros, batting .254 with 115 home runs in 1,115 games...
; and surprise slugging and clutch hitting performances by first baseman
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
Gordy Coleman
Gordy Coleman
Gordon Calvin Coleman was a Major League first baseman with the Cleveland Indians and the Cincinnati Reds ....
, Jerry Lynch
Jerry Lynch
Gerald Thomas Lynch is a former professional baseball player who played outfield in the Major Leagues for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds . He was born in Munger, Michigan....
(one the greatest pinchhitters in baseball history), and veteran Wally Post
Wally Post
Walter Charles Post was a right fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1949 through 1964, Post played for the Cincinnati Reds & Redlegs , Philadelphia Phillies , Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians...
. The Reds surged into contention with a nine-game winning streak in May, and took first place for good August 16 when they swept the Dodgers in a doubleheader in Los Angeles.
The season was marked by numerous dramatic late-inning comeback victories, overcoming large margins, sometimes in a single inning. The Reds seemed never to be out of any game, until the last out. The Reds won 93 games and their first NL pennant since . It would be Hutchinson’s second trip to the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
; ironically, he was a Detroit pitcher in 1940
1940 World Series
The 1940 World Series matched the Cincinnati Reds against the Detroit Tigers, with the Reds winning the Series in seven games for their second championship, their first since the scandal-tainted victory in...
when his Tigers lost the Fall Classic to Cincinnati in seven games. However, the 1961 Reds drew one of the best teams of its era as its World Series foe: the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
of Roger Maris
Roger Maris
Roger Eugene Maris was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. During the 1961 season, he hit a record 61 home runs for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs...
, Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Charles Mantle was an American professional baseball player. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.Mantle was noted for his hitting...
, Whitey Ford
Whitey Ford
Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who spent his entire 18-year career with the New York Yankees. He was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.-Early life and career:...
, et al., who had won 109 games. The Reds could muster only one victory, in Game 2, with utility infielder Elio Chacon
Elio Chacón
Elio Chacón Rodríguez was a Major League Baseball second baseman and shortstop who played in the National League from 1960 to 1962. He was the seventh baseball player from Venezuela to play in the majors....
racing home on a passed ball
Passed ball
In baseball, a catcher is charged with a passed ball when he fails to hold or control a legally pitched ball that, with ordinary effort, should have been maintained under his control. When, as a result of this loss of control, the batter or a runner on base advances, the catcher is thereby charged...
with the go-ahead run, barely before the crunching body tag of Elston Howard
Elston Howard
Elston Gene Howard was an American Negro League and Major League Baseball catcher, left fielder and coach. During a 14-year baseball career, he played from 1955–1968, primarily for the New York Yankees...
. Cincinnati lost the 1961 Series
1961 World Series
The 1961 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the Cincinnati Reds , with the Yankees winning in five games to earn their 19th championship in 39 seasons. This World Series was surrounded by Cold War political puns pitting the "Reds" against the "Yanks"...
in five games.
Final years and legacy
Winning the 1961 pennant secured Hutchinson’s place in Cincinnati. In , his Reds won 98 games but finished third, 3½ games behind the Giants. While the team fell to fifth in , with an 86-76 mark, it continued to blend in young talent, such as shortstop Leo CardenasLeo Cárdenas
Leonardo Lazaro Cárdenas Alfonso was a prominent shortstop in American Major League Baseball for 16 years...
and second baseman Pete Rose
Pete Rose
Peter Edward Rose , nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989....
, who was named the National League's Rookie of the Year. With a solid corps of veterans and a strong farm system, the Reds were considered a contending club in , provided that its pitching staff made a comeback. Tragically, an off-season medical examination revealed malignant tumors in Hutchinson's lungs, chest and neck. Given the cancer treatments available at the time, the prognosis was grim. The Reds made their manager’s illness public on January 3, 1964. As The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
noted, the team played the 1964 season with the terrible knowledge that Hutchinson “probably was at death’s door.”
His health failing, Hutchinson nevertheless managed the Reds through July 27, when he was hospitalized. He returned to the dugout August 4, but could only endure nine more days before he turned the team over to his first-base coach Dick Sisler
Dick Sisler
Richard Alan Sisler was an American player, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Sisler was the son of Hall of Fame first baseman and two-time .400 hitter George Sisler. Younger brother Dave Sisler was a relief pitcher in the 1950s and 1960s with four MLB...
, one day after Hutch's 45th birthday. With their manager now critically ill, the inspired Reds caught fire and won 29 out of their last 47 games as the first-place Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
collapsed, but the team finished in a tie with the Phillies for second, one game behind the Cardinals, who went on to win that year's World Series
1964 World Series
The 1964 World Series pitted the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals against the American League champion New York Yankees, with the Cardinals prevailing in seven games. St...
. Hutchinson formally resigned as manager October 19; he died three weeks later in Bradenton, Florida
Bradenton, Florida
Bradenton is a city in Manatee County, Florida, United States. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's 2007 population to be 53,471. Bradenton is the largest Principal City of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2007 estimated population of 682,833...
. SPORT magazine
Sport magazine
SPORT magazine was an American sports magazine. Launched in September 1946 by the New York-based publisher, Macfadden Publications, SPORT pioneered the generous use of color photography – it carried eight full colour plates in its first edition – and almost immediately became half-bible, half-guru...
posthumously named him "Man of the Year" for 1964 in tribute to his courage in battling his final illness and the Reds permanently retired his uniform number (1). The Hutch Award
Hutch Award
The Hutch Award is given annually to an active Major League Baseball player who best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire of Fred Hutchinson...
is given annually by Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
in his memory as well.
Fred Hutchinson was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1965. His career record as a major league manager, in all or parts of 12 seasons, was 830-827 (.501) with nine tie games. He should be remembered not only for his winning baseball teams, and as the man who launched Cincinnati into an historic winning era (which ended years after his death with the Big Red Machine in the 70's) but for his sometimes hard-driving management of developing talent, such as the young Frank Robinsion — who according to the sports press of the time felt that Hutchinson sometimes rode him excessively hard. On the other hand, Hutchinson is described favorably by pitcher/author Jim Brosnan
Jim Brosnan
James Patrick Brosnan was a Major League Baseball player from 1954 and 1956 through 1963. He was a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox...
in his two season memoirs, The Long Season (an account of Brosnan's 1959 campaign) and Pennant Race (about 1961). Brosnan describes the team's wariness of the manager's hot temper and its respect for his competitive nature and leadership skills, and notes Hutchinson's sense of humor as well.
Wrote Brosnan in 1959: "Most ballplayers respect Hutch. In fact, many of them admire him, which is even better than liking him. He seems to have a tremendous inner power that a player can sense. When Hutch gets a grip on things it doesn't seem probable that he's going to lose it. He seldom blows his top at a player, seldom panics in a game, usually lets the players work out of their own troubles if possible."
On December 24, 1999, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
named Hutchinson Seattle's athlete of the 20th Century.
Meanwhile, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is one of the world’s leading cancer research institutes...
continues to make news as a cancer treatment center — in medical and baseball circles. When Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
rookie left-handed pitcher Jon Lester
Jon Lester
Jonathan Tyler Lester is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball...
, a Washington native, was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma
Anaplastic large cell lymphoma
Anaplastic large-cell lymphoma is a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that features in the World Health Organisation classification of lymphomas.Its name derives from anaplasia and large-cell lymphoma.-Signs and symptoms:...
during the season, he chose to receive his chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
regimen at the Seattle facility. Coming full circle, on November 11, 2008, Lester — a 16-game winner and postseason pitching star — was chosen as the winner of the 2008 Hutch Award.
See also
- 1950 Detroit Tigers season1950 Detroit Tigers seasonThe Detroit Tigers had a record of 95-59 , the seventh-best winning percentage in the Tigers' 107-year history. After a tight back-and-forth pennant race, they finished in second place, three games behind a Yankees team that swept the Phillies in the 1950 World Series.- Regular season :The 1950...
- The Dead Ball Era
External links
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u4zFN5f0LMKBTC-TVKBTC-TVKBTC-TV is an American public television station in Tacoma, Washington, affiliated with the Public Broadcasting Service . It broadcasts on digital channel 27, and Comcast cable channel 12. Its offices and broadcasting center are located on the campus of owner Bates Technical College...
video biography] - Portrait of Fred Hutchinson by Margaret Holland SargentMargaret Holland SargentMargaret Holland Sargent also known as Meg Sargent is a portrait artist based in Los Angeles, California. She has painted over three hundred oil portraits, including portraits of Tennessee Williams, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Margaret Thatcher.Sargent has frequently painted portraits of...