Forty-one broadcasters advance to second round of 2013 Frick Award ballot voting
Fans will chose three candidates to be placed on final Frick Award ballot; winner to be announced at baseball’s winter meetings
Baseball fans around the world have chosen their 41 favorite broadcasters from among the more than 200 eligible for the 2013 Ford C. Frick Award. But the fans’ work is just getting started, as the second round of the online voting for fan selections for the 2013 Frick Award ballot begins today at 10 a.m. ET.
Fan voting for the 2013 Frick Award ballot began Aug. 20 at www.facebook.com/baseballhall, and more than 12,600 votes were cast in Round One.
The top 41 vote-getters (the top 40 plus ties) advanced to the Fan Finals, with voting at the Hall of Fame’s Facebook site running through 5 p.m. ET on Oct. 5. The top three vote-getters among the 41 finalists will be placed on the final 2013 Frick Award ballot, with the other seven finalists determined by a Hall of Fame committee. The final ballot will be announced Oct. 9.
The Ford C. Frick Award is presented annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum for excellence in baseball broadcasting. The 2013 Frick Award winner will be selected by a 21-member electorate, with the winner to be announced at baseball’s Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tenn., in early December.
The top 41 vote-getters from the first round of online voting were (in alphabetical order):
Joe Angel, Richie Ashburn, Alan Ashby, Bert Blyleven, Lou Boudreau, Thom Brennaman, Rodger Brulotte, Joe Buck, Steve Busby, Skip Caray, Joe Castiglione, Tom Cheek, Don Chevrier, Gary Cohen, Jerry Doggett, Jacques Doucet, Dick Enberg, Ed Farmer, Ray Fosse, Hank Greenwald, Tom Grieve, Tom Hamilton, Ken Harrelson, Mark Holtz, Pat Hughes, Jim Hunter, Todd Kalas, Bill King, Mike Krukow, Duane Kuiper, Eric Nadel, Joe Nuxhall, Phil Rizzuto, Ron Santo, Mike Shannon, Charlie Slowes, Dwayne Staats, Steve Stone, Pete Van Wieren, Mike Wilner and Bert Wilson.
Every broadcaster, active or retired, who has broadcast at least 10 consecutive years for a team or network was eligible for consideration during the first round of voting.
Voting in the Fan Finals begins with a clean slate for each candidate, as vote totals do not carry over from Round One. Bios of each eligible candidate will appear at www.baseballhall.org throughout the voting.
Presented annually since 1978 for excellence in baseball broadcasting, the Ford C. Frick Award is given to an active or retired broadcaster with a minimum of 10 years of continuous major league broadcast service with a ball club, network, or a combination of the two. The Frick electorate includes all living Award-winners and five historians/veteran media members appointed by the Hall of Fame.
The voting electorate consists of 21 members, featuring 2012 Ford C. Frick Award winner Tim McCarver and the other 15 living Frick Award winners: Marty Brennaman, Jerry Coleman, Gene Elston, Joe Garagiola, Milo Hamilton, Jaime Jarrin, Tony Kubek, Denny Matthews, Jon Miller, Felo Ramirez, Vin Scully, Lon Simmons, Bob Uecker, Dave Van Horne and Bob Wolff. The five historians and veteran media members also part of the electorate include: Bob Costas (NBC/MLB Network), Barry Horn (Dallas Morning News), Stan Isaacs (formerly of New York Newsday), Ted Patterson (historian) and Curt Smith (historian).
For the 10th consecutive year, fans will choose members of the ballot through online voting. In 2011, Tom Cheek, Jacques Doucet and Mike Shannon earned spots on the final Frick Award ballot via fan voting. More than 37,000 votes were cast.
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