Finalists Named for Coveted Ford C. Frick Award in Baseball Broadcasting

Finalists for the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award

Announced from the historic Cooperstown, N.Y., this year’s finalists for the esteemed Ford C. Frick Award for exceptional baseball broadcasting include eminent personalities such as John Sterling from the Yankees, Gary Cohen from the Mets, and Skip Caray from the Braves. Further prominent finalists include holdovers Jacques Doucet who served with the Montreal Expos, Tom Hamilton of the Guardians, Duane Kuiper from the Giants, and the Braves’ Ernie Johnson Sr., who were all part of last year’s 10-man shortlist. Last year’s accolade was awarded to Boston Red Sox’s widely admired radio announcer, Joe Castiglione.

New Entrants and Departures

This year’s ballot saw some fresh faces with the inclusion of Rene Cardenas and Dave Sims, alongside Sterling and Caray, who had not made an appearance in the previous year’s list. On the other hand, Joe Buck, Ken Korach, and Dan Shulman, who were present on last year’s ballot, were conspicuously absent this time around.

Criteria and Voting Process

This year marks the third of four consecutive elections that focus on broadcasters who have made significant contributions during the wild-card era, which kicked off in 1995. Broadcasters from the pre-wild card era will be recognized in the 2026 voting session for the award, set to be presented at the 2027 Hall of Fame induction weekend.

The recipient of this prestigious award will be announced on December 11 at the winter meetings in Dallas and will be honored in a special ceremony during the Hall’s Awards Presentation on July 26, just a day before the induction ceremonies.

To qualify for consideration, a broadcaster must have a decade-long continuous service with a network or team. The selection of this year’s ballot was executed by a subcommittee comprising past winners like Castiglione, Marty Brennaman, and Eric Nadel, alongside renowned broadcast historians David J. Halberstam and Curt Smith.

The voting panel consists of 13 esteemed past winners and historians, including Brennaman, Castiglione, Costas, Ken Harrelson, Pat Hughes, Jaime Jarrín, Tony Kubek, Denny Matthews, Al Michaels, Jon Miller, Nadel, Bob Uecker, and Dave Van Horne, as well as historians Halberstam, Smith, and former Dallas Morning News writer Barry Horn.