2020 Ford C. Frick Award Ballot

The eight finalists for the 2020 Frick Award are: Joe Castiglione, Jacques Doucet, Tom Hamilton, Ken Harrelson, Pat Hughes, Ned Martin, Mike Shannon and Dewayne Staats. The winner of the 2020 Frick Award will be announced on Dec. 11 at the Baseball Winter Meetings in San Diego and will be honored during the July 25 Awards Presentation as part of the July 24-27 Hall of Fame Weekend 2020 in Cooperstown. All candidates except Martin are living.

The Frick Award election cycle rotates annually among Current Major League Markets (team-specific announcers); National Voices (broadcasters whose contributions were realized on a national level); and Broadcasting Beginnings (early team voices and pioneers of baseball broadcasting). This cycle repeats every three years, with the National Voices ballot to be reviewed in the fall of 2020 and the Broadcasting Beginnings ballot to be reviewed in the fall of 2021.

As established by the Board of Directors, criteria for selection is as follows: “Commitment to excellence, quality of broadcasting abilities, reverence within the game, popularity with fans, and recognition by peers.”

Joe Castiglione

40 seasons, the last 37 as the lead radio announcer in Boston…Covered the Cleveland Indians on television in 1979 and on cable in 1982, and broadcast the Milwaukee Brewers on cable in 1981…Has announced the Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA) on cable, and he did college basketball on New England Sports Network for six winters….Has taught a broadcast journalism course at Northeastern University as well as at Franklin Pierce College.

Jacques Doucet

40 seasons, including 33 years as the play-by-play radio voice of the Expos on their French network before taking over as French play-by-play TV voice of the Blue Jays…Also filed daily reports from Florida during Spring Training and took part in the network’s special baseball radio shows…Prior to radio covered the club as a beat writer for the daily newspaper La Presse…For many years, he did the play-by-play for the Championship and World Series games…Inducted to the Quebec Baseball Hall of Fame in May 2002 and won the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Jack Graney Award in June of 2004.

Tom Hamilton

30 years, all with the Indians…Called 92 postseason games for Cleveland, including all six games from the 1995 World Series and all seven games from the 1997 and 2016 World Series…Provides commentary for all 162 regular season games and Spring Training contests on WTAM and the Indians Radio Network…Came to the Indians after spending three seasons as a broadcaster for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers, the top farm club of the New York Yankees…A seven-time recipient of the Ohio Sportscaster of the Year Award (1997, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2013, 2017).

Ken Harrelson

42 years overall, the last 28 with the White Sox…The Hawk’s exuberant “YES” call and colorful nicknames have become familiar to White Sox fans…Worked in the broadcast booth for the Sox from 1982-85, leaving to become executive vice president for baseball operations…After serving as the club’s general manager for one season, he resigned to resume his broadcasting career…In New York, teamed with Spencer Ross in 1987 and Bobby Murcer in 1988…Also served as a broadcaster on The Baseball Network in 1994-95…Played Major League Baseball for nine seasons, helping lead the Red Sox to the American League pennant in 1967…Appeared in 900 major-league games, batting .239 with 131 home runs and 421 RBI…Credited with bringing the batting glove to baseball, he played golf professionally for a time before entering broadcasting.

Pat Hughes

37 years, the last 24 with the Cubs as WGN Radio play-by-play voice…Was the play-by-play voice for Marquette University's basketball team from 1988-2004…Began his baseball play-by-play career in the minor leagues, calling action for the San Jose Missions (1978-1981) and for the Columbus Clippers (1982)…Worked in Minnesota in 1983 as the TV voice of the Twins…Earned Wisconsin Sportscaster of the Year Award honors three times (1990-1992) and Illinois Sportscaster of the Year Award nine times (1996, 1999, 2006-07, 2009, 2014-15, 2017, 2019).

Ned Martin

32 years, all with the Red Sox from 1961-92…Began career as Curt Gowdy’s radio partner and stayed with radio for 18 years with 11 different partners…From 1979 through 1992, he called the play-by-play on Red Sox television…Also worked on ALCS coverage on CBS radio four times, and broadcast the 1975 World Series for NBC-TV…Known throughout New England for his wryly descriptive style and his familiar exclamation, “Mercy!”…Broke into broadcasting as an announcer in the American Association…Passed away July 23, 2002.

Mike Shannon

48 years, all with the Cardinals…The Cardinals radio announcer was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in recognition of his popularity and performance on the air and, as a player on the field…Broke into the big leagues with the Cardinals in 1962 and went on to star for the Redbirds’ World Series championship teams in 1964 and 1967, and their NL pennant winner in 1968…Joined the Cardinals’ front office in 1971 as assistant director of promotions and sales.

Dewayne Staats

43 years, the last 22 in Tampa Bay…Called his 5,000th big league game in 2010…Before joining the Rays spent three years calling play-by-play for ESPN in a variety of sports, including Major League Baseball and NCAA baseball, basketball and football…Began his major league play-by-play career as the radio and TV voice of the Astros from 1977-84, then called radio and TV action for the Cubs from 1985-89…Was the lead play-by-play announcer for the Yankees and also spent the 1994-95 seasons calling action for The Baseball Network (ABC/NBC)…Began his career as a sports reporter for WSIE Radio while a student at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and began his baseball career as the radio voice of the minor league Oklahoma City 89ers (1973-74).