Baseball Hall of Fame reveals 10 Ford C. Frick Award finalists

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has revealed the 10 finalists for the Ford C. Frick Award, an award honoring a broadcaster for his contributions to the game.

This year’s finalists are:

Brian Anderson

Since 2007, Anderson has been the television voice of the Milwaukee Brewers. He’s also been an integral part of TBS’ MLB coverage, working on their broadcasts (including the postseason) since 2009.

Joe Buck

To baseball fans, Buck is best known Fox’s lead MLB announcer from 1996-2021. He called every World Series broadcast by Fox (all but 1997 and 1999) in that period. Buck also called the St. Louis Cardinals from 1991-2007.

Skip Caray

Voice of the Atlanta Braves from 1976 until his passing in 2008. That timeframe largely coincided with the Braves being broadcast nationally on TBS, giving Caray a recognizable voice throughout baseball.

René Cárdenas

When the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958, Cárdenas was hired as the team’s Spanish-language broadcaster, the first in Major League history. He later was a Spanish-language for both the Houston Astros (1962-1975), Texas Rangers (1981) before returning to the Dodgers (1982-1998).

Gary Cohen

Cohen has been the voice of the New York Mets on radio (1989-2005) and television (2006-present). He’s also called MLB postseason games on the radio for both ESPN Radio and CBS Radio.

Jacques Doucet

Was the primary French-language commentator for the Montreal Expos from 1972-2003. The Expos left Montreal following the 2004 season but Doucet returned to MLB announcing in 2011, working as the French-language voice of the Toronto Blue Jays until 2022.

Duane Kuiper

Kuiper moved into broadcasting after his playing career ended in 1985. From 1986-1992 and again from 1994-present, Kuiper has been a commentator for the San Francisco Giants, working primarily on television but also on radio. In 1993, he was the voice of the Colorado Rockies for their inaugural season.

John Rooney

After a brief stint calling games for the Minnesota Twins, Rooney began working with the Chicago White Sox on their television broadcasts in 1988. In 1989, Rooney moved to the White Sox radio booth, where he remained until 2005. In 2006, Rooney became the radio voice of the St. Louis Cardinals. Of note, Rooney’s final season with the White Sox and first season with the Cardinals were both World Series wins.

Dan Shulman

A well-known voice to baseball fans in both the United States and Canada. Shulman has been the television voice of the Toronto Blue Jays since 2016 and also held that role from 1995-2001. Shulman was also ESPN Radio’s lead play-by-play voice from 2002-2007 and was the lead television play-by-play voice of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball from 2011-2017.

John Sterling

Sterling was the radio voice of the New York Yankees from 1989 until his retirement early in the 2024 season, though he did return to call that year’s postseason and World Series. His time with the Yankees included five World Series wins (1996, 1998-2000, 2009) and three other appearances (2001, 2003, 2024). From 1989-2019, Sterling called over 5,000 consecutive games.

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Per the Hall of Fame’s announcement, “The winner of the 2026 Frick Award will be announced on Dec. 10 at baseball’s Winter Meetings in Orlando, Fla., and will be honored during the July 25 Awards Presentation as part of the July 24-27 Hall of Fame Weekend 2026 in Cooperstown.”

The Ford C. Frick Award has been presented by the Hall of Fame every year since 1978. Its first two recipients were Mel Allen and Red Barber. Starting in 1979, one recipient was named per year. The most recent winner was longtime Cleveland Guardians radio voice Tom Hamilton, who received the Ford C. Frick Award in 2025.