Baseball for the Thinking Fan

Login | Register | Feedback

btf_logo
You are here > Home > Baseball Newsstand > Discussion
Baseball Primer Newsblog
— The Best News Links from the Baseball Newsstand

Wednesday, December 07, 2011

BHOF - Tim McCarver Named 2012 Ford C. Frick Award Winner for Broadcasting Excellence

Tim McCarver, who has served as a national analyst on networks for three decades and simultaneously shined as part of broadcast teams with four big league clubs, has been selected as the 2012 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in baseball broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

McCarver becomes the second primary television analyst to win the Frick Award, joining Tony Kubek, who received the honor in 2009. McCarver will be honored as part of Hall of Fame Weekend 2012, July 20-23, in Cooperstown, New York.

I thought it was just that he looked better next to Ralph Kiner…

The Non-Catching Molina (sjs1959) Posted: December 07, 2011 at 03:22 PM | 51 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
  Tags: announcers, media, television

Reader Comments and Retorts

Go to end of page

Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.

   1. Javy Joan Baez (chris h.) Posted: December 07, 2011 at 04:58 PM (#4009234)
This is from the Onion, right?
   2. Alex Vila Posted: December 07, 2011 at 04:59 PM (#4009237)
FML.
   3. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: December 07, 2011 at 05:04 PM (#4009243)
presented annually for excellence


I do not think that word means what you think it means.
   4. Shock of the Desert Posted: December 07, 2011 at 05:04 PM (#4009244)
Wow
   5. TerpNats Posted: December 07, 2011 at 05:05 PM (#4009246)
It could have been worse...imagine John Sterling as a Ford Frick award winner. (As Count Floyd would say, "that's scary, kiddies.")
   6. People like Zonk and Chris Truby Posted: December 07, 2011 at 05:09 PM (#4009252)
and boom goes the dynamite.
   7. TVerik - Dr. Velocity Posted: December 07, 2011 at 05:10 PM (#4009253)
I gotta say - in the history of television, McCarver and Kubek? That's it?
   8. Shock of the Desert Posted: December 07, 2011 at 05:11 PM (#4009255)
I actually find this really, really depressing for some reason.
   9. ERROR---Jolly Old St. Nick Posted: December 07, 2011 at 05:13 PM (#4009258)
It could have been worse...imagine John Sterling as a Ford Frick award winner.

Does anyone here really think that this will never happen? Mrs. Swishilicious hasn't missed a game since the 1981-82 basketball season, a streak that I doubt even V. M. "Iron Butt" Molotov could have equaled, and you know damn well that this is the sort of thing that impresses voters. Just give it time.
   10. Dag Nabbit: Sockless Psychopath Posted: December 07, 2011 at 05:14 PM (#4009261)
presented annually for excellence

I do not think that word means what you think it means.

Misspelled excrement.
   11. Jose is an Absurd Sultan Posted: December 07, 2011 at 05:16 PM (#4009265)
He's slipped over the years as we all do but I still think McCarver has been one of the better color men out there. Maybe the bar is just set low but I find that McCarver gives more to a broadcast than just about any other announcer I hear and I like the fact that he will tell you what he thinks before a play happens rather than second guessing for the sake of criticism.
   12. Rob_Wood Posted: December 07, 2011 at 05:18 PM (#4009269)
I guess this means there is no hope for Bill King. That makes me very sad.
   13. TVerik - Dr. Velocity Posted: December 07, 2011 at 05:18 PM (#4009270)
I agree with Jose here. But any list of television announcers that consists entirely of Kubek and McCarver is not a "best of" list that I can support.
   14. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: December 07, 2011 at 05:20 PM (#4009274)
But any list of television announcers that consists entirely of Kubek and McCarver is not a "best of" list that I can support.

no--he meant color men vs play-by-play guys
EDIT: and what other color men would you nominate?
   15. Shock of the Desert Posted: December 07, 2011 at 05:26 PM (#4009279)

EDIT: and what other color men would you nominate?


None.

It's like giving the gold glove to a LF when the OF positions were grouped together.
   16. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: December 07, 2011 at 05:39 PM (#4009299)

EDIT: and what other color men would you nominate?


Seems like Ralph Kiner might have been honored at some point. Bob Uecker?

There don't seem to be a lot of long-time color analysts. I wonder why.
   17. and Posted: December 07, 2011 at 05:44 PM (#4009309)
Hey, guys, I just read the damnedest thing on the sidebar.


Wait, what?
   18. Jose is an Absurd Sultan Posted: December 07, 2011 at 05:45 PM (#4009312)
There don't seem to be a lot of long-time color analysts. I wonder why.


When did the role of color man come into vogue? Is Mccarver an early practitioner from his time in the 80s? My recollection as a kid in the 70s was the announcers followed more of the radio model of doing an an inning or half inning of play by play themselves then the other guy did an inning. The "off announcer" was there to add to the broadcast during his partners inning but it wasn't the true play by play/color split we have today.
   19. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: December 07, 2011 at 05:51 PM (#4009318)
Pee Wee was a full-time color guy with Gowdy on NBC's game of the week in the 60s. And when ABC started Monday night baseball in 1976, Uecker only did color while Bob Prince and then Al Michaels did the PBP
   20. Charlie O Posted: December 07, 2011 at 05:55 PM (#4009326)
Thankfully, I'll be dead and in the ground by the time Joe Buck is selected.
   21. John Northey Posted: December 07, 2011 at 06:24 PM (#4009367)
Quite the joke. They ask fans to vote, then ignore it year in, year out.
Fans voted for...
2012: Mike Shannon, Tom Cheek and Jacques Doucet this year (McCarver wins)
2011: Tom Cheek, Bill King and Jacques Doucet (Dave Van Horne wins)
2010: Bill King, Tom Cheek and Jacques Doucet last year (Jon Miller wins)
2009: Joe Nuxhall, Jacques Doucet and Tom Cheek (Tony Kubek wins)
2008: Joe Nuxhall, Bill King and Joe Morgan (Dave Niehaus wins)
2007: Ken Harrelson, Bill King, and Joe Nuxhall (Denny Matthews wins)
2006: Bill King, Dave Niehaus, and Jacques Doucet (Gene Elston wins)
2005: Dave Niehaus, Tom Cheek and Ron Santo (Jerry Coleman wins)
2004: Joe Nuxhall, Dave Niehaus and Lon Simmons (Lon Simmons wins)

So only once has someone the fans put on the ballot - Lon Simmons - actually won that year (2004, the first year balloting was done). Others who were voted in that won are Dave Niehaus (voted for 3 times, but won 2 years after last time voted in). That's it.

Guys voted for who are still waiting and times picked by fans as a top 3 candidate...

Tom Cheek (5)
Jacques Doucet (5)
Bill King (5)
Joe Nuxhall (4)
Mike Shannon (1)
Ken Harrelson (1)
Joe Morgan (1 - already there as a player)
Ron Santo (1 - in for playing skills now)

Dave Niehaus was picked 3 times by fans, Lon Simmons once.

Seems like the best way to get in is to NOT be voted for by the fans. Sad.
   22. TerpNats Posted: December 07, 2011 at 06:36 PM (#4009391)
It could have been worse...imagine John Sterling as a Ford Frick award winner.

Does anyone here really think that this will never happen? Mrs. Swishilicious hasn't missed a game since the 1981-82 basketball season, a streak that I doubt even V.M. "Iron Butt" Molotov could have equaled, and you know damn well that this is the sort of thing that impresses voters. Just give it time.
It would be like honoring a D student on having a perfect attendance record. Or, in a sitcom universe, inducting Kenny Bania into a comedians' hall of fame before Jerry Seinfeld (the character, though I suppose as a standup comic, sitcom Jerry is every bit as funny as his real-life counterpart).
   23. Baldrick Posted: December 07, 2011 at 06:43 PM (#4009405)
There are three obvious snark options here. The Onion and Inigo Montoya both got references in the first couple posts, so I'll go for analogies.

This is like inducting Nickelback into the Rock and Roll HOF. It's like giving the Nobel Peace Price to Bashar Assad. It's like awarding a Michelin Star to the cafeteria at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. It's like giving the MVP award to Juan Gonzalez. It's like giving a Congressional Medal of Honor to Bernie Madoff.
   24. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: December 07, 2011 at 06:44 PM (#4009408)
It's like putting Jim Rice in the Hall
   25. GGIAS (aka Poster Nutbag) Posted: December 07, 2011 at 06:44 PM (#4009409)
.....and still no Bill King.....truly a ####### joke
   26. Monty Posted: December 07, 2011 at 07:05 PM (#4009435)
This will help me remember that Ford Frick winners are not members of the Hall of Fame.
   27. Lassus Posted: December 07, 2011 at 07:09 PM (#4009438)
Wut
   28. Javy Joan Baez (chris h.) Posted: December 07, 2011 at 07:35 PM (#4009477)
Maybe it's Opposite Day. Does anybody know?
   29. John Northey Posted: December 07, 2011 at 07:43 PM (#4009487)
No question the fans (who actually, you know, listen to these guys on a daily basis) want to see Tom Cheek, Jacques Doucet, Bill King, and Joe Nuxhall win it. Sadly, those on the panel want to prove they know more than the masses.
   30. ERROR---Jolly Old St. Nick Posted: December 07, 2011 at 08:28 PM (#4009519)
It could have been worse...imagine John Sterling as a Ford Frick award winner.


Does anyone here really think that this will never happen? Mrs. Swishilicious hasn't missed a game since the 1981-82 basketball season, a streak that I doubt even V.M. "Iron Butt" Molotov could have equaled, and you know damn well that this is the sort of thing that impresses voters. Just give it time.

It would be like honoring a D student on having a perfect attendance record. Or, in a sitcom universe, inducting Kenny Bania into a comedians' hall of fame before Jerry Seinfeld (the character, though I suppose as a standup comic, sitcom Jerry is every bit as funny as his real-life counterpart).


True and true, but there are a lot of Costanzas out there who laugh at the Banias, and a lot of Tomeis out there who think that George's manure riff is "quirky".

IOW Sterling's eventual induction, or whatever you want to call it just to avoid using the term, sure as hell could happen.
   31. The Long Arm of Rudy Law Posted: December 07, 2011 at 08:32 PM (#4009524)
simultaneously shined as part of broadcast teams with four big league clubs


His 600-game per year workload might explain some things.
   32. Athletic Supporter's restaurant with Ted Danson Posted: December 07, 2011 at 08:35 PM (#4009533)
This is a sad day for baseball.
   33. with Glavinesque control and Madduxian poise Posted: December 07, 2011 at 08:43 PM (#4009538)
Maybe it's Opposite Day. Does anybody know?

No, it's not.
   34. Baldrick Posted: December 07, 2011 at 08:52 PM (#4009551)
No, it's not.

Which means it is, presumably.
   35. spike Posted: December 07, 2011 at 09:03 PM (#4009568)
.....and still no Bill King.....truly a ####### joke

No Skip Caray for that matter.
   36. My name is Votto, and I love to get Moppo Posted: December 07, 2011 at 09:04 PM (#4009569)
Kenny Bania


He's got some pretty good bits-I like stuff you don't have to think too hard about.
   37. Gonfalon Bubble Posted: December 07, 2011 at 09:07 PM (#4009574)
Tim McCarver is the least offensive part of Fox Sports' baseball coverage, and by a wide margin. In view of his overall career, it's a decent selection, if not necessarily the "best not in" selection.
   38. Alex Vila Posted: December 07, 2011 at 09:13 PM (#4009583)
Tim McCarver is the least offensive part of Fox Sports' baseball coverage,

I do believe that is called "damning with faint praise."
   39. Javy Joan Baez (chris h.) Posted: December 07, 2011 at 09:15 PM (#4009587)
Tim McCarver is the least offensive part of Fox Sports' baseball coverage, and by a wide margin.

And dog pee doesn't smell nearly as bad as cat pee, but I don't see homeowners racing out to buy air freshener with that dachshund-urine sent.

Edit: Coke to Alex Vila.
   40. Bob Tufts Posted: December 07, 2011 at 09:32 PM (#4009605)
Let me know when he wins the annual Montgomery Burns award for outstanding achievement in the field of excellence.
   41. Gonfalon Bubble Posted: December 07, 2011 at 09:45 PM (#4009624)
If we're doing Simpsons, then McCarver is currently cromulent. And he used to be more embiggened. Again, he's a decent choice, and I doubt he'd be inspiring this reaction if postseason coverage still rotated among the networks. Save your fury for 2019, when Joe Buck goes in.
   42. Steve Treder Posted: December 07, 2011 at 09:54 PM (#4009634)
Save your fury for 2019, when Joe Buck goes in.

Word.
   43. ray james Posted: December 07, 2011 at 10:00 PM (#4009642)
Blago gets 14 years and McCarver gets honored for meritorious service?

There's no justice left.
   44. Leroy Kincaid Posted: December 07, 2011 at 10:32 PM (#4009673)
Save your fury for 2019, when Joe Buck goes in.

I'm sorry, Charlie O.
   45. Dr. Vaux Posted: December 07, 2011 at 10:41 PM (#4009685)
Color men should not be eligible for this award. It was long established as a play-by-play award, and analysis is a different job. But now that Kubek and McCarver have won it, with numerous deserving candidates yet to be honored (among them King, Caray, and Cheek, probably in that order, along with Niehaus*), the award has lost whatever meaning it may have had.

* I say probably in that order because as much as I love Bill King, I have a nagging feeling that a lot of his case is as a great sports broadcaster, including his Warriors and Raiders work. He was the number two broadcaster for the A's for half the time he was there, and only did MLB for 25 years of a 40+ year career. And Skip Caray is possibly the most underrated broadcaster of all time, due, I suppose, to his unorthodox style and the fact that his team was terrible for much of his career. They're pretty much tied in my book. But I would select King first.
   46. Crispix Attacksel Rios Posted: December 07, 2011 at 11:02 PM (#4009714)
EDIT: and what other color men would you nominate?


Bert Blyleven?
   47. Never Give an Inge (Dave) Posted: December 07, 2011 at 11:21 PM (#4009723)
This is like inducting Nickelback into the Rock and Roll HOF.

Watch out, Nickelback may read your post and zing you on Twitter.
   48. rlc Posted: December 07, 2011 at 11:50 PM (#4009740)
Oh for frick's sake...
   49. villageidiom Posted: December 08, 2011 at 01:01 AM (#4009772)
I gotta say - in the history of television, McCarver and Kubek? That's it?
That's it for primary television analysts. Jon Miller is in, but he's primarily been a radio guy, and not an analyst. Many of the honorees have done a fair amount of TV work, but even those were doing so as play-by-play men.
   50. SoSH U at work Posted: December 08, 2011 at 04:23 AM (#4009879)
with numerous deserving candidates yet to be honored (among them King, Caray, and Cheek, probably in that order, along with Niehaus)


Niehaus has won it.
   51. vern_fuller_brushback Posted: December 08, 2011 at 06:00 PM (#4010422)
When did the role of color man come into vogue?



Dizzy Dean was a color(ful) guy. I remember watching him as a small boy on Saturday afternoons and wondering WTF??

You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.

 

 

<< Back to main

BBTF Partner

Dynasty League Baseball

Support BBTF

donate

Thanks to
tshipman (The Viscount of Variance)
for his generous support.

You must be logged in to view your Bookmarks.

Hot Topics

NewsblogHoward Johnson, Al Leiter headline Mets hall of fame class
(7 - 12:32am, Jun 05)
Last: rr: over-entitled starf@ck3r

NewsblogOMNICHATTER for June 2023
(134 - 12:27am, Jun 05)
Last: esseff

NewsblogBeloved ex-Met Bartolo Colon finally retires from baseball at 50
(14 - 11:32pm, Jun 04)
Last: SoSH U at work

Newsblog2023 NBA Playoffs Thread
(2560 - 11:01pm, Jun 04)
Last: rr: over-entitled starf@ck3r

NewsblogEconomic boost or big business hand-out? Nevada lawmakers consider A’s stadium financing
(13 - 10:51pm, Jun 04)
Last: ReggieThomasLives

NewsblogReport: Nationals' Stephen Strasburg has 'severe nerve damage'
(12 - 10:25pm, Jun 04)
Last: Mr. Hotfoot Jackson (gef, talking mongoose)

NewsblogJays pitcher Anthony Bass sorry for posting video endorsing anti-LGBTQ boycotts
(105 - 8:54pm, Jun 04)
Last: base ball chick

NewsblogOT Soccer Thread - The Run In
(438 - 8:23pm, Jun 04)
Last: Pirate Joe

NewsblogAaron Boone’s Rate of Ejections Is Embarrassing ... And Historically Significant
(18 - 4:15pm, Jun 04)
Last: ERROR---Jolly Old St. Nick

NewsblogBrewers' Jon Singleton back in majors for 1st time since '15
(1 - 12:47pm, Jun 04)
Last: Tom and Shivs couples counselor

NewsblogDiamond Sports Group fails to pay Padres, loses broadcast rights
(27 - 7:52pm, Jun 03)
Last: McCoy

Sox TherapyLining Up The Minors
(31 - 4:07pm, Jun 03)
Last: villageidiom

NewsblogFormer Los Angeles Dodger Steve Garvey weighs U.S. Senate bid
(24 - 3:23pm, Jun 03)
Last: cookiedabookie

NewsblogBig Spending Begins To Pay Off For AL West-Leading Rangers
(11 - 2:39pm, Jun 03)
Last: Walt Davis

Newsblog8 big All-Star voting storylines to follow
(26 - 11:54pm, Jun 02)
Last: bjhanke

Page rendered in 0.3693 seconds
48 querie(s) executed