Guardians’ Tom Hamilton Named 2024 Ford C. Frick Award Finalist
In a press release earlier today, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum announced their 10 finalists for the 2024 Ford C. Frick Award.
Cleveland Guardians radio broadcaster Tom Hamilton was named a finalist for the second consecutive year.
Joining him as finalists are: Joe Buck, Joe Castiglione, Gary Cohen, Jacques Doucet, Ernie Johnson Sr., Ken Korach, Mike Krukow, Duane Kuiper, and Dan Shulman.
Hamilton just completed his 34th year in the booth for Cleveland, which ties him with both current television color analyst Rick Manning (1990-present) and former radio broadcaster Herb Score (1964-97) for the longest-tenured broadcaster in franchise history.
Apr 4, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians radio broadcaster Tom Hamilton speaks prior to a game against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field. Cleveland won 7-2.
© David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
He seeks to become the third Cleveland broadcaster to win the award. Jimmy Dudley received the award in 1997, and Jack Graney posthumously did in 2022.
According to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, the Ford C. Frick Award is presented annually to a broadcaster for “major contributions to baseball.”
Hamilton has certainly made a case to receive the honor this year, based on these criteria.
While with the Guardians, he has called 101 MLB postseason games, which include the 1995, 1997, and 2016 World Series.
Before joining Cleveland, the 69-year-old broadcasted in Minor League Baseball. He was a broadcaster for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers for three seasons (1987-89), and also called games for the Appleton Foxes (now the High-A Midwest League’s Wisconsin Timber Rattlers).
During his career, Hamilton has been named the National Sports Media Association’s “Ohio Sportscaster of the Year” seven times, given the 2009 Cleveland Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame Award, and inducted into the Press Club of Cleveland’s Journalism Hall of Fame.
Guardians fans will find out if Hamilton receives the 2024 Ford C. Frick Award on December 6th, when the winner is announced during MLB’s annual Winter Meetings.
