Eight of Major League Baseball’s most respected and familiar voices, including former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale, have been named finalists for the 2021 Ford C. Frick Award.
The honor is presented annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum for excellence in baseball broadcasting. To be considered, an active or retired broadcaster must have a minimum of 10 years of continuous MLB broadcast service with a team, network, or combination of the two.
Along with Drysdale, the other finalists for the 2021 Ford C. Frick Award are Buddy Blattner, Joe Buck, Dave Campbell, Dizzy Dean, Ernesto Jerez, Al Michaels and Dan Schulman. All candidates except Blattner, Dean and Drysdale are living.
The winner of the 2021 Frick Award will be announced on Dec. 9 and honored during the July 23-26, 2021 Hall of Fame Weekend in Cooperstown. 2020 Frick Award winner Ken Harrelson will also be recognized after this year’s festivities were cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Final voting for the 2021 Ford C. Frick Award will be conducted by an electorate comprised of the 12 living Frick Award recipients and three broadcast historians/columnists.
That includes past Frick Award winners Marty Brennaman, Bob Costas, Harrelson, Jaime Jarrín, Tony Kubek, Denny Matthews, Tim McCarver, Jon Miller, Eric Nadel, Vin Scully, Bob Uecker and Dave Van Horne, and historians/columnists David J. Halberstam, Barry Horn and Curt Smith.
Drysdale spent the entirety of his 14-year career with the Dodgers, compiling 209 wins, a 2.95 ERA, 3.02 FIP and 1.15 WHIP with 2,486 strikeouts in 3,432 innings pitched (518 games, 465 starts).
After retiring at the conclusion of the 1969 season, he entered the broadcasting world, calling games for the Montreal Expos in 1970-71. A short stint with the Texas Rangers in 1972 preceded a lengthier one with the L.A. Angels from 1973-80.
Drysdale later announced games for the Chicago White Sox from 1982-87 before returning to the Dodgers organization in 1988. He called games on the radio until midway through the 1993 season, when he tragically passed away before a Dodgers’ road game in Montreal.
Past Ford C. Frick Award winner with Dodgers ties
Jarrín is the Dodgers’ most recipient of the 1998 Ford C. Frick Award, while Scully took home the honor in 1982.
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