On-Line Balloting Begins Tomorrow and Continues Through November

OAKLAND, Calif. - Online voting for fan selections for the 2008 Ford C. Frick Award ballot begins Thursday, November 1, as fans will choose three of the 10 names on the final ballot, to be announced on December 5. Fans can cast votes once per day throughout November for up to three baseball broadcasters, exclusively at baseballhall.org.
Once again, the late Bill King, who broadcast Oakland A’s games for 25 seasons, is included on a large list of annoucers who have spent "a minimum of 10 years of continuous major league broadcast service with a ball club, network or combination of the two." Past honorees include the Bay Area’s own Lon Simmons, Mel Allen, Red Barber, Jack Buck, Harry Caray, Jerry Coleman, Curt Gowdy, Ernie Harwell, Russ Hodges, Harry Kalas and Vin Scully, to name a few.
King has finished first on the on-line balloting each of the last two years.
The Ford C. Frick Award is presented annually to a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball." The award, named after the late broadcaster and National League President, is presented annually at the National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Cooperstown, NY.
Voters are asked to base their selections on the following criteria: longevity; continuity with a club; honors, including national assignments such as the World Series and All-Star Games; and popularity with fans. Paper ballots will be cast by voting members in January and the final results will be announced at the Hall of Fame’s Web site in February.
Each voter will cast ballots and the broadcaster with the strongest support will be named as that year’s award-winner, and be honored the following summer at the annual induction ceremony in Cooperstown.
Fans will have the opportunity to select three of the 199 broadcasters eligible for consideration for the 2008 Ford C. Frick Award. Bios of each candidate appear at the site. Fans are allowed to vote once daily. Results will be announced when voting concludes, though updates will not be provided during the voting.
The final ballot will be comprised of three fan selections, along with seven other candidates, determined by a Hall of Fame research team. The Ford C. Frick electorate includes all living award winners and six historians appointed by the Hall of Fame.