Courtesy MLB.com

(January 4, 2010) The 10 finalists for the 2010 Ford C. Frick Award were announced on Monday, a slate of beloved baseball broadcasters that consists of Billy Berroa, Skip Caray, Tom Cheek, Jacques Doucet, Lanny Frattare, Graham McNamee, Jon Miller, Joe Nuxhall, Herb Score and Dave Van Horne.

The winner of the Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in baseball broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, will be announced Feb. 1 and honored during Hall of Fame Induction Weekend in Cooperstown, N.Y., July 23-26.

The list of finalists include three fan selections produced during online balloting at the Hall of Fame's Facebook site throughout December. A total of 15,505 votes were cast, and for the second consecutive year, Cheek (5,930 votes), Doucet (5,183) and Nuxhall (1,363) earned spots on the ballot because of it.

Final voting for the Frick Award will be conducted by a 20-member electorate, comprised of the 15 living Frick Award recipients and five broadcast historians/columnist.

The list of living Frick Award recipients includes Marty Brennaman, Jerry Coleman, Gene Elston, Joe Garagiola, Ernie Harwell, Jaime Jarrin, Milo Hamilton, Tony Kubek, Denny Matthews, Dave Niehaus, Felo Ramirez, Vin Scully, Lon Simmons, Bob Uecker and Bob Wolff. Making up the five historians/columnists are Bob Costas, Barry Horn, Stan Isaacs, Ted Patterson and Curt Smith.

Voters are asked to base their selections on the following criteria: longevity, continuity with a club, honors -- including coverage of the World Series and All-Star Game -- and popularity with fans. To be considered, an active or retired broadcaster must have a minimum of 10 years of continuous Major League broadcast service with a ballclub, network or both.

Past winners of the Frick Award include Coleman (2005), Elston ('06), Matthews ('07), Niehaus ('08) and Kubek ('09).

As for those who are up for election in 2010:

• Berroa began announcing Major League games in 1963 and spent 17 years with the Mets as a Spanish radio and T.V. announcer.

• Caray broadcast Braves games on TBS from 1976-2008 and became part of the first three-generation call of a game in 1991 with his father, 1989 Frick Award winner Harry Caray, and son, Skip Caray.

• Cheek, who died in 2005, spent 32 seasons calling Major League games, with his last 28 coming as the Blue Jays' play-by-play man.

• Doucet broadcast Montreal Expos games as the play-by-play radio voice on the French network for 34 years.

• Frattare spent 33 years with the Pirates, from 1976-2008, establishing the longest tenure for a radio broadcaster with the club.

• McNamee called games for 13 seasons for Westinghouse and NBC and covered 12 World Series.

• Miller has worked 32 seasons with the Rangers, Red Sox, Orioles and Giants -- which he has been with since 1997 and still calls games for -- and has been the lead voice on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball telecasts the last 20 years.

• Nuxhall spent 38 years with the Reds, from 1967-2004, and totaled 53 years with Cincinnati as a former pitcher and broadcaster until his death in '07.

• Score broadcast Indians games for 34 years, from 1964-97.

• And Van Horne spent 33 seasons serving as the English voice for the Expos before spending his last nine seasons with the Marlins, which he still calls games for.

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