Fix the Frick: Honor Ralph Kiner and Reform Baseball’s Broadcaster Award
The Issue
Petition to Reform the Ford C. Frick Award Process: #FixTheFrick4Ralph
To: The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown, NY
Subject: Reforming the Ford C. Frick Award process to better honor baseball’s greatest voices and fulfill the Hall’s mission to “Preserve history, honor excellence, and connect generations.”
For nearly a century, baseball’s greatest storytellers have brought the game to life through their words, wit, and warmth. From coast to coast, their voices have been the soundtrack of summer uniting generations, building community, and preserving the game’s soul.
One of those voices belonged to Ralph Kiner , Hall of Fame slugger, founding Mets broadcaster, and host of the beloved Kiner’s Korner. For over fifty years, Ralph was as much a part of New York baseball as the team itself. Yet, despite his unparalleled tenure and legacy, he remains without the sport’s highest broadcasting honor: the Ford C. Frick Award.
This isn’t just about Ralph. It’s about all the storytellers who have been left behind by an outdated, restrictive system.
The Problem
Since its creation in 1978, the Ford C. Frick Award has rightfully celebrated excellence in baseball broadcasting. But over time, the process has become unnecessarily complicated and unfairly exclusionary.
Only one broadcaster is honored per year, even though countless deserving voices span decades and markets.
A rotating eligibility cycle means many broadcasters, especially those no longer living may go a decade or more without even being considered.
The fan vote, once an integral part of the process, was eliminated in 2017, silencing the very people whose lives these broadcasters touched.
Meanwhile, active and retired voices who defined the game for entire regions from Ralph Kiner, Ned Martin, and Mike Shannon to Suzyn Waldman, Gary Cohen, Howie Rose and John Sterling continue to be overlooked or wait through multiple cycles to be considered.
The Hall’s stated mission is to “Preserve history, honor excellence, and connect generations.”
It’s time the Frick Award lived up to that.
Our Proposal: Fix the Frick
We, the undersigned, call upon the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum to reform the Ford C. Frick Award process to more fully represent baseball’s broadcasting legacy and align with its mission.
Specifically, we ask that the Hall:
Expand Recognition
Honor multiple broadcasters each year in each of these categories :
Local Market Icon (team voice)
National Voice (network or national impact)
Historical Pioneer (posthumous not restricted to any specific era )
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame does this across genres; baseball should do the same across generations.
Restore Fan Participation
Reinstate a fan component allowing fans, alongside experts and past winners, to help nominate or vote. No one understands a broadcaster’s impact better than those who welcomed them into their homes each night.
Honor All Voices Equitably
Ensure both living and posthumous candidates receive fair, timely consideration. Baseball’s history doesn’t stop with the living its echoes deserve to be heard.
Celebrate Honorees Within the Hall’s Mission
Expand the “Scribes and Mikemen” exhibit to reflect these changes — honoring honorees as true custodians of baseball’s storytelling tradition, even if not “inducted” in the same way as players.
Why This Matters
Baseball is more than numbers it’s narrative. It’s the sound of a summer evening, the familiar cadence of a call, the laughter after a misstep, and the voice that bridges generations.
Honoring more of these voices doesn’t dilute the prestige of the award it deepens it. It ensures that future generations know the people who carried baseball from transistor radios to streaming screens, who made fans out of children, and kept adults connected to their youth.
Our Call to Action
We, the fans, broadcasters, historians, and storytellers of the game, urge the Baseball Hall of Fame to:
Fix the Frick.
Honor Ralph Kiner.
Honor the many who made the game come alive with their voices.
It’s time to make the Frick Award worthy of the voices it celebrates.
44
The Issue
Petition to Reform the Ford C. Frick Award Process: #FixTheFrick4Ralph
To: The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown, NY
Subject: Reforming the Ford C. Frick Award process to better honor baseball’s greatest voices and fulfill the Hall’s mission to “Preserve history, honor excellence, and connect generations.”
For nearly a century, baseball’s greatest storytellers have brought the game to life through their words, wit, and warmth. From coast to coast, their voices have been the soundtrack of summer uniting generations, building community, and preserving the game’s soul.
One of those voices belonged to Ralph Kiner , Hall of Fame slugger, founding Mets broadcaster, and host of the beloved Kiner’s Korner. For over fifty years, Ralph was as much a part of New York baseball as the team itself. Yet, despite his unparalleled tenure and legacy, he remains without the sport’s highest broadcasting honor: the Ford C. Frick Award.
This isn’t just about Ralph. It’s about all the storytellers who have been left behind by an outdated, restrictive system.
The Problem
Since its creation in 1978, the Ford C. Frick Award has rightfully celebrated excellence in baseball broadcasting. But over time, the process has become unnecessarily complicated and unfairly exclusionary.
Only one broadcaster is honored per year, even though countless deserving voices span decades and markets.
A rotating eligibility cycle means many broadcasters, especially those no longer living may go a decade or more without even being considered.
The fan vote, once an integral part of the process, was eliminated in 2017, silencing the very people whose lives these broadcasters touched.
Meanwhile, active and retired voices who defined the game for entire regions from Ralph Kiner, Ned Martin, and Mike Shannon to Suzyn Waldman, Gary Cohen, Howie Rose and John Sterling continue to be overlooked or wait through multiple cycles to be considered.
The Hall’s stated mission is to “Preserve history, honor excellence, and connect generations.”
It’s time the Frick Award lived up to that.
Our Proposal: Fix the Frick
We, the undersigned, call upon the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum to reform the Ford C. Frick Award process to more fully represent baseball’s broadcasting legacy and align with its mission.
Specifically, we ask that the Hall:
Expand Recognition
Honor multiple broadcasters each year in each of these categories :
Local Market Icon (team voice)
National Voice (network or national impact)
Historical Pioneer (posthumous not restricted to any specific era )
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame does this across genres; baseball should do the same across generations.
Restore Fan Participation
Reinstate a fan component allowing fans, alongside experts and past winners, to help nominate or vote. No one understands a broadcaster’s impact better than those who welcomed them into their homes each night.
Honor All Voices Equitably
Ensure both living and posthumous candidates receive fair, timely consideration. Baseball’s history doesn’t stop with the living its echoes deserve to be heard.
Celebrate Honorees Within the Hall’s Mission
Expand the “Scribes and Mikemen” exhibit to reflect these changes — honoring honorees as true custodians of baseball’s storytelling tradition, even if not “inducted” in the same way as players.
Why This Matters
Baseball is more than numbers it’s narrative. It’s the sound of a summer evening, the familiar cadence of a call, the laughter after a misstep, and the voice that bridges generations.
Honoring more of these voices doesn’t dilute the prestige of the award it deepens it. It ensures that future generations know the people who carried baseball from transistor radios to streaming screens, who made fans out of children, and kept adults connected to their youth.
Our Call to Action
We, the fans, broadcasters, historians, and storytellers of the game, urge the Baseball Hall of Fame to:
Fix the Frick.
Honor Ralph Kiner.
Honor the many who made the game come alive with their voices.
It’s time to make the Frick Award worthy of the voices it celebrates.
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on October 10, 2025