http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...,2889597.column

 

Hall? Yeeesss! Well, maybe

Harrelson among those eligible for Frick consideration

 

Ken Harrelson isn't going to the Hall of Fame as a player, not with a .239 career batting average. But Harrelson could merit inclusion in Cooperstown as an announcer with a little help from his fans.

 

Just don't put it on the board yet.

 

The Hall of Fame currently is conducting online voting (www.baseballhalloffame.org) through November for the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in baseball broadcasting. Fans will be able to place three of the 10 candidates on the final ballot.

 

A Hall of Fame staff research team will determine the other seven candidates. The winner then will be elected by a 20-person panel that includes the 14 living Frick Award winners and six others, including Bob Costas and Curt Smith, the author of several books on baseball announcers.

 

According to the Hall of Fame, the criteria include longevity, continuity with a club and popularity with fans.

 

How does Harrelson rate? He just completed his 30th year behind the microphone. He joined the White Sox in 1982 and has spent 21 of the last 25 years as their announcer, including the last 17 seasons.

 

In comparison with the previous winners since the award was introduced in 1978, Harrelson compares favorably in the longevity and continuity categories. It is a lifetime achievement honor, and local legends Bob Elson (inducted in 1979), Jack Brickhouse (1983) and Harry Caray (1989) were more than worthy.

 

As for popularity, Harrelson's signature phrases "Grab some bench," "He gone," and "You can put it on the board, yeeesss!" have become part of the official language of Sox fans.

 

"Hawk was an asset for the Sox long before the Sox were an asset," Smith said.

 

The Hall of Fame talk has taken Harrelson by surprise. According to Brooks Boyer, the Sox's vice president of marketing, Harrelson never mentioned anything to him about Cooperstown.

 

"I never thought about it," Harrelson said. "The last couple of years people have sent me e-mails about it. Recently, I was at a reception and people asked if I was in the Hall. It's very flattering, but I don't dwell on it."

 

With Harrelson in a rare humble moment, we will leave it to Smith to speak of his credentials.

 

"He embodies everything you would want in a broadcaster," Smith said. "He's accurate. He knows the game. He has a certain panache. He's a hoot. In my eyes, he certainly is worthy of receiving the Frick Award."

 

The endorsement doesn't necessarily mean Harrelson will get Smith's vote this year. Smith said he usually votes for announcers who are retired or those who have been overlooked by history, such as Graham McNamee, a baseball radio icon in the '20s and '30s.

 

Among the favorites for this year's award is longtime Seattle Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus. Fox Sports is making a push for Tim McCarver, who holds a broadcast record for working 17 World Series.

 

Harrelson, though, could take a big step this year. He never has been on the final ballot. More than 270,000 ballots have been cast in the first three years of fan voting, but apparently not enough were from Sox fans.

 

The fan ballot seems to list virtually every announcer who ever called a game. Ed Farmer, Pat Hughes and John Rooney are listed, but they have to work several more years to be considered. Ron Santo also is on the ballot, but his best shot for getting into Cooperstown is still as a player through the Veterans Committee.

 

Harrelson deserves to be among the 10 finalists, though he probably needs to be on the final ballot for a few years to allow his stock to rise.

 

"It would be a great honor to get in the Hall … if you're still alive," Harrelson said.

 

Harrelson isn't going anywhere soon. He has two years left on his contract with the White Sox, and at 65 he says he has no plans to retire.

 

"I've never had a job in my life, especially this one," Harrelson said. "This isn't a job, it's a labor of love. I think we could win it again next year. I'm going to keep doing it until my behind points either east or west. If it points south, then you're really in trouble."

 

VOTE OR DIE

 

http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/

I gave Hawk Harrellson my vote.

Get Hawk Harrelson into the Hall of Fame? As a broadcaster? This is a joke, right?

Get Hawk Harrelson into the Hall of Fame? As a broadcaster? This is a joke, right?

Only if wimpy makes it first

Go Hawk......love him or hate him......he loves the sox just as much if not more than anyone on here

Hawk has my vote. They sure want a lot of information about me just to place my vote.

Why vote for Hawk when you can vote Bert Blyleven?

I sure as hell don't see Hawk as a HOF'er. Just one man's opinion, but he is average at best and as far as signature phrases "He Gone" is horrible. It reeks of mediocre homer.

of coures i voted for hawk.

 

I sure as hell don't see Hawk as a HOF'er. Just one man's opinion, but he is average at best and as far as signature phrases "He Gone" is horrible. It reeks of mediocre homer.

 

This coming from Rex Hudler!

Edited November 18, 200619 yr by Steve9347

I sure as hell don't see Hawk as a HOF'er. Just one man's opinion, but he is average at best and as far as signature phrases "He Gone" is horrible. It reeks of mediocre homer.

 

Don't hate. Hawk is the greatest of all time. I haven't seen a passion like his since Harry Caray.

Don't hate. Hawk is the greatest of all time. I haven't seen a passion like his since Harry Caray.

The greatest what?

I sure as hell don't see Hawk as a HOF'er. Just one man's opinion, but he is average at best and as far as signature phrases "He Gone" is horrible. It reeks of mediocre homer.

Harrelson's entire being reeks of mediocre homer.

Eh. I enjoy Hawk's homerism. I don't consider it a negative.

I sure as hell don't see Hawk as a HOF'er. Just one man's opinion, but he is average at best and as far as signature phrases "He Gone" is horrible. It reeks of mediocre homer.

 

Your what hurts?

Hawk has my vote. He adds excitement to the game. His homerism adds is part of the greatness of this man.

 

Put him in the Hall of Fame YEEESS!!!

I thought this was a joke at first. Hawk is barely tolerable as a White Sox fan, I can't believe anyone else would vote for him.