SF Giants legendary broadcasting duo named Ford C. Frick Award finalists
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum revealed the finalists for the 2024 Ford C. Frick Award, an annual award for excellence in baseball broadcasting. The legendary duo of SF Giants broadcasters Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper were selected as two of the 10 finalists.
Mike Krukow (left) and Duane Kuiper call the game from different booths in 2020.
Krukow pitched for 14 years in the majors, from 1976-1989, starting with the Chicago Cubs and rounding out his career with seven years as a Giant. He ended his career having pitched in 369 games, going 124-117 with a 3.90 ERA. In 1984, he had an All-Star year for the Giants and even finished third in Cy Young voting.
After his playing career, Krukow began broadcasting on local Bay Area radio as a color analyst. By 1994, with the Giants fully settled in the Bay Area after threats of relocation, he was a full-time broadcaster with the station.
Kuiper, Krukow's counterpart in nearly every way, spent 12 years in the majors as a second baseman, from 1974-1985, finishing his career with four years in a Giants uniform. Over his career, he played in 1,057 games and hit .271/.325/.316 with 91 doubles, 29 triples, and a home run.
Kuiper began broadcasting himself when he was still wearing a Giants uniform, hosting his own show on the same station as Krukow, beginning in 1992. After his retirement, he began calling Giants games, and he remained in the booth from 1986-1992 until he took a one-year job with the Colorado Rockies with the Giants relocation efforts looming. In 1994, he returned the booth, and has remained there since.
Krukow and Kuiper, or as fans call them "Kruk and Kuip," have been a mainstay of Giants radio and television broadcasting for over 30 years, and have a combined 17 Emmy Awards for their work. Kuiper was also a Ford C. Frick nominee in 2023.
Joe Buck, Joe Castiglione, Gary Cohen, Jacques Doucet, Tom Hamilton, Ernie Johnson Sr., Ken Korach, and Dan Shulman were the other eight nominees. Criteria for the award is shared as "Commitment to excellence, quality of broadcasting abilities, reverence within the game, popularity with fans, and recognition by peers." The award will be voted on by the 12 past living winners of the honor, and three baseball historians.
Familiar face in fellow Giants broadcaster Jon Miller will be voting on his longtime colleagues. This year, the panel will include Marty Brennaman, Bob Costas, Ken Harrelson, Pat Hughes, Jaime Jarrín, Tony Kubek, Denny Matthews, Al Michaels, Miller, Eric Nadel, Bob Uecker, Dave Van Horne, David J. Halberstam, Barry Horn, and Curt Smith.
Neither Krukow nor Kuiper may need this honor in order to be recognized as some of the best broadcasters in Giants franchise history, but it would certainly be nice. The winner will be announced on December 6th, during winter meetings.
