SF Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper nominated for 2023 Ford C. Frick Award
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum revealed the finalists for the 2023 Ford C. Frick Award, an annual award for excellence in baseball broadcasting. Longtime SF Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper was selected as one of the 10 finalists.
SF Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper waves to the crowd from the booth at Oracle Park during the 2020 season.
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Kuiper played 12 big-league seasons as a defensive-minded second baseman from 1974-1985, finishing his career with four years in a Giants uniform. Over his career, Kuiper played in 1,057 games and hit .271/.325/.316 with 91 doubles, 29 triples, and a home run.
In the final years of his playing career, Kuiper began his career as a broadcaster, hosting his own show on Bay Area sports radio in 1982. Immediately after he retired as a player, Kuiper moved to the broadcast booth and began calling Giants games. From 1986-1992, Kuiper was a mainstay in San Francisco's booth before the threat of the franchise moving to Florida led him to take a job with the Colorado Rockies for the 1993 season.
Thankfully for Giants fans, Kuiper returned to the team after it was clear they would stay in San Francisco, where he has stayed one of the team's radio and television broadcasters ever since. Kuiper has won 10 Emmy Awards for his work and, of course, has become a fan favorite alongside his former teammate turned broadcast partner Mike Krukow.
Dave Campbell, Joe Castiglione, Gary Cohen, Jacques Doucet, Tom Hamilton, Jerry Howarth, Pat Hughes, Ernie Johnson Sr., and Steve Stone were the nine other nominees for the award. Voting for the award winner will be done by the 12 living past winners of the award and three baseball historians.
The panel is made up of Marty Brennaman, Bob Costas, Ken Harrelson, Jaime Jarrín, Tony Kubek, Denny Matthews, Tim McCarver, Al Michaels, Jon Miller, Eric Nadel, Bob Uecker, Dave Van Horne, David J. Halberstam, Barry Horn, and Curt Smith.
While SF Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper does not need another award to go down in history as one of the best broadcasters in franchise history, fans would surely love to see him honored at the Hall of Fame.
