SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 8: Giants longtime broadcasters Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper arrive to throw out the first pitch before Game 1 of the National League Division Series at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., Friday, Oct. 8, 2021. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
The Giants’ legendary broadcaster Duane Kuiper on Wednesday was named a finalist for the 2023 Ford C. Frick Award, “presented annually for excellence in baseball broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.”
Kuiper, wrapping up his 36th season behind the microphone in San Francisco, was also a finalist in 2014.
This year, he was nominated alongside nine others: Dave Campbell (ESPN/Padres), Joe Castiglione (Red Sox), Gary Cohen (Mets), Jacques Doucet (Expos/Blue Jays), Tom Hamilton (Guardians), Jerry Howarth (Blue Jays), Pat Hughes (Cubs/Brewers/Twins), Ernie Johnson Sr. (Braves) and Steve Stone (White Sox/Cubs).
The winner will be announced at this year’s Winter Meetings, on Dec. 7, and the winner will be honored in Cooperstown in July as part of the 2023 Hall of Fame weekend.
According to the Baseball Hall of Fame, the award is an honor for “commitment to excellence, quality of broadcasting abilities, reverence within the game, popularity with fans, and recognition by peers.”
Jon Miller, the other voice of the Giants, won the Frick award in 2010. Mike Krukow, Kuiper’s longtime partner, was also a finalist in 2017.
Kuiper, 72, overcame chemotherapy in 2021 and the unexpected death of his wife in February to return to the KNBR and NBC Sports Bay Area broadcast booths this year. A 13-time Emmy winner, Kuiper is one of the Bay Area’s most beloved broadcasters; he has been calling games with Krukow, his former teammate, for 32 years.
Originally published at Evan Webeck