The Baseball Hall of Fame operates in mysterious ways and one of the biggest mysteries is how they select the winner of the Ford C. Frick award. The winner gets to be represented in the Hall of Fame. Tom Cheek is this years winner.
The Hall of Fame is not a part of MLB. They are a private institution. As a private institution they want people to come and visit and, in my opinion, there is always a pull between naming broadcasters who are alive versus dead. Dave VanHorne, who was elected last year, is most definitely alive and therefore can go on multiple TV and radio shows and talk about what a great place the Hall of Fame is and in that way generate publicity and revenue for the Hall. Tom Cheek cannot do that. That is speculation on my part as to why it has taken so long for Tom Cheek to be named.
We also have to understand that most baseball broadcasters, whether they be on TV or radio, hold their jobs for many, many years and as a result generate a large local following. In the same way as we think Tom Cheek is deserving there are other fan bases who thing their guy is deserving. Given the competition and the politics it is great that Tom Cheek got in.
Cheek is best known for two things, his "touch 'em all Joe" call in the 1993 World series and his consecutive games streak of 4306. He certainly came to play every day.
The attached link from Sportsnet has some of Tom's best calls.
Did anyone out there every meet Tom? What are your most memorable calls?
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