2013 Ford C. Frick Award candidate: Mike Shannon

Once again, it is the time of year where fans are encouraged to vote, preferably for Cardinals broadcaster Mike Shannon, for who they think is worthy of receiving the Ford C. Frick Award during next summer’s Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

The Hall of Fame announced last week what the process is going to be like this year for the Ford C. Frick Award.

Until September 7th at 5 PM ET, fans can vote for Mike Shannon once a day at the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Facebook page. There will be a second round of voting in a few weeks. The third round will be narrowed down to 10 candidates and decided on by the living recipients of the Frick award and 5 baseball historians and veteran media members. Ultimately, it is going to come down to this list of people:

"The voting electorate consists of 21 members, featuring 2012 Ford C. Frick Award winner Tim McCarver and the other 15 living Frick Award winners: Marty Brennaman, Jerry Coleman, Gene Elston, Joe Garagiola, Milo Hamilton, Jaime Jarrin, Tony Kubek, Denny Matthews, Jon Miller, Felo Ramirez, Vin Scully, Lon Simmons, Bob Uecker, Dave Van Horne and Bob Wolff. The five historians and veteran media members also part of the electorate include: Bob Costas (NBC/MLB Network), Barry Horn (Dallas Morning News), Stan Isaacs (formerly of New York Newsday), Ted Patterson (historian) and Curt Smith (historian)."

Mike Shannon is due. The former Cardinals third baseman became a member of the Cardinals broadcasting booth in 1972, only two years after he retired from the game. Shannon, if named as the Frick Award recipient, would join his former broadcast partner, Jack Buck, in the broadcaster’s wing in Cooperstown. Buck was honored in 1987. Harry Caray, who broadcasted for the Cardinals for 25 seasons from 1945 to 1969, was honored in 1989.

It is impossible to find a Cardinals fan that has not listened to Mike Shannon broadcast from the booth. Find a Cardinals fan that isn’t shouting “Get up, baby, get up!” on a deep long drive towards the outfield. They are hard to miss.

It’s hard to find a Cardinals fan that has not heard a Shannonism at some point in their life, be it while listening to the radio or by way of a friend.

In the minds of Cardinals fans, Mike Shannon is already a Hall of Famer. To be honored as a Ford Frick Award recipient would only be the icing on the cake.