Now that we can nominate broadcasters for the Hall of Fame’s prestigious Ford C. Frick Award, I will share that my vote goes to longtime Montreal Expos French-language broadcaster Jacques Doucet.
Beginning today, you can vote for one broadcaster on the Hall of Fame’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/baseballhall. Voting concludes at 5 p.m. ET on Dec. 31.
There are more than 200 eligible broadcasters, and the top three selections will appear on the final, 10-name ballot for the 2010 award.
There are so many worthy choices. And, personally, I could choose a couple dozen who I think deserve the award, or, in the case of George Kell and Al Kaline, I could select a member of the TV team I grew up watching. But I’m voting Jacques.
Doucet was the premier and, truly, only link to the French-speaking populace of Quebec and eastern Ontario for more than three decades. When Baseball first fielded a team outside the U.S., it was in Canada, in Montreal, in 1969. Doucet called all but the first four years of Expos baseball, until the team moved to Washington after the 2004 season.
In our What-have-you-done-for-me-lately? society, we recall the Expos’ fan base as paltry, its stadium dilapidated. But lest we forget, the Expos had the Majors’ best record, coincidentally, in the strike year of 1994, robbing ownership of lucrative playoff gates (it was to be the first year of three post-season serieses) and international TV exposure. Couple that with gleaming Labatt Park never coming to fruition, and, the robust history of the Expos – and, arguably, the Majors’ most fun visiting city – was just a memory.
Doucet was a pioneer. To the passionate francophone, he broadcast All-Star games, the World Series. Voters are asked to base selections on a broadcaster’s longevity; continuity with a club; honors (or should we say honours), national assignments; and popularity with fans. Doucet meets all criteria.
Let’s let the bias trickle in now. He also has been a really good guy to me. When I filled in on Expos broadcasts in 2003-04, making my MLB debut, Doucet was extremely helpful in aiding my transition.
A couple times, I stood in his booth, listening to him convey baseball to a prideful community. He is baseball, in French. Not too many broadcasters can claim their voice is synonymous with a sport in a given language.
A 20-person panel of former winners, media and historians will make the official call. To illustrate how fragmented the voting can be, last year, Doucet ranked second in the voting with 7.1 percent. Stuffing the ballot box would go a long way not only getting Doucet included for consideration, but for convincing the panel that he is the most worthy candidate for the honor. I mean, if nothing else, how cool would it be to hear a guy at the podium conclude his speech with merci beaucoup?
One additional criterion I’d like to ask for you to consider when you vote: Does the broadcaster have passion for the game? I mean deep, deep passion. Doucet had a lucrative MLB career. He is 69. He could retire. Instead, he is the voice of Les Capitales de Quebec in the independent Can-Am League. He still calls ballgames. Eric Gagne pitched for his team this year. But so did Chris Allen and Brett Polansky. Doucet must really love it.
And, so many people loved his call of the game. But even if those fans exclaimed it right to our faces, we would just think they were late for a meeting or hailing a taxi, or something. The language barrier shouldn’t stand in the way of Jacques Doucet being the 2010 Ford Frick nominee.
Block is a radio broadcaster for the New Orleans Hornets and co-editor of BaseballBroadcasters.com.