Avon Lake resident, longtime Cleveland baseball radio voice Tom Hamilton set for Hall of Fame honor

CLEVELAND — The day Guardians radio broadcaster Tom Hamilton's will never forget is Saturday in Cooperstown, N.Y. He is the 2025 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, given to a broadcaster that has made "major contributions to baseball." Frick was a former commissioner of Major League Baseball. Hamilton, 70, cried while talking with the media Tuesday at Progressive Field. He said he's leaving today with his wife, Wendy, and will drive to Cooperstown. "It's very emotional," the Avon Lake resident said. "It's kind of surreal. It's hard to grasp. It's overwhelming at times. "You're very humbled by it. All of us know how lucky we are to be in this game." Born Aug. 19, 1954, in Waterloo, Wisconsin, Hamilton came to Cleveland in 1990 after spending the previous three years calling games for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers. He credits friend Terry Smith, then the voice of the Clippers, with giving him his big chance. "Without the Triple-A experience for three years, I'm not sitting here today," Hamilton said. "If I had any hope about getting a major league job, I needed Triple-A experience. Terry and the Clippers afforded me that for three years." Once he came to the Indians, now Guardians, he quickly became a fan favorite with his exorbitant home run calls. "I haven't had a bad partner in 36 years," he said, referring to partners Herb Score, Dave Nelson, Matt Underwood, Mike Hegan and the current Jim Rosenhaus. "For seven months (a year), you're with your partners more than your family. I've worked with good people and really good friends." Hamilton said he's been blessed to be a part of 14 Cleveland teams that have made the playoffs, along with three World Series clubs. Once he joined the team, he was thrilled to meet broadcasting idols like Ernie Harwell, Vin Scully, Jon Miller and Bob Uecker. Now, he's part of the fraternity. Hamilton said he's not sure he belongs next to others who have won the prestigious Ford C. Frick Award, such as Mel Allen, Red Barber and Curt Gowdy. "I don't feel I should be in that class with them," he said. "I can't think that way. I'm not at any of their levels. It's an incredible honor." Dick Allen, Dave Parker, Ichiro Suzuki, Billy Wagner and former Indians pitcher CC Sabathia will become the newest inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday. "I wouldn't think it could get any better, but it did," Hamilton said. "CC is one of the special people among the many we've had here." Hamilton said his induction speech is ever-changing. When asked how many times he's rewritten it, he said, "I'll tell you when I'm done. It seems like every night I'm tweaking it. No one likes to talk about themselves." The Guardians radio announcer went viral after his description of the Jose Ramirez-Tim Anderson fight on Aug. 5, 2023. His line, "Down goes Anderson," has gone down in infamy. "It took on a life of its own," he said. "I was told it went viral (he's not on social media). It was an amazing scene." Hamilton said broadcasters must watch what they say in today's world. "You're 15 seconds away from being done," he said. "You're 15 seconds away from saying the right thing and it came out wrong. You're cognizant about being in that booth. You don't have a net. You don't get too full of yourself." Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com.