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Like Mike

Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:18 AM
Filed Under: St. Louis Cardinals
LikeMike.bmp

(OK, I understand why the Cardinals went with this theme, but blast it if I don't have this song stuck in my head every time I hear about it!)

After the very successful Stand for Stan campaign of last season and its followup this year at the All-Star Game, the inventive Cardinal marketing department has turned their eyes toward another honor for another St. Louis legend.  This time, the push is on to get Mike Shannon on the final ballot of the Ford C. Frick Award, given out by the Hall of Fame.  Before we get into the qualifications of Mr. Shannon, let's take a quick look at the award itself.

Since 1978, the Ford C. Frick Award, named after the former commissioner who, I did not know, started out as a broadcaster, has been given to a broadcaster that  has made "major contributions to baseball".  There are four criteria in the voting: longevity, continuity with a club, honors (World Series, All-Star Games), and popularity with the fans.  Jack Buck is the only broadcaster that was largely Cardinal to win the award, though Harry Carey, who started out in St. Louis before perhaps enhancing his fame in Chicago, also is a winner.  (I see Joe Garagiola also has won it.  Joe obviously has St. Louis ties, having grown up in the city and played for the team, but he never did any broadcasting for them, as far as I know.  I am sure our resident historians can correct me if I'm wrong!)

The fans get to select three of the 10 nominees that will be on the final ballot.  The final vote is made from a 20-member committee, including living winners such as Marty Brennamen, Garagiola, Vin Scully and Bob Uecker (another former Cardinal player) and historians such as Bob Costas.  The winner will be announced at the winter meetings in December.

Mike Shannon, of course, is a quality nominee.  Longevity and continuity?  Mike's been with the team 54 years, 40 of those in the broadcast booth.  He's never known another baseball team other than the St. Louis Cardinals.  Honors?  I don't know that he's ever done any national broadcasting work, but of course he's called World Series for KMOX and KTRS and has been honored by a number of organizations, such as receiving an Emmy in 1985 and being inducted into the Missouri Hall of Fame in 1999.

As for popularity, well, would the Cardinals be having this campaign if Mike wasn't a beloved figure?  I admit that, when I started listening to the games on the radio, at first I wasn't all that fond of Mike.  I liked him enough, but he drove me nuts because I couldn't find out what was going on.  I'd usually pick it up in the middle of the inning and have no idea who was winning or what the situation was, because he'd be in the middle of a story and forget to give that info.  Always seemed to happen.

Now, though, especially with so many other ways (MLB At Bat, etc.) to find out the situation and the actual happenings of the game, I appreciate listening to Mike's stories, hearing that familiar voice, enjoying that famous laugh and smiling at the catchphrases.  Mike comes across as that fun uncle that can keep you entertained and doesn't take himself too seriously.  Is there anything greater than hearing "Get up, baby, get up" at a big moment?  Or as things work out for the Redbirds, knowing that "Ole Abner has done it again!"

So you are saying, "Hey, that's great.  Love Mike, think he deserves this.  But what can I do?"  See, I'm glad that I was able to conjure up a hypothetical reader to ask that question!

First off, you can check out the page the Cardinals have made for this campaign.  There are a lot of great things about Mike there, from pictures to some of his famous calls.  Spend some time getting to know Mike Shannon, if you don't already feel like you do.

The biggest thing, though, is to click on the "Vote Now" button, which will take you to the Hall of Fame's Facebook poll.  (You probably have to have Facebook to participate, but if you aren't on there yet, why not?)  You can also go straight to it here, if you want.  The list is in alphabetical order, so make sure you check Mike before adding any others to your list (I think you can vote for up to four at a time.)  You can vote once every 24 hours and the vote is open until 4 PM Central Time on September 30.  So vote and vote often!

Finally, there's another way to show your support for Mike.  Save the picture below and use it for your Facebook profile picture for the next month.  I hope to see a lot of Mike Shannons in my feed!

By the way, if you are following the team on Facebook, you'll be able to hear a different Shannon call every day and send him messages as well.  You can find them at http://www.facebook.com/Cardinals.

Mike's a St. Louis icon and let's keep the power of Cardinal Nation working for the good.  Go and support Mike today!

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Heroes
Matt Holliday (5)
Matt Carpenter (4)
Rafael Furcal (4)
Carlos Beltran (3)
Jaime Garcia (3)
Jon Jay (3)
Kyle Lohse (3)
Lance Lynn (3)
Yadier Molina (3)
David Freese (2)
Adam Wainwright (2)
Lance Berkman (1)
Allen Craig (1)
Shane Robinson (1)
Fernando Salas (1)
Jake Westbrook (1)

2011 Top Hero: Lance Berkman (24)
2010 Top Heroes: Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols (24)
2009 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (28)
2008 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (25)

Goats
Matt Holliday (4)
Carlos Beltran (3)
David Freese (3)
Jaime Garcia (3)
Jason Motte (3)
Marc Rzepczynski (3)
Adam Wainwright (3)
Rafael Furcal (2)
Tyler Greene (2)
J.C. Romero (2)
Fernando Salas (2)
Mitchell Boggs (1)
Matt Carpenter (1)
Tony Cruz (1)
Daniel Descalso (1)
Jon Jay (1)
Erik Komatsu (1)
Kyle Lohse (1)
Victor Marte (1)
Eduardo Sanchez (1)
Jake Westbrook (1)

2011 Top Goat: Ryan Theriot (12)
2010 Top Goat: Brendan Ryan (14)
2009 Top Goats: Rick Ankiel and Todd Wellemeyer (13)
2008 Top Goat: Troy Glaus (13)

2012 Happy Flights
Happy Flights: 7
Happy Flight Opportunities: 12
Happy Flight %: 58%

Through 5/20

    Cardinal Nation Approval Ratings (March 2012)
    Adam Wainwright 91.9% (down 2.8%)
    Chris Carpenter 90.1% (up 3.2%)
    Lance Berkman 88.6%
    Tony La Russa 88.2% (up 17.4%)
    Yadier Molina 87.4% (up 3.7%)
    Matt Holliday 87.3% (down 3.8%)
    David Freese 85.5%
    John Mozeliak 85.4% (up 13.3%)
    Mike Shannon 85.3% (up 0.4%)
    Jose Oquendo 84.7%
    Derrick Goold 82.8% (down 5.0%)
    Mark McGwire 82.6% (up 20.1%)
    John Rooney 81.5% (down 2.8%)
    Mike Matheny 81.1%
    Bill DeWitt 79.8% (up 8.8%)
    United Cardinal Bloggers 78.9%
    Skip Schumaker 73.3% (up 9.2%)
    Jim Hayes 71.9% (down 4.2%)
    Jon Jay 71.1%
    B.J. Rains 69.5% (down 0.9%)
    Kyle Lohse 68.9% (up 13.8%)
    Dan McLaughlin 68.0%
    Joe Strauss 67.7% (up 10.2%)
    Ricky Horton 67.5% (down 1.6%)
    Al Hrabosky 66.4% (up 3.2%)
    Albert Pujols 54.9% (down 45.5%)
    Colby Rasmus 46.5% (down 35.3%)

    2011
    Dave Duncan 87.9% (up 0.9%)
    Matthew Leach 85.5%
    Pop Warner 76.7%
    Ryan Franklin 72.8% (up 3.1%)
    John Vuch 68.9%
    Jeff Luhnow 66.4%
    Dan Lozano 58.7%

    2009
    Rick Ankiel 83.9%
    Chris Duncan 69.1%


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