Don't neglect your franchise

Voting franchise, that is.

From the Baseball Hall of Fame:

Frick Award Ballot Voting Begins Online Tomorrow

— Fan Vote Will Place Three Names on Final Ballot —

Thousands of baseball fans have already used Facebook to stay connected to their heroes at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Now, they can nominate their favorite broadcaster for the Hall’s Ford C. Frick Award through the Museum’s Facebook presence, beginning tomorrow, Dec. 1, through Dec. 31.

Online voting for fan selections for the 2010 Frick Award will begin Dec. 1 at 10 a.m. EST, at the Hall’s Facebook page, and will conclude at 5 p.m. EST on Dec. 31. The top three fan selections from votes tallied at the site will appear on the final 10-name ballot for the award. The 2010 Frick Award winner will be selected by a 20-member electorate, with the winner to be announced in early February.

Presented annually since 1978 for excellence in baseball broadcasting, the Frick Award is given to an active or retired broadcaster with a minimum of 10 years of continuous major league broadcast service with a ball club, network, or a combination of the two. Fans will have the opportunity to select from more than 200 broadcasters eligible for consideration for the 2010 Ford C. Frick Award. Bios of each candidate will appear at www.baseballhall.org.

The Frick electorate includes all living Award-winners and five historians/veteran media members appointed by the Hall of Fame. The voting electorate consists of 20 members, featuring 2009 Ford C. Frick Award winner Tony Kubek and the other 14 living Frick Award winners: Marty Brennaman, Jerry Coleman, Gene Elston, Joe Garagiola, Ernie Harwell, Jaime Jarrin, Milo Hamilton, Denny Matthews, Dave Niehaus, Felo Ramirez, Vin Scully, Lon Simmons, Bob Uecker and Bob Wolff. The five historians and veteran media members also part of the electorate include: Bob Costas (NBC), Barry Horn (Dallas Morning News), Stan Isaacs (formerly of New York Newsday), Ted Patterson (historian) and Curt Smith (historian).

This marks the seventh year the Hall of Fame will include three fan selections on its final Frick Award ballot. In 2009, a record 145,138 votes were cast online, with former Cincinnati Reds announcer Joe Nuxhall leading all vote-getters with 19,547 votes. Former Expos announcer Jacques Doucet (10,282) and former Toronto announcer Tom Cheek (8,992) also earned spots on the 2009 final ballot.