Jim O'Donnell: Al Michaels will have Frick and memories of a Caray block with the Sox
WHEN PANDEMIC PERMITS, Al Michaels will be the recipient of the 2021 Ford C. Frick Award.
Since 1978, the Frick has attempted to be consistently emblematic of excellence in baseball broadcasting.
For its first decade or so, the award honored only the eminently worthy, a group including such icons as Mel Allen, Red Barber, Vin Scully, Jack Brickhouse and Harry Caray.
Later, it strained for some names, sweeping up such lower-caste sorts as Milo Hamilton, Eric Nadel and Bill King.
Like far too many Halls of Fame and other honors, the Frick has simply become overpopulated.
With Michaels, its selectors come back closer to its original intent.
Anyone who cares knows that the Brooklyn-bred called the Reds (1971-'73), the Giants (1974-'76) and was a fulcrum of ABC's baseball coverage from 1977-'95.
Not many recall how close he came to being part of the great transiting broadcast scheme of the struggling White Sox in 1971.
Bob Elson was retired. Red Rush took an offer from Charlie Finley to bolt for Oakland and a seat alongside the insidious Monte Moore.
No one knew how desperate Caray was after getting poleaxed by Augie Busch in St. Louis and flowing through the 1970 season with Finley, Moore and the A's.
GM Roland Hemond was new to the Sox front office. He became acquainted with Michaels while the young broadcaster was calling minor league games in Honolulu.
So, Hemond recommended Michaels to owner John Allyn.
Allyn - who was squeezing nickels - liked the price and Michaels liked the thought of stepping into the bigs.
Then Caray, with vastly diminished opportunities anywhere, mic-blocked by accepting a low guaranteed salary plus incremental bonuses based on potential increases in attendance.
(That craftiness would begin to pay off big when Dick Allen and 1.1 million fans arrived at Comiskey Park in 1972.)
So, shut out in Chicago, Michaels instead joined The Big Red Machine 1.0.
Fifty years later, Cooperstown is finally calling.
ADAM EATON IS the aging journeyman outfielder whom the White Sox just signed to a one-year, $7 million contract.
While making a series of remote media connects after the deal, he wound up on a low-rated late-morning radio show featuring Carmen DeFalco and John Jurkovic.
The program is a placeholder on ESPN AM-1000, the new flagship of the Sox.
Less than four minutes into the conversation, Eaton was asked a completely fair, inbounds question about current players relating to carbon-dated 76-year-old manager Tony La Russa.
He laughed, said, "OK, I've given you your two minutes" and hung up.
Free tip to South Side marketing and media staff: Your players are going to hear a variant of that question a lot.
And if the season goes south of Peotone, the Q. will get meaner and of gale force.
Ergo, prepping even testy types like Eaton might not be a bad strategy.
In the meantime, to fill his down time, maybe Eaton can be given an unbalanced rubber ball and an Angry Ducks device to play with at his locker.
STREET-BEATIN': Only 14% of the nation will be subject to the Bears-Houston Sunday (CBS-2, noon; Kevin Harlan, Trent Green). That's cause for enormous joy among the other 86%. ...
Troy Aikman and Joe Buck called the final three quarters of NE-LAR Thursday night as if they had the Patriots plus-5 and were resigned to gloom. (Bill Belichick has seldom sent out such a poorly prepared team.) ...
Speaking of snoozy NFL telecasts, Jim Nantz and Tony Romo sleepwalked through last Sunday's Eagles-Packers scrimmage. (At roughly $800K per-game, Romo was overpaid by $798,500.) ...
Thom Brennaman, who blew up his career with an anti-gay slur last summer, is trying to rebuild by working play-by-play in the Roberto Clemente League in Puerto Rico. (Age and a stringent social atmosphere don't favor a major comeback.) ...
Is there a more annoying college football analyst in the land than Mike Golic Jr.? (He makes gym shoes in a dryer sound ambient.) ...
With seven canceled games due to COVID, Charlie Moore and DePaul hope for a tip vs. visiting Xavier next Friday (FS1, WYLL-AM 1160). ...
Former Conant coach Tom McCormack and Tom Anstett are hawking their basketball coaching primer, "Victory Is In The Details" (Amazon, $19.95; e-book, $9.95). ...
And redoubtable Phil Mushnick, on news that Brooklyn's Kyrie Irving - who'll make $33 million this season - will only speak to NBA press when he wants to: "Most don't give a rat's retina if he speaks to the media or to the nearest wall."
• Jim O'Donnell's Sports & Media column appears Thursday and Sunday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com.