DVH

Marlins radio man (and longtime Expos broadcaster) Dave Van Horne has been selected as the 2011 recipient of MLB's Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for major contributions to baseball broadcasting. Partisan as I may be, I cannot think of anyone more deserving.

Ted and I are both fans of DVH, but in this case we defer to Jonah Keri, who penned a lovely tribute to the man who called Expos games during his youth:

For as long as I can remember, I had a little radio by my bed. Nearly every night from age 8 through the end of high school, the voice coming out of that radio belonged to Dave. He called the game like a master, showing just the right amount of excitement when a big play happened (take note, Joe Buck) and the right amount of healthy skepticism when a player, manager, umpire or anyone else failed in their duties. He was exciting and informative all at once, the perfect blend for a play-by-play man. Dave's voice carried with it the nightly rhythms of the season, his measured pace carrying me off to sleep even as the Expos toiled deep into the night at Candlestick or Jack Murphy. As hard as it is to do catchphrases well, Dave's were seamless and comforting, like the warm blanket I slid over my shoulders on a cold Montreal April night. "Hi again, everybody. Glad to have you aboard for this game," he'd say at the start of every telecast. Dave wasn’t just describing the action. He was inviting us into the booth to sit with him for a few hours, even when he was 2,000 miles away.

Read the whole thing here. Here's hoping Jonah gets DVH to appear on his podcast real soon.