Niehaus Robbed Again

Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus, who has been with the team since its inception, has once again been snubbed by the Hall of Fame. Niehaus was a finalist for the Ford C. Frick award, which is given to baseball's best broadcasters.

This year's winner is, inexplicably, the San Diego Padres' Jerry Coleman. Coleman has long been regarded as one of baseball's worst announcers, prone to such verbal infelicities as:

"Rich Folkers is throwing up in the bullpen."

"If Pete Rose's streak was still intact, with that single to left, the fans would be throwing babies out of the upper deck."

"Enos Cabell started out here with the Astros and before that he was with the Orioles."

Putting Jerry Coleman in the Hall of Fame for broadcasting is like putting Gary Coleman in the Hall of Fame for tallness.

In contrast, Niehaus is a man who made the 1980s Mariners seem exciting. That alone merits induction.