St. Louis Cardinals players go from playing games to calling games so frequently that one wonders which current or recent Redbirds will follow in the steps of Joe Garagiola, Tim McCarver, and Bob Uecker, ex-players who had exceptional second acts behind the microphone. All three have received the prestigious Ford C. Frick Award for baseball broadcasters.
Besides that trio, successful Cardinals-turned-broadcasters include Dizzy Dean, a popular network voice from 1953 to ’65 who also called games for the Cards, Browns, Yankees, and Braves; Bill White, who called Yankees games from 1971-’88; Mike Shannon, a Redbird radio voice since 1972; Jim Kaat, a four-year Cardinal (1980-83) who worked network and Yankees games for more than two decades; Al Hrabosky, Cards color commentator and studio presence since 1985; and Keith Hernandez, a Mets game analyst since 2006.