Tom Hamilton (born August 19, 1954) is an American sportscaster, primarily known as the chief radio play-by-play announcer for the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

team for 35 years. He is the recipient of the 2025

Ford C. Frick Award The Ford C. Frick Award is presented annually by the Baseball Hall of Fame in the United States to a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball". It is named for Ford C. Frick, former commissioner of baseball. Prior to his career as an exe ...

from the

National Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United St ...

Career

Hamilton joined the then- Indians Radio Network for the 1990 season, after spending three years in the booth for the then

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming * AAA (video game industry) - a category of high budget video games *'' TripleA'', an open source wargame Mu ...

affiliate of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

, the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, merch ...

Cleveland

Hamilton was paired with Indians legend

Herb Score Herbert Jude Score (June 7, 1933 – November 11, 2008) was an American professional baseball pitcher and announcer in Major League Baseball (MLB). He pitched for the Cleveland Indians from 1955 through 1959 and the Chicago White Sox from 196 ...

until 1997, when Score retired after 30 seasons. Hamilton became chief play by play announcer in the 1998 season, a position he still holds today. Because of his longevity and popularity, he is now considered to be the "voice of the Tribe". After the Indians were renamed to the Guardians, he has also been referred to as the "voice of the Guardians". Over his career, Hamilton has called over 5,000 games, including two

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

(

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

). On August 5, 2023, Hamilton received praise for his energetic call of a bench-clearing brawl between the Guardians and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Other Work

Hamilton also called college basketball games in the offseason (usually

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

games) for

ESPN Plus ESPN+ is an American over-the-top subscription video streaming service available in the United States, owned by ESPN Inc., which is a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communication ...

, and

Big Ten Network Big Ten Network (BTN) is an American sports network based in Chicago, Illinois. The channel is dedicated to coverage of College athletics, collegiate sports sanctioned by the Big Ten Conference, including live and recorded event telecasts, news ...

for 25 years.

Broadcasting associates with the Indians/Guardians

, 1990–1997 *

Mike Hegan James Michael Hegan (July 21, 1942 – December 25, 2013) was an American professional baseball player, who later worked as a sports commentator. In Major League Baseball (MLB) he was a first baseman and outfielder, and played for three different ...

, 1998–2011 *

Dave Nelson David Earl Nelson (June 20, 1944 – April 22, 2018) was an American professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators / Texas Rangers, and Kansas City Royals from 1968 through 19 ...

, 1998-1999* *

Matt Underwood Matt Underwood is an American sportscaster currently serving as the television play-by-play announcer for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). Broadcasting career Prior to joining the Guardians broadcast team on a full-time b ...

, 2000-2006* *

Jim Rosenhaus Jim Rosenhaus (born February 25, 1964) is a radio broadcaster for the Cleveland Guardians Major League Baseball team. Rosenhaus also hosts ''Guardians Warm Up'' and ''Guardians Weekly'' on WTAM. Rosenhaus joined the Guardians (known as the Indian ...

, 2010–present* (*) - Nelson, and later Underwood joined Hamilton and Hegan in a three-man booth from 1998 to 2007, when the Indians then went to a two-man booth. Rosenhaus, Hamilton and Hegan formed a three-man team for the 2010 and 2011 seasons.

Broadcasting credits

(all pre-Indians/Guardians) *

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

—football games * ABC Radio *

Appleton Foxes Appleton may refer to: People and fictional characters * Appleton (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters * Appleton family, an American political, religious and mercantile family * Appleton P. Clark Jr. (1865–1955), Am ...

—minor league baseball games *

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

—basketball games *

—minor league baseball games

Signature calls

* "And we're underway at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario!" - after the first pitch of a Guardians home game (during away games, Hamilton will usually say "And we're underway at pposing team's ballpark or city) * "STRIKE THREE CALLED!" - after a Guardians pitcher strikes out an opposing batter looking * "Swing and a drive, waaaay back, and gone!!" or "Swung on and belted, to deep ______ (left/center/right), awaaaay back, and outta here!!" - for a Guardians home run * "Swiiiing and a miss, he tried to hit that one to Euclid / into Lake Erie." - when a batter swings really hard but misses (for away games, Hamilton will use the name of a nearby suburb or neighborhood in the home city) * "A SWING and a miss!" - for a swinging strikeout by a Guardians pitcher * "Ballgame!" - after the final out of a Guardians win * "DOWN GOES ANDERSON! DOWN GOES ANDERSON!" - during an August 5, 2023, brawl between the Guardians and

when Cleveland’s José Ramírez knocked Chicago's Tim Anderson down with a

right hook A hook is a punch in boxing. It is performed by turning the core muscles and back, thereby swinging the arm, which is bent at an angle near or at 90 degrees, in a horizontal arc into the opponent. A hook is usually aimed at the jaw, but it ca ...

. * "Cleveland, you will have an October to Remember!" - the final call of every game in which the Indians/Guardians have clinched a playoff spot since 1995. * "Swung on! Hit high, hit deep to left. THERE SHE GOES!...HOW ABOUT THAT? A walk-off 2-run home run to the bleachers in left by David Fry! And the magical 2024 season is NOT. DONE. BY ANY MEANS!" - Hamilton's call of

David Fry David Paul Fry (born 5 January 1960) is an English former professional football goalkeeper. Born in Bournemouth, he began his career at Weymouth as an amateur and in January 1977 signed for Crystal Palace. Fry was initially understudy to firs ...

's walk-off home run in Game 3 of the

2024 ALCS The 2024 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven playoff in Major League Baseball's 2024 postseason. The top-seeded New York Yankees defeated the second-seeded Cleveland Guardians, four games to one, to become American League (A ...

Personal life

Hamilton resides in

Avon Lake, Ohio Avon Lake is a city in northeastern Lorain County, Ohio, United States, located on the southern shore of Lake Erie about west of Cleveland. The population was 25,206 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. History ...

, with his wife and four children. One son, Nick, was drafted by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

in the 35th round in the

2012 MLB Draft The 2012 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto Rico Baseball Ac ...

out of

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...

. Another son, Brad, works as a reporter for Cleveland

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

affiliate

WJW-TV WJW (channel 8) is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside independent station, independent WBNX-TV (channel 55). The two s ...

Books

*''Glory Days in Tribe Town: The Cleveland Indians and Jacobs Field 1994–1997'', (Co-Written with

Terry Pluto Terry Pluto (born June 12, 1955) is an American sportswriter, newspaper columnist, and author who primarily writes columns for ''The Plain Dealer'', and formerly for the ''Akron Beacon Journal'' about Cleveland, Ohio sports and religion. Pluto ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Awards and honors

*Seven-time NSSA Ohio Sportscaster of the Year (1997, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2013, 2017) *2009 inductee - Cleveland Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame * 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award - Greater Cleveland Sports Awards *Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame (class of 2022)Browns legend, Olympic gold medalist, champion volleyball coach and longtime broadcaster inducted into Hall of Fame - Fox 8.com
(

) *2025

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United St ...

2025 Ford C. Frick Award Winner Tom Hamilton - National Baseball Hall of Fame
/ref>

References

External links

Cleveland Guardians: Broadcasters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Tom 1954 births Living people American radio sports announcers American television sports announcers Cleveland Guardians announcers College basketball announcers in the United States College football announcers Major League Baseball broadcasters Minor League Baseball broadcasters People from Avon Lake, Ohio People from Waterloo, Wisconsin Wisconsin Badgers football announcers