| Mike Krukow | |
|---|---|
 Krukow at the 2012San Francisco GiantsWorld Series victory parade | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1952-01-21)January 21, 1952 (age 73) Long Beach, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 6, 1976, for the Chicago Cubs | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 4, 1989, for the San Francisco Giants | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 124–117 |
| Earned run average | 3.90 |
| Strikeouts | 1,478 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Michael Edward Krukow (born January 21, 1952), nicknamed "Kruk", is an Americansportscaster and former professionalbaseball player. As astarting pitcher, he played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theChicago Cubs,Philadelphia Phillies, andSan Francisco Giants. He has been a television and radio broadcaster for the Giants since 1990, and is one half of the popular "Kruk and Kuip" duo, alongside his friend and former teammateDuane Kuiper. He was anAll-Star in 1986.
Krukow was born inLong Beach, California, and attendedSan Gabriel High School inSan Gabriel, California, where he played as a catcher. Krukow was a fan of theLos Angeles Dodgers, the Giants' archrival, and attended many games atDodger Stadium with his father. He was drafted as a catcher by theCalifornia Angels in the 32nd round of the1970 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign.[1]
Krukow became a pitcher and played college baseball for theCal Poly Mustangs inSan Luis Obispo,California. Though his collegiate eligibility was cut short, he still holds the school record for careerearned run average at 1.94, and is tied for mostshutouts in a season with five.
TheChicago Cubs selected Krukow in the eighth round of the1973 MLB draft. He first appeared for the Cubs in 1976, and joined the starting rotation in 1977; he would remain with the team for four more seasons. In 1979 he batted .314 (16 for 51), the ninth highest season batting average for a pitcher in thedesignated hitter era.[citation needed]
He was traded from theCubs to thePhillies forKeith Moreland,Dickie Noles andDan Larson on December 8, 1981.[2]
For the Phillies, the right-handed starter was second only toSteve Carlton in wins, posting a 13–11 record and an impressive 3.12 ERA.
He was dealt along withMark Davis and minor-league outfielder C.L. Penigar from thePhillies to theGiants forJoe Morgan andAl Holland on December 14, 1982.[3] The trade helped Philadelphia win the National League pennant in1983, but it also gave San Francisco two pitching arms that would become a big part of the Giants' success in the late 1980s.
Although known as a starter, Krukow earned his only career save on August 31, 1984, pitching to just one batter (the Phillies'Sixto Lezcano), inducing a game-ending groundout, therefore preserving a 6–5 Giant victory.[4]
Krukow's best campaign was in1986 when he became the first Giants pitcher sinceRon Bryant in1973 to win at least 20 games in a season with a 20–9 record and a 3.05ERA.[5] Krukow finished third in that year's NLCy Young Award behindMike Scott andFernando Valenzuela. Krukow was selected to theNational League All-Star team that season. He received theWillie Mac Award in 1985 and 1986 for his spirit and leadership. In1987, Krukow helped lead the Giants to their first division championship in 16 years.
Krukow's 17no decisions were the most among MLB starting pitchers in 1987,[6] as well as being the most ever by a Giants starter dating back to at least 1908.[7] He made the only postseason appearance of his career in Game-4 of the1987 National League Championship Series. Krukow was the winning pitcher in a nine-inningcomplete game, allowing two runs on nine hits, as the Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4–2.[8] It was the Cardinals, however, that took the series in seven games to reach the World Series.
Krukow went 4–3 with a 3.98 ERA during a1989 campaign which was cut short on June 30 when he underwentarthroscopic surgery to repair arotator cuff tear in his pitching shoulder after spending parts of three seasons on theinjured list for what was believed to bebursitis.[9][10] He was ninth in Giants franchise history with 66 wins and sixth with 802 strikeouts at the time of his retirement as an active player on March 19, 1990 due to recurring shoulder problems.[5] Krukow posted a 124–117 record with a 3.90ERA in 369 games during his 14-season MLB career.[9]
After his playing career, Krukow became a radio and televisionsportscaster. Krukow began broadcasting as an occasional color analyst forKNBR radio in1990 and became a full-time broadcaster in1994. He is a seven-timeEmmy award winner.[11] "Kruk," who was named as the starting right-handed pitcher to the 1980s Giants All-Decade Team in a vote by Bay Area media in 1999, is noted for his deep knowledge of the game and tremendous sense of humor.[12] He is known for his detailed scouting reports on umpires' strike zones.[citation needed]
Part of theSan Francisco Giants broadcasting team, Krukow is half of the duo dubbed "Kruk and Kuip," (pronounced "Kruke" and "Kipe") along with partnerDuane Kuiper, a former Giants teammate. Krukow and Kuiper tape a game-day commentary ("Kruk and Kuip on baseball") forKNBR radio as part of the Giants' pre-game radio coverage. Notably, although Krukow was a pitcher and Kuiper was a position player, Krukow has five careerhome runs, four more than Kuiper (who managed only one in his career despite having over 3,000 at-bats).
Krukow has a few "Kruktionary" catchphrases, including: "Grab some pine, meat"; "Just another, ha ha ha ha, laugher!" (after a nail-biter win); and "I wanna get that!", the last of which is associated with a product endorsement.[13]
Until 2014, Krukow and his wife Jennifer resided inSan Luis Obispo, California, but they moved toReno, Nevada to be closer to their grandchildren though Krukow stays inSan Francisco during the season.[14] They have five adult children, Jarek, Baker, Tessa, Chase and Weston.[11] Mike Krukow is a talented musician, and proficient in the guitar, the mandolin, the banjo, and the ukulele.[15]
In July 2014, Krukow revealed he was suffering frominclusion body myositis (IBM). His condition was known to the Giants and many of his fellow broadcasters, but he kept the condition a secret from the general public until then.[14][15] Krukow first noticed that he was having problems about 10 years earlier, when he had lost about 100 yards off his golf drive.[14] According to sportswriterSteve Fainaru, Krukow "blew it off... for years", but "secretly feared he hadamyotrophic lateral sclerosis,Lou Gehrig's disease".[14] Finally, in 2011, he saw the Giants' team neurologist, who referred him to a neuromuscular specialist who in turn diagnosed him with IBM.[14] The disease, which mainly affects the quadriceps and hand muscles, is not life-threatening, but required him to use a cane. Due to the progression of the disease, Krukow is currently using a motorized wheelchair and can no longer travel to away games.[15] Because of increasing hand weakness that limits his ability to play stringed instruments, he has recently taken up the drums, which require a different set of muscular movements.[14] Krukow plans to continue broadcasting for the foreseeable future,[15] but in 2017, he announced that he would reduce his schedule to 120 games a season working road games only west of Denver, except for postseason games.[16]
For the 2020 season,NBC Sports Bay Area announced that it would experiment with having Krukow callNL West road games remotely from their studios in San Francisco, while still having Kuiper travel to the game site. This arrangement was rendered moot by theCOVID-19 pandemic, as no MLB broadcasters were allowed to travel to road games. As a result, all games were called remotely fromOracle Park. NBC Sports retained this model for away games involving the pair during subsequent seasons, with an alternate commentary team handling other games.[17][18][19][20]