Two months after MLB analyst John Kruk and ESPN mutually decided to end their working relationship after 12 years, the three-time All-Star first baseman and outfielder is reuniting with the team where he achieved his greatest success as a major leaguer.
CSN Philly announced on Thursday that Kruk has signed on with the network as a game analyst for the 2017 season. Kruk did both game broadcasts and studio work for ESPN, but will be in the broadcast booth for the Phillies. He’ll replace Matt Stairs in an analyst role, who took a position as the Phillies’ hitting coach for next season.
I will continue to pursue TV opportunities so I can continue covering the game I love
— John Kruk (@JohnKruk) October 4, 2016
Kruk, 55, had been in discussions with CSN Philly for the past month and will join a relatively crowded broadcast crew that includes play-by-play man Tom McCarthy, analysts Mike Schmidt and Ben Davis, and sideline reporter Gregg Murphy. No word on how many games Kruk will call during the season. Stairs and Davis essentially split analyst duties for CSN Philly’s 162-game broadcast schedule.
In six seasons with the Phillies, Kruk compiled a .309 batting average, .861 OPS, 145 doubles, 62 home runs and 390 RBI, playing mostly at first base with some time in the outfield. He earned a spot on three National League All-Star teams from 1991 to 1993. Though he’s been an informative and entertaining analyst during his broadcast career, Kruk will hopefully have some great stories to share during games about his time with the Phillies and teammates such as Lenny Dykstra, Darren Daulton and Mitch Williams. Maybe Curt Schilling too, if he has already shared those stories on his own.
Kruk had a brief stint as a coach in the Phillies organization before becoming a broadcaster, working as a hitting coach with Double-A Reading during the 2001 season. From there, he had stints with Fox Sports (notably on The Best Damn Sports Show Period), along with gigs at Comcast SportsNet and WPEN-AM in Philadelphia. At ESPN, Kruk was a studio analyst for Baseball Tonight and color analyst for Sunday Night Baseball.
Thinking about becoming a fitness instructor…sick of all these people that are in good shape!
— John Kruk (@JohnKruk) October 4, 2016
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About Ian Casselberry
Ian is a writer, editor, and podcaster. You can find his work at Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He's written for Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation.