John Kruk isn’t going anywhere — except maybe for a mid-game snack or a mid-inning beer.
In a feature in Philadelphia Magazine, it was revealed that NBC Sports Philadelphia locked in the Phillies analyst to a four-year extension this past winter, ensuring fans get more of his unfiltered takes, dry humor and complete disdain for anything overly serious for the foreseeable future.
Since 2017, he’s been a perfect fit alongside Tom McCarthy, headlining a booth featuring a rotating cast of Mike Schmidt, Ben Davis and Ruben Amaro Jr. Last year, the group landed at No. 7 in Awful Announcing’s annual local broadcast rankings, a testament to their chemistry and entertainment value.
Phillies fans might hate the comparison considering his disdain for their fundies, but in a way, he’s a lot like Keith Hernandez — in the sense that you never quite know what he’ll say next.
When the 64-year-old Kruk isn’t extolling the virtues of drinking in Montreal, suggesting Cole Hamels join their booth to form the sexiest broadcast team of all time or scaring kids near the broadcast booth, he’s predicting walk-offs two innings beforehand and willing wild pitches into existence.
Despite some recent health scares, Kruk doesn’t prioritize thinking ahead. He remains blissfully unaware of production sheets, preferring to let the game flow without worrying about pre-determined rundowns.
“Everyone says, ‘Who did you pattern your style after?’ I say, ‘I didn’t pattern nothing, I just talk,'” he told Jake Kring-Schreifels of Philly Mag. “You know, it’s just baseball. My God, I’ve been doing it my whole life. It ain’t like I’m curing cancer or anything.”
Kruk’s approach to broadcasting is simple: stay in the moment, let the action speak for itself and never overthink it.
That authenticity is exactly what makes him so endearing to fans. He just lets the game come to him.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.