We may want to get John Kruk in on the Powerball or some early Super Bowl futures after the NBC Sports Philadelphia announcer correctly predicted a home run by Phillies shortstop Trea Turner about a week after doing the same for Bryce Harper.
With Philadelphia up 1 in a tight sixth inning and Turner at the plate with two on and two out, play-by-play man Tom McCarthy laid out just how dominant the Phillies have been late in games in August. Without missing a beat, Kruk unspooled his forecast for the at-bat:
“That means a 3-run homer.”
Of course, Turner followed Kruk’s lead and launched a homer to left-center field to pad the Phillies’ lead.
.@TMacPhils: "Last 12 games, the Phillies have outscored the opposition 55-12 from the 6th inning on. And here we are in the bottom of the 6th"@JohnKruk: "That means a 3-run homer"
3 seconds later: pic.twitter.com/9hHMLSGkvy
— Nick Piccone (@_piccone) August 30, 2023
This comes after a similarly clutch homer by Philadelphia star Bryce Harper, although in that case Kruk wasn’t looking into the crystal ball so much as verbally bending physics to keep a ball in fair territory.
To be fair, the Phillies have been rolling since the All-Star break, and counting on Turner or Harper to do something magical is a pretty great bet. But because of Kruk’s colorful personality, impassioned broadcasting style, and an energy that screams baseball, it’s not out of the question that the baseball gods truly are taking his pleas into account when deciding the outcomes of games.
After all, Kruk, the beloved former Philly and NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcaster since 2017, isn’t afraid to go the other direction either, frequently calling out umpires for “terrible” ball-strike calls or planting seeds for an investigation into allegedly botched calls at the base.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.