American baseball player (born 1961)
Baseball player
John Martin Kruk
(born February 9, 1961) is an American former
professional baseball
first baseman
and
outfielder
. Kruk played in
Major League Baseball
(MLB) for the
San Diego Padres
,
Philadelphia Phillies
, and
Chicago White Sox
from
1986
through
1995
. During his career, he was a three-time
MLB All-Star
. After retiring as a player, Kruk became a baseball analyst for
ESPN
. He is now a
color commentator
for Phillies' games on
NBC Sports Philadelphia
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Kruk was raised in
Keyser
,
West Virginia
. He is of
Polish
descent and has three siblings.
[1]
He played baseball at
Keyser High School
, at
Potomac State College
, and at
Allegany Community College
, where Kruk played for Junior College Hall of Fame Coach Steve Bazarnic. Kruk was the first Major Leaguer to come out of Allegany and has been followed by four others (
Stan Belinda
,
Steve Kline
,
Joe Beimel
, and
Scott Seabol
).
[
citation needed
]
Career
[
edit
]
San Diego Padres
[
edit
]
Kruk was signed as the third overall selection in the Special Draft selection on June 13, 1981.
[2]
He began his professional career with the
San Diego Padres
after being
drafted
in 1981. He played in such outposts as
Walla Walla
,
Reno
,
Beaumont
, and
Las Vegas
, before making his debut with the Padres in
1986
. In this same year he played for the
Aguilas de Mexicali
of the
Mexican Pacific League
for the 1986?87 season. Kruk helped Mexicali win both the League championship and
Caribbean Series
title.
Kruk's breakout year was 1987 with the Padres. He hit .313 with 20 home runs and 91 RBI, and stole 18 bases, showing surprising speed for someone of his build, although he was caught ten times. He was featured as a backup on the National League All-Star Team in the
Nintendo
game
R.B.I. Baseball
. On April 13, 1987,
Marvell Wynne
,
Tony Gwynn
, and Kruk became the first players in major league history to open their half of the 1st inning with three consecutive solo home runs in a 13?6 loss to the
San Francisco Giants
.
[3]
In October 1987, Kruk rented a house in San Diego with two other men: Roy Plummer, a high school friend, and Vernon (Jay) Hafer, an acquaintance of Plummer's.
[4]
They socialized and partied together, with Plummer almost always picking up the check.
[4]
Unbeknownst to Kruk, who moved out in November to play winter ball in Mexico, Plummer was funding the group's lifestyle by moonlighting as an armed robber, with Hafer serving as his
getaway driver
.
[4]
The
FBI
informed Kruk of his roommates' criminal activities during spring training in February 1988, approaching him before batting practice with a photo of Plummer taken during a bank robbery.
[4]
According to the FBI, Plummer believed that Kruk had turned him in to the police, and Kruk lived in fear of reprisal until Plummer was apprehended on September 19, 1988.
[4]
Kruk has stated that the ongoing stress from the episode negatively affected his on-field performance that season.
[4]
Philadelphia Phillies
[
edit
]
On June 2, 1989, the Padres dealt Kruk, along with
Randy Ready
, to the
Philadelphia Phillies
for
Chris James
.
After the trade, Kruk blossomed into an
All-Star
as the team used him primarily at
first base
. Kruk played in the All-Star Game in
1991
,
1992
, and
1993
. In his 1993 appearance at the Midsummer Classic, he had a memorable at bat when he flailed wildly at 98 mile per hour
fastballs
from
Seattle Mariners
pitcher
Randy Johnson
. Johnson's first pitch flew over Kruk's head to the backstop, leading Kruk to feign heart palpitations and remark "That boy throws too hard and he's too wild. He could kill someone."
[5]
Kruk, who batted .316/.430/.475 in
1993
, was also a member of the Phillies' "Macho Row" which led the team to the
World Series
against the
Toronto Blue Jays
; in the losing effort, Kruk batted .348/.500/.391 in the Series.
During spring training in
1994
, Kruk was diagnosed with
testicular cancer
(ultimately resulting in the removal of one testicle) after an errant pickoff throw from teammate
Mitch Williams
hit him in the groin and broke his
protective cup
. Additionally, weight gain and the astroturf at
Veterans Stadium
exacerbated his knee problems. After the
1994
season, Kruk was granted free agency.
Chicago White Sox
[
edit
]
Moving to the
American League
to serve as a
designated hitter
, Kruk signed with the
Chicago White Sox
on May 12,
1995
,
[6]
batting .308/.399/.390 in his only season with the ballclub. In the first inning of the White Sox's 8–3 loss to the
Baltimore Orioles
at
Camden Yards
on July 30, he singled off
Scott Erickson
, advanced to and was stranded on third base, removed himself from the game and promptly retired as an active player due to chronic knee soreness. He had made the decision two days earlier and informed his teammates on the eve of his retirement. The parting statement he issued to the media simply read, "The desire to compete at this level is gone. When that happens, it's time to go." Kruk finished his 10-year career with a .300
batting average
, 100
home runs
and 592
runs batted in
.
[6]
Post-baseball activities
[
edit
]
A quotable character throughout his career who had written a book called
I Ain't an Athlete, Lady
published in
1994
, Kruk turned to broadcasting and commenting on the game. He has since worked for
Major League Baseball on Fox
,
The Best Damn Sports Show Period
, and local telecasts in Philadelphia. Kruk has been a resident of
Mount Laurel Township, New Jersey
.
[7]
Kruk coached for a year within the Phillies organization. He coached the
Reading Phillies
of the
Class AA
Eastern League
during the 2001 season.
[8]
Kruk had acting roles in film and television, including the 1996 film
The Fan
,
The Sandlot: Heading Home
, and
American Pastime
. In a 2008 episode of
Adult Swim
's
adult cartoon
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
,
Sirens
, Kruk guest starred, voicing the role of himself.
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
Kruk also appeared in the
Sawyer Brown
music video "Round Here".
In
2004
,
ESPN
hired Kruk as an analyst on
Baseball Tonight
. He also wrote a column called
Chewing the Fat
on ESPN.com.
Kruk coached the National League team in the
Taco Bell
All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game
in
Anaheim, California
, on July 12, 2010.
[
citation needed
]
Kruk appeared in
MLB on ESPN
commercials, playing himself as part of moments in baseball history; for example, an old briefcase belonging to Kruk buried in the infield dirt containing a rotten sandwich caused the bugs to attack
Karl Ravech
dressed up as
Yankees
pitcher
Joba Chamberlain
, mocking game 2 of the
2007 ALDS
between the Yankees and the Indians. He, along with
Steve Phillips
and
Gary Thorne
, was a commentator on the video games
MLB 2K10
,
MLB 2K11
,
MLB 2K12
and
MLB 2K13
.
In
2012
, ESPN hired Kruk to be the color commentator for
Sunday Night Baseball
alongside
Dan Shulman
.
[13]
Also in 2012, fellow West Virginians, the
Davisson Brothers Band
, were approached by Kruk to write a new theme song for
Baseball Tonight
.
[14]
In 2015, once again, Kruk, asked the Davisson Brothers Band to record a special track, titled "Right Here on ESPN", for the ESPN bumpers during the July 4 weekend.
[15]
Following the 2016 baseball season in October, Kruk and ESPN mutually agreed to part ways.
[16]
In February 2017,
Comcast SportsNet
announced that they hired Kruk to join the Philadelphia Phillies broadcast team, replacing
Matt Stairs
, who was hired as the Phillies'
hitting coach
.
[17]
After moving to
Naples, Florida
, six years prior, Kruk took over the Seacrest Country Day School softball team as the head coach in 2016.
[18]
He was named the Florida Athletic Coaches Association Class 2A Coach of the Year for the district in his first year with the Stingrays.
[19]
Honors and awards
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Salisbury, Jim (February 7, 2017).
"John Kruk picks Phillies broadcast booth over eating all day"
.
NBC Sports Philadelphia
.
Archived
from the original on April 18, 2018.
- ^
John Kruk 1988 Topps baseball card, card number 596.
- ^
"San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres Box Score, April 13, 1987 - Baseball-Reference.com"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
.
Archived
from the original on 11 September 2016
. Retrieved
27 June
2017
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Harki, Gary. "
Baseball star John Kruk one of many fooled by bank robber
Archived
2008-08-08 at the
Wayback Machine
", The
Charleston Gazette
, August 5, 2008.
- ^
"Jerry Crasnick: Starting 9 -- Memorable moments in Randy Johnson's career - ESPN"
. ESPN. 3 June 2009.
Archived
from the original on 13 November 2012
. Retrieved
15 May
2012
.
- ^
a
b
Ginsburg, David. "Kruk Ends Career on a Hitting Note,"
The Associated Press
, Monday, July 31, 1995.
Retrieved July 8, 2019
- ^
Rys, Richard.
"John Kruk"
Archived
2008-06-24 at the
Wayback Machine
,
Philadelphia (magazine)
, June 2007. Accessed March 25, 2011. "Another surprise, at least to us, is that he lives in Mount Laurel, keeping such a low profile that Exit Interview didn't even know he was still here."
- ^
"2001 Reading Phillies"
.
Gary Cohen
. 17 July 2018.
Archived
from the original on 12 January 2018
. Retrieved
17 July
2018
.
- ^
"Today in Philly Sports History: John Kruk Makes the Homies Say Ho and the Girlies Wanna Scream, 2008"
.
NBC Sports Philadelphia
. NBC Sports Group. January 28, 2010.
Archived
from the original on September 28, 2021
. Retrieved
March 9,
2020
.
- ^
Greenberg, Rudi (April 8, 2009).
"Siren Songs: Neko Case"
.
The Washington Post
. Nash Holdings.
Archived
from the original on May 25, 2024
. Retrieved
March 9,
2020
.
- ^
Lelane, Drake (January 29, 2008).
"Music on Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Sirens and Nipples"
.
MTV News
. ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks.
Archived
from the original on January 25, 2021
. Retrieved
March 9,
2020
.
- ^
Krakow, Jonah (May 13, 2012).
"Aqua Teen Hunger Force: "Sirens" Review"
.
IGN
. Ziff Davis.
Archived
from the original on May 25, 2024
. Retrieved
March 9,
2020
.
- ^
Hudak, Kristen (December 3, 2012).
"ESPN's John Kruk Joins Sunday Night Baseball"
.
ESPN Press Room
.
Archived
from the original on September 20, 2021
. Retrieved
November 27,
2020
.
- ^
"Davisson Brothers Band, John Kruk perform 'Baseball Tonight' theme"
. 2012-09-16.
Archived
from the original on 2017-11-15
. Retrieved
2017-11-14
.
- ^
"John Kruk Teams with Davisson Brothers Band for Musical Open"
.
Gianina Thompson
. 2015-07-02.
Archived
from the original on 2017-11-15
. Retrieved
2017-11-14
.
- ^
"Baseball analyst John Kruk out at ESPN"
. 3 October 2016.
Archived
from the original on 12 June 2017
. Retrieved
27 June
2017
.
- ^
DeNardo, Mike (7 February 2017).
"John Kruk Joins Phillies TV Booth: 'I'm Too Old To Change'
"
.
Archived
from the original on 23 March 2017
. Retrieved
27 June
2017
.
- ^
"Prep softball: Former MLB All-Star John Kruk named new Seacrest coach"
.
Archived
from the original on 2018-02-09
. Retrieved
2018-02-08
.
- ^
"Prep softball: Area FACA all-district selections announced"
.
Naples Daily News
.
Archived
from the original on 2018-02-09
. Retrieved
2018-02-08
.
- ^
"Archives - Philly.com"
.
articles.philly.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2012-09-03
. Retrieved
27 June
2017
.
- ^
Parrillo, Ray (August 13, 2011).
"Kruk takes his place on Wall of Fame"
.
Philly.com
. Philadelphia Media Network.
Archived
from the original on October 21, 2012
. Retrieved
August 13,
2011
.
External links
[
edit
]
Wikiquote has quotations related to
John Kruk
.
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(Lead Analyst, 2011-2014)
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