Mike Krukow

Template:Mlbretired Michael Edward (Mike) Krukow (born January 21, 1952 in Long Beach, California) is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball.

He played college ball for the Cal Poly Mustangs. Though his collegiate eligibility was cut short, he still holds the school record for career earned run average at 1.94 and is tied for most shutouts in a season with 5.

Krukow was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 8th round of the 1973 draft. Krukow played Major League baseball for the Chicago Cubs (1976–1981), the Philadelphia Phillies (1982) and the San Francisco Giants (1983–1989). He batted and threw right handed.

Mike Krukow began broadcasting as an occasional color analyst for KNBR radio in 1990 and became a full-time broadcaster in 1994. He is a five-time Emmy award winner. "Kruk," who was named as the starting right-handed pitcher to the 1980's 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.

Krukow resides in San Luis Obispo, California, with his wife, Jennifer, and their five children, Jarek, Baker, Tessa, Chase and Weston.

Major league career

Krukow had a solid, if unspectacular career in the major leagues. In 1982 after six years with the Cubs, he was dealt to Philadelphia for pitchers Dickie Noles and Don Larsen and outfielder Keith Moreland.

The right-handed starter was second only to Steve Carlton in wins, posting a 13-11 record and an impressive 3.12 ERA, but despite this success, the Phillies sent Krukow, Mark Davis and Charlie Penigar to the San Francisco Giants in December 1982 in a trade for Joe Morgan and reliever Al Holland. The trade helped Philadelphia win the National League pennant in 1983, but it also gave San Francisco two arms that would become a big part of the Giants’ success in the late 1980’s.

Krukow's best season was in 1986, posting a record of 20-9 with a 3.05 ERA pitching for the San Francisco Giants. Giants fans can argue Krukow should have won the Cy Young Award in 1986 but he finished third behind Mike Scott and Fernando Valenzuela. Krukow was selected to the National League All-Star team that season. He was awarded the Willie Mac Award in both 1985 and 1986 honoring his spirit and leadership. In 1987 Krukow helped lead the Giants to their first division championship in 16 years.

On June 30, 1989, Krukow underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff in his pitching shoulder after spending parts of three seasons on the disabled list for what was believed to be bursitis. He retired in March 1990. In his 14-season career, Krukow posted a 124-117 record with 1,478 strikeouts and a respectable 3.90 ERA in 2190.1 innings pitched.

Broadcaster

After his playing career, Krukow became a radio and television sportscaster. Part of the San Francisco Giants broadcasting team, Krukow is half of the duo dubbed "Kruk and Kuip," along with partner Duane Kuiper, a former Giants' infielder. Krukow and Kuiper tape a game day commentary ("Kruk and Kuip on baseball") for KNBR radio as part of the Giants' pre-game radio coverage.

"Kruk" is known for his unique baseball vocabulary, especially his signature phrase when an opposing team's hitter strikes out:

"Grab some pine, meat!"

He is also known for opening post-game wrap-ups of extremely close or stressful games with the phrase:

"Just another - ha ha ha ha - laugher!"

Krukow's broadcasting style is controversial because Krukow has staunchly defended Barry Bonds against allegations of Bonds' steroid useage as described in Game of Shadows (a 2006 book about performance-enhancing drug use among high level athletes).

"Eliminate me"

In the June 14, 2005, series against the Minnesota Twins, Krukow noticed that Twins' announcer Bert Blyleven, himself a former Major League Baseball pitcher, used the telestrator to circle fans at their request for recognition. Krukow developed a spin off of this "Circle Me, Bert" feature by using his telestrator to "eliminate" spectators, whiting them out — either those who also request the treatment by waving signs onscreen, or because the fan or fans are behaving in ways he dislikes, such as talking on a cell phone during a game.

The "Krukow Kurse"

Major League Baseball has a number of legends (Sports-related curses) used to explain a team's failure to win the World Series over an extended period of time. The Boston Red Sox have the Curse of the Bambino (the Red Sox went more than eighty years without a World Series Win), the Chicago Cubs have the Curse of the Billy Goat (the Cubs have not won the World Series since 1908) and the San Francisco Giants have the "Krukow Kurse" (the San Francisco Giants have never won the World Series). The "Krukow Kurse" legend arises from the fact that while Krukow has historically been optimistic about the Giants' chances at the beginning of each season, the Giants have not lived up to Krukow's predictions for them. Once Krukow ceases his lofty preseason predictions- says the legend- the Giants will actually win the World Series. Part of the lore of the Krukow Kurse arises from the fact that Krukow was originally drafted by- and played for- the Chicago Cubs (a team that is itself hexed by The Curse of the Billy Goat). The Curse of the Billy Goat indicates- among other things- that former Cubs players who move on to other teams will inevitably curse the new team (the Ex-Cubs Factor).

Video games

Krukow and Kuiper can be heard as the commentators in Electronic Arts video games MVP Baseball 2003, 2004 and 2005. The 2004 and 2005 versions included Krukow's familiar "grab some pine, meat" quote.

Trivia

• Though he was a pitcher and his announcing partner was a position player, Kruk has 4 more career home runs than Kuip (who has one).

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference
• The Buddy System: Long-lasting friendship between Krukow, Kuiper comes across the airwaves