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 Águilas 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]
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 fastball 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
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]
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
In 2003—the final year of Veterans Stadium—Philadelphia Phillies fans voted Kruk as the first baseman on the Phillies All-Vet Team (1971–2003).
^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."
^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.
^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.
