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Announcer Mike Krukow speaks to those gathered to honor Willie Mays before the Giants played the Chicago Cubs at Oracle Park in San Francisco, on Monday, June 24, 2024.<\/p>\n
Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/The Chronicle<\/p>\n
No one who pays attention to the San Francisco Giants<\/a> ever wanted to see this day come. On Thursday, beloved team broadcaster Mike Krukow, one of the true greats in the business,\u00a0announced in a statement that he will retire at the end of the season and thanked fans and listeners for their support.<\/p>\n He and his wife, Jennifer, \u201care bracing for the emotional hits we know we are\u00a0going to feel in the next few weeks,\u201d Krukow said in his statement. \u201cJennifer and I are wondering if it is even possible to let everyone know how deeply we love and respect our Giants family.<\/p>\n \u201cOur time together has been a gift. When Green Day asked, \u2018I hope you\u2019ve had the time of your lives,\u2019 we certainly have.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Team president and CEO\u00a0Larry Baer echoed fans\u2019s thoughts in his own statement Thursday morning.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we knew this day would eventually come, Mike Krukow stepping away from the broadcast booth is a deeply emotional moment for our Giants family,\u201d Baer said. \u201cOn behalf of our extended Giants family, I want to express our profound gratitude for everything\u00a0Kruk has given, not only to this franchise, but to each of us personally. For decades, he has shared far more than his voice. He has been our spiritual leader.<\/p>\n \u201cWith his beloved and inseparable partner Duane Kuiper, he has taught generations of fans about baseball, brought us inside it from the perspective of a Major League pitcher and called every game with incredible insight, unmistakable humor and genuine heart. Most importantly, he has had a rare gift for making every Giants fan feel like they belong. \u00a0Whether someone is sitting in the ballpark, watching from home, or listening on the radio halfway around the world, Kruk makes every Giants fan feel like they are part of something bigger\u2014a family.\u201d<\/p>\n Krukow, 74, was diagnosed with inclusion body myositis 12 years ago and has been limited to studio work when the team is on the road, but he\u2019s so skilled, it sounds as if he\u2019s sitting right in the booth next to longtime partner Duane Kuiper.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s had this tragic physical malaise and it\u2019s taking a toll,\u201d said Hall of Fame Giants radio play-by-play man Jon Miller, who spoke to\u00a0Krukow on Wedensday. \u201cI certainly wish him really well and I know that he\u2019s going to miss it, but I think not as much as everybody\u2019s going to miss him.<\/p>\n \u201cThe amazing thing about it that says so much about him as a person and a person of character is Mike\u2019s work has never been better. When the game starts and he\u2019s on the air, you would have no idea that there\u2019s anything else but the game for him. I think he\u2019s\u00a0looked at every game through that prism of all the things he\u2019s been going through in his personal life and having to deal with but also using every game to celebrate how much he loves it and he loves this opportunity to to make a living doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n After\u00a0Krukow first paired with\u00a0Kuiper 35 years ago, \u201cKruk and Kuip\u201d became one of the most popular teams in the booth in broadcasting history, earning both men numerous\u00a0Emmys and nominations for the Hall of Fame\u2019s Ford C. Frick award. Krukow and Kuiper are so closely connected there have been numerous calls for them to go into the Hall together, which to date has not been approved.<\/p>\n \u201cThey would never do two to get us in together, and I have no problem standing back if my partner would just admit that he could win,\u201d Krukow. typically self-deprecating,\u00a0told the Chronicle in 2023. \u201cQuite honestly, I think he\u2019s better than I am. I think he should go in first.\u201d<\/p>\n Miller thinks Krukow should go in on his own, anyway.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s irritating to me because each one of them deserves it on his own,\u201d Miller said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rangers Hall of Fame broadcaster Eric Nadel said via text Thursday, \u201cKruk is one of the best color analysts ever. I\u2019m amazed he was never hired away by ESPN or FOX or the MLB Network. \u2026 I\u2019ve voted for him to be on the Frick ballot every year he\u2019s eligible. His intelligence, humor and powers of observation are second to none, and his personal warmth comes across in every broadcast. I will miss him dearly.\u201d<\/p>\n Polls of Giants fans over the years consistently rank Krukow and Kuiper as the most popular aspect of the team, routine eclipsing even star players, and the pair also have been voted baseball\u2019s top broadcasters in national polls numerous times, often along with the rest of the Giants’ broadcast crew, including\u00a0Miller and Dave Flemming.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a>
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