John Kruk to Join Phillies’ TV Booth

John Kruk during his ESPN broadcasting days. Photo: ESPN

With Matt Stairs moving from TV analyst to hitting coach for the Phillies next season, the team had an opening in the booth for a new color commentator.

Now, per CSN Philly, we know who that will be: former Phillies first-baseman John Kruk!

Kruk, who retired mid-game in 1995 after getting one last hit, was always a character during his playing career and afterward, making him a spot-on choice for color commentator. And the new gig is something of a homecoming — he did commentate on some Phillies games more than a decade ago before moving on to greener pastures at ESPN. (Kruk and ESPN agreed to part ways in early October.)

The rest of the Phillies’ TV booth will remain the same: Tom McCarthy as lead announcer, Ben Davis and Mike Schmidt as the two other color commentators, and Gregg Murphy as sideline/stands reporter.

Kruk played six seasons in Philadelphia, hitting .309. He also hit .348 in the 1993 World Series, and had nine RBI in 12 career postseason games.