Krukow takes fans inside the game
Longtime Giants analyst rewards viewers with insight into minds of players, coaches
SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants were headed to the 17th inning last Friday — their longest game by innings in nearly 16 years — and up in the broadcast booth, Mike Krukow empathized with catcher Buster Posey.
“I think there’s a numbness going on in Buster Posey’s body right now, below the belt,” Krukow said. “He’s probably more comfortable in the squat than standing up.”
So in the bottom of the 17th, when Posey ripped a game-winning home run into the left-field bleachers, viewers didn’t need to see his comically relieved expression as he tossed his bat to understand how he felt in that moment. Krukow already had let them into Posey’s mind.
That is what the Giants’ longtime TV analyst loves most
“Let’s get back to playing baseball. Let’s get back to being confident on the field. That’s when you start winning and make your move.” — Mike Krukow, Giants TV analyst
about his job. Krukow doesn’t need to assemble reams of anecdotes or obscure statistics to fill time during the broadcast. He lets the game tell the story. He lets the players slide into their moments. And he reminds you that this is a hard game that will wring out every bit of the emotional spectrum.
And if that game lasts 17 innings? Well, where else would you rather be than at the ballpark?
Krukow has cut back on his travel this season and wasn’t on the team flight as the Giants get set for a weekend series in St. Louis, a begrudging concession to the muscle condition (inclusion body myositis) that makes travel difficult and stairs impossible. He doesn’t go east of Denver any longer, and will be watching along with the rest of the TV audience when the Giants play seven games against the Cardinals and Chicago Cubs.
The last thing he wants to do is grab some pine. But cutting back to 120 games will allow him to continue with Duane Kuiper, Jon Miller and Dave Flemming for many more seasons, and tell many more stories.
We caught up with Krukow after the Giants completed a successful, 5-2 homestand that got them within eight games of the .500 mark:
Q: What is it like to broadcast a 17-inning game? Do you run out of anecdotes? Is it as fatigu- ing for you as it is for the players?
A: Here’s one of the real pet peeves we have as a crew, and I’m sure you’ve heard it: we’ll walk by a writer or visiting broadcaster and they’ll say, ‘Hey, we hope we get a quick one today.’ Our response is, ‘Well, where else would you rather be?’ That’s a feeling we all have, Duane and Jon and Dave and I: there is no place that we would rather be. The charm of baseball is there’s no clock on it, and to be honest, we never look at the clock during a game. That’s no exaggeration. We really don’t. Sure you prepare with some stories for a long inning or a boring game, like a 9-1 laugher. But even in a game like that, the games dictate what you talk about. A 17-inning game is a great game to win because it involves everyone on your team. I mean, it has to. So you try to put your viewer into the mindset of the manager, or of the starting pitcher who might have his spikes on and might have to pitch or pinch hit or even play left field, who knows? We feel like those games are so rare that the mindset of both teams becomes the story in itself. But whatever is happening, we try to find the story in the game, every time.
I’ll give you an example from (last Saturday): Matt Moore was coming off two outings when he didn’t pitch well, and both times the team gave him a lead early and he blew it. So now he’s out there Saturday after the 17-inning game the night before, and he absolutely has to get them deep into that game. If you’re Matt Moore, you’re worried about that and you’re thinking you can’t blow a lead again. So getting into Matt Moore’s mind, to me, is the story of the game. He faced up to a giant he had to beat, those doubts he had, and he had to cut that giant down. He had to step up and give his team innings.
Now, in a 17-inning game, the story is how a manager is going to get through it. If you go back to most games that last that long, it turns into a home run derby. Everyone is trying to end it with one swing. So you end up getting a lot of quick, 12-3 innings. It’s long, but it doesn’t drag. But it doesn’t matter. You’re not going to hear us bitch for fourplus hours because nobody wants to hear that, and because we know we’re the luckiest guys in the world. There’s a conscious effort to appreciate what our season is all about. It’s a collection of moments like those.
Q: It’s been a while since the Giants have struggled as badly as they did in April. After one of these ugly losses, how the heck do you find someone to pick as your player of the game on the postgame wrap?
A: Well, you look at (Wednesday’s loss to the Dodgers). It was a stinker game, not a lot of highlights. I mean, you cannot pick a Dodger. So I went with Mark Melancon. He had activated himself before the first pitch, he’s active and back, and there he is warming up in the ninth inning. That means a lot to the club, just to see that, so he was my pick. There’s al- ways something. We’ll pick the ball dude because he made a great play.
Q: Do you think this will be a lost year for the Giants?
A: Every year is intriguing, especially the first couple months because you’re so vulnerable. It’s one thing if you lose when you have an announced rebuild. But everyone’s expectations were high for the Giants this year, and that’s what makes it difficult for the fans. We think it’s an intriguing story, though, because of the pedigree of the clubhouse and how hard they work. So the story is, ‘You know they’re going to think of something. What will it be?’ There’s no talk of a fire sale or a rebuild. All the talk is, ‘Let’s get guys healthy and get back to being who we are.’ From our standpoint sitting behind the microphone, there’s an anticipation that they’ll snap out of this and start playing good baseball. And it really seems like in the last nine games here it’s starting to happen.
Q: What are your impressions of your replacements, Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez, thus far?
A: Oh, they’re doing great. They’re fun and interesting people. They’ve got great insights. They’re also new to this, and you’ve got to give them time. It’s a matter of small details you learn over time, and we’ve got great play-by-play guys who will teach them the ropes. So the game’s in good hands.
Q: Of all the great moments in franchise history that you have witnessed, does anything stand out as the most euphoric?
A: Well, the very first time winning it all in 2010, that was just remarkable. We had to wait so long, and when you finally sensed it was going to happen, there was an absolute awe at work. It was the simplicity in which it happened and the beauty in which it all came together and the way the region melds with a group of guys and how it transcends all the things that divide us on a daily basis. We were all united under one flag, and we’ve gotten to witness it three times. Usually what brings a community together is a tragedy or an earthquake, and we set everything aside like we did in 1989 to rebuild our lives. That was powerful and I know it changed my life to see that. But winning the World Series is bringing us together and rallying around something positive. We’ve watched the Warriors do it now, too. We became a family together and it’s very powerful.
Q: You know, that 2010 team was in fourth place at the All-Star break. So you never know where the story will turn next.
A: That’s right. You never know. Let’s get back to playing baseball. Let’s get back to being confident on the field. That’s when you start winning andmake your move. And when that clicks, you get the biggest element going in your direction, and that’s chemistry. Once you have that, you’re unbeatable.