Mike Krukow reached for the call that belonged to his partner, and on a difficult night at Oracle Park it landed as both a home run call and a message.
| Inning | Giants hitter | Twins pitcher | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bottom 5th | Drew Gilbert | Zebby Matthews | First-pitch home run to right field |
Gilbert opened the bottom of the fifth Monday against Minnesota by sending Matthews’ first offering over the tall right-field fence. Krukow was preparing to bring the Giants’ television broadcast back and hand the play-by-play duties to Jon Miller when the ball took flight.
Instead, the longtime Giants analyst reacted on instinct: “And there’s a bolt, right field! And iiiiiit’s outta here!”
That last phrase is Duane Kuiper’s familiar home run call, and it carried extra weight with Kuiper away from the booth while receiving treatment for throat cancer. Kuiper, 76, announced Sunday that he had begun treatment with his Stanford Medicine doctors and would need to take time away from broadcasts. The former Major League second baseman said he intends to return for Krukow’s final telecast this weekend.
A call for a partner
Miller let the moment breathe after Gilbert completed his trip around the bases, then playfully asked Krukow where he had found that version of “It’s outta here!”
“It was horrible!” Krukow said at first, before giving the honest answer: “That’s the only thing I could think of. I just stole it from my partner.”
For 36 years, Krukow and Kuiper have been the familiar voices alongside Giants baseball, a booth partnership known throughout the game as Kruk and Kuip. This will be their final week working together after Krukow said he would retire when the season ends.
The improvised call was funny in the way the pair has long been funny, but it also served as a small salute from one friend to another. With Kuiper facing treatment and Krukow nearing his last broadcast, Gilbert’s fifth-inning drive gave the booth a moment that felt made for both of them.
