Kruk & Kuip let fans in on behind-the-scenes shenanigans during SF Sketchfest tribute
Since they were San Francisco Giants teammates, Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper had a rule: if they didn’t laugh “very hard” at least five times every game, then they’d had a bad night.
The two former baseball pros, first brought together during a blustery three-season tenure at Candlestick Park from 1983-85, recall regularly passing time on the bench by making crude commentary during gameplay — provided it remained safely out of earshot of no-nonsense manager Frank Robinson.
That banter’s never stopped. The duo, affectionately known by fans as Kruk & Kuip, have been the voice of Giants gametime TV since 1990, with former pitcher Krukow on color commentary and the one-time infielder Kuiper on play-by-play. But on a rare off-night between Giants home games, the National Baseball Hall of Fame candidate broadcasters came out of the booth for a special tribute presented by SF Sketchfest.
The friends arrived onto the Sydney Goldstein Theatre stage Thursday, May 15, decked in matching sequin-encrusted gold and silver blazers, capped off with comical flaming torch headwear courtesy of the newly christened Hoo Lee Gans, a fan club for Korean outfielder and rising Giants star Jung Hoo Lee.
Eager to see their cherished interplay in action, moderator Jesse Thorn, of NPR’s “Bullseye,” quickly tasked Kruk & Kuip with providing on-the-spot commentary for highlight footage from their own careers.
And there’s nothing quite like hearing Kuiper utter his iconic “it … is … OUTTA here” in reference to his own — and only — home run of his 11-year MLB career.
“It’s weird because as a regular listener, I hear them talk almost on a daily basis. But this was different,” said Peter Bellamy, who drove in from Stockton. “Not only was it cool to hear them swear, but it was also really sweet to see how much they both still mean to each other after all this time.”
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