NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Kruk and the St. Louis Arch, explained
"Me and my damn big mouth," Kruk said, realizing he'd have to overcome his fear of heights after promising to visit the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.
The Gateway Arch in St. Louis was sold out.
That was the excuse NBC Sports Philadelphia announcer John Kruk gave to fans wondering if he followed through with his on-air promise to visit the St. Louis landmark during Saturday’s Phillies game.
“The people in our booth and our producer and director tried to get me a ticket to get in and they were all sold out,” Kruk wrote Sunday on X, formerly Twitter, adding that he heard complaints from the players Sunday morning after failing to live up to his promise.
It all started during Saturday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Kruk told play-by-play announcer Scott Franzke, who was filling in for Tom McCarthy, he had never visited the Arch and would never go, chalking it up to his fear of heights.
Later in the fifth inning, Kyle Schwarber came to the plate, and Franzke noted that the Phillies slugger had never hit a home run off Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas.
That’s when Kruk made a promise he certainly now regrets.
“I tell you what, if he hits a home run, I’ll go up on the Arch,” Kruk said.
Franzke had his doubts, so Kruk doubled down, promising to visit the Arch if Schwarber knocked it out of Busch Stadium in that at-bat.
The very next pitch, Schwarber sent the ball to the stands in right field, giving the Phillies a 5-1 lead.
“Kyle Schwarber with a laser home run into the right-field corner, and it’ll send John Kruk to the St. Louis Arch,” Franzke said as Schwarber rounded the bases. “Open Sundays 9 to 6, big guy.”
During the broadcast, Kruk had already begun laying seeds of doubt, noting that the Phillies had a day game on Sunday and that he would visit the Arch next year.
“If we had a night game, I’d go,” Kruk said. “Me and my damn big mouth.”
Schwarber voiced his own doubts about Kruk actually visiting the Arch to reporters following Saturday night’s game.
With the Phillies traveling to Atlanta to take on the Braves on Monday, Kruk won’t have time to visit the Arch this year. There’s always next season, but Kruk said he’ll have to check the calendar when the schedule is released.
“If it’s going to be a conflict with WrestleMania in Philadelphia in early April, I’ve got to make a tough decision,” Kruk said Sunday following the game. “And I’ve already made it. I’m going to watch wrestling.”
The folks at the Arch also got in on the fun this weekend, taunting the Phillies announcer for avoiding the popular tourist attraction.
Kruk’s promise adds to a streak of recent games in which the Phillies announcer has shown an odd ability to predict the future. Over two weeks last month, Kruk predicted two Phillies home runs seconds before they happened — Trea Turner’s three-run shot on Aug. 30 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Schwarber’s two-run bomb against the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 21.
The Phillies will face the Braves again in a three-game series that begins Monday in Atlanta on NBC Sports Philadelphia. First pitch is scheduled for 7:20 p.m., with Zack Wheeler scheduled to take the mound against Braves righty Kyle Wright.
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Phillies back on Apple TV+ on Friday
After the Phillies finish up against the Braves, they face the New York Mets in a four-game series that begins Thursday at Citizens Bank Park. But not all of those games will be televised by NBC Sports Philadelphia.
For the second time in two weeks, Friday’s game will stream exclusively on Apple TV+ as part of its Friday Night Baseball package. So far, Apple has not announced who will be calling the game.
One good thing about games on Apple TV+ is the option to listen to the local radio broadcasts of either team playing. So if Phillies fans want to hear Franzke and 94.1 WIP’s radio crew, it’s only a click away.
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