Kruk takes his place on Wall of Fame

John Kruk became the newest Phillie to join the club's Wall of Fame before Friday night's game against Washington.

A bronze plaque bearing Kruk's likeness was unveiled by Jim Eisenreich as the Phillies began Alumni Weekend.

The 50-year-old Kruk, who played for the raucous 1993 team that lost to Toronto in the World Series, was introduced by Darren Daulton.

"This is the greatest place I've ever been," Kruk said as he addressed the crowd at Citizens Bank Park. "I met my wife here. My children were born here. In 1989, the Phillies took a chance on a guy who was hitting .180. I stunk. They took a chance, and apparently it paid off. We came up short, but it was a party every day. We killed a lot of brain cells, but you were right there with us."

Standing on a riser behind Kruk as the former first baseman spoke were Jim Bunning, Steve Carlton, Mike Schmidt, Dick Allen, Greg Luzinski, Garry Maddox, Tony Taylor, Bob Boone, Dallas Green, Juan Samuel, and Daulton.

Kruk hit better than .300 in four of his five-plus seasons with the Phillies.

"You hear players, media people, say that it's tough to play in Philly in front of these fans. To those people, I say: 'You didn't have the guts to succeed here,' " Kruk said to cheers and applause.

- Ray Parrillo