Phillies' Broadcast Booth Couldn't Hold Their Laughter As John Kruk Provided Play-by-Play

Kruk pinch hit as the play-by-play voice while Tom McCarthy grabbed a bite.

John Kruk had to briefly fill in for play-by-play Saturday night / Screengrab via @Phillies on X/Twitter and NBC Sports Philadelphia

There's never a dull moment with John Kruk in the Philadelphia Phillies' broadcast booth. Tom McCarthy is the longtime play-by-play voice for the Phillies, sitting alongside Kruk who provides color since he rejoined the team's broadcast crew in 2017.

On Saturday, though, Kruk stepped up to the plate and flexed his play-by-play skills while McCarthy took a pause to enjoy some ballpark eats that were brought to them in the booth.

Known play-by-play broadcaster @JohnKruk pic.twitter.com/lfViWhClLP

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 4, 2025

"Strike three! Struck him out. That ends the eighth. Tanner Banks with an unbelievable three-up, three-down inning and we go to the bottom of the eighth," Kruk said on the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast, providing the enthusiasm any play-by-player would as McCarthy cracked up into the microphone.

Kruk always brings some wacky commentary to the booth, this time just in the form of trying his hand at play-by-play. Earlier this week, he told a hilarious story about when he jokingly was arrested because of a prank by his former teammate and baseball Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. Earlier in the season, he aired his grievances with email after some seemingly never-ending trouble of accessing his account.

And now, his colleague got a big kick out of the play-by-play announcer impersonation. But hey, maybe Kruk has a future in it.

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