Mike Krukow’s goodbye to Giants fans may not be as final as it first sounded.
Friday night at Oracle Park turned into an emotional scene when the team made his retirement news public, and the crowd responded with a standing wave of appreciation as Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” played. Krukow had used that song in his retirement announcement, so the moment landed with extra weight. For plenty of fans, that was the point where it all felt real: the voice that has carried Giants baseball for decades is set to step away at the end of September.
But there may still be a little more Krukow left in the booth after that.
San Francisco Chronicle reporter Susan Slusser said on KNBR that when she asked Krukow about possibly returning as an analyst from time to time in future years, he was open to the idea. That doesn’t guarantee anything, but it does leave the door cracked for a few more appearances down the line.
And for Giants fans, even that small possibility matters. Krukow’s health has made full-time broadcasting difficult for a while, but he has kept going, and the booth has adapted so he and Duane Kuiper can still work games together even when they’re not in the same place. If he can pop in for a series or two each year, that would preserve at least a piece of what makes Giants broadcasts feel like Giants broadcasts.
Krukow said in his retirement announcement that he’ll spend most of his time at his home in Reno because that’s best for his health. Still, it seems likely he’ll be in San Francisco now and then. If that happens and he can get in the booth, it would give fans another chance to hear him call a game.
There’s also the hope that Krukow could return one more time when Kuiper eventually retires. Those two have been tied to Giants broadcasts for so long that a final appearance together would feel like the right ending, if health allows it.
As for what comes next, Hunter Pence looks like the most obvious name to pick up the heavier broadcast load after Krukow. He lives in San Francisco, he has traveled with the team, and he has called plenty of road games in recent years, which makes him the clear favorite to handle a larger role, especially at home.
Pence has already shown he can handle the job, and Giants fans would still have a franchise figure in the booth. Even so, nobody is going to replicate what Krukow has brought night after night.
September 27 will be a tough goodbye either way. The encouraging part is that it may not be the last time Giants fans hear Mike Krukow’s voice.
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