I know several guys in baseball only are known for primarily exceling at one thing. After their career is over they are nearly forgotten. There are several notorious names which comes to mind when I think about the Phillies: Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Darren Dalton, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Richie Ashburn. Then also there are unique players like John Kruk which are overlooked. Now an ESPN analyst, Kruk shares his knowledge and advice about the game. He's a type of ball player who was just as content hitting an RBI double to put his team ahead as devouring a chili dog smothered with relish. There is no question the left-handed Phillie liked to eat. If anything it helped him put more weight behind the ball during his playing days yet fatigued the hell out of him running the basepaths.
He doesn't have a ton of homeruns in his career like Schmidt, but was a keen hitter with over a .300 lifetime batting average. Plus his defense wasn't too shabby either. Of all the players in Phillies franchise history I wonder where does he rank. Top 20? Top 10? (Okay, I know that's kinda pushing it). Let's just say hypothetically Kruk hit 40 homeruns one year and drove in 100 RBIs with that high average. Surely, this would place him up there with the likes of heavy hitters such Cecil Fielder, Fred McGriff, and Kevin Mitchell (It's a shame that most fans don't care about those guys either). Honestly, in my own personal poll I'd rank John Kruk about 15th in franchise history.
I don't mind vouching for a fat player who hit with consistency. After all that's what leads to winning games. Given John Kruk will never be on the Hall of Fame ballot, he sure was a team player with good baseball instincts. For instance, if a ball was hit in foul territory near the first base dugout, swerving towards the seats Kruk knew he wasn't able to get there in time and didn't interfere in a teammate's path, allowing him plenty of room to try and make the catch. Now that's being aware of your surroundings and practicing sportsmanship. Every once and while the veteran hitter would wallop a homerun and bring down the house at Veterans Field. After the game I imagine he savored his share of cold beers and everything else provided to him by request from the concession stands. Does John Kruk make the cut for being one of the best all-time Phillies? Not by a long shot...yet he's a classic hitter who played with spirit and heart and won't be forgotten in franchise history.
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