One thing that has been true for most Philadelphia Phillies fans, regardless of the era in which they grew up getting acclimated to the team, is that the broadcasting team is one of the best in baseball. With Awful Announcing's 2025 broadcaster rankings in, the broadcast team's hard work continues to pay off. After jumping into the Top 10 rankings in 2024, the crew this year drew similar numbers, moving up one spot as they peer into the Top 5.
With a majority of praise for Tom McCarthy and former Phillie John Kruk, they drew 447 "A" grades and 455 Bs out of 1,187 votes; the duo has certainly been a nightly highlight. There was praise for Kruk specifically, with the lead analyst receiving several glowing reviews from some of the over 31,000 votes cast. One voter even deemed him "the Charles Barkley of baseball." There was some love for McCarthy as well, with one voter saying he is "America's most underrated broadcaster."
Ruben Amaro Jr. seems to be the one voice holding the NBC Sports Philadelphia team back
However, outside of this iconic pair, many gave criticism to any other analyst to sit beside McCarthy in the booth, with many specifying that Phillies company man Rubén Amaro Jr. is the weakest link during any given broadcast.
According to Andrew Bucholtz of Awful Announcing, booths not featuring Kruk were graded the hardest.
"But many were critical of the non-Kruk versions of this booth," per Bucholtz. "And Amaro in particular took criticism, including 'brutally bad,' 'Knocking down their grade is Amaro, who is simply terrible' (on a B grade), and 'this reverts to a C or D when Amaro is on the broadcast' (on an A grade)."
Despite the occasional insight into baseball operations from his time as Phillies general manager, like how the team could approach Schwarber's impending free agency, many feel as though Amaro's color commentary is dry, with a hint of smug arrogance in every fact or story he shares.
With the bar being set relatively high on a nightly basis with the team's typical duo in the booth, Kruk's shoes are obviously tough ones to fill for just a series or two. The polarizing difference between Kruk and Amaro is night and day, with many feeling there's something to be desired with Amaro specifically in the booth.
The team's steady anchor, McCarthy, took over as the head announcer for the Phillies in 2008, after former Phillies' booth hero Harry Kalas gave his blessing, providing the greater Philadelphia area with one of the most entertaining broadcasts. After Kalas passed away in 2009, the voices of McCarthy, along with radio's Scott Franzke, comforted many fans as they adjusted to a new generation of voices to provide play-by-play coverage. Since 2017, this iteration of the broadcasting team has taken shape and will, hopefully, reach the Top 5 in Awful Announcing's 2026 list.