Ranking the Top 5 greatest first basemen in Phillies franchise history

No. 2: John Kruk

John Kruk, better known as Krukkie around Philadelphia, joined the Phillies in the summer of 1989 when he was traded from the San Diego Padres. Immediately, Kruk showed his offensive prowess, hitting .331/.386/.473 for the rest of the 1989 season. From that point on, the Phillies had their first basemen for the next five years.

Unfortunately for Kruk and those Phillies teams, they didn’t have much overall team success with the exception of one year. They missed the playoffs in Kruk’s first four years before breaking through in 1993, winning the NL Pennant and reaching the World Series but losing to the Toronto Blue Jays.

He was a menace at the plate, getting on base at a .402 clip over that five-year period and hitting .306. He walked (381) almost as much as he struck out (396), consistently batting in the middle of the lineup. Kruk was an All-Star representative for three out of the full five years he wore the red pinstripes.

Krukkie left in free agency after the 1994 season but still holds a special place in the hearts of Philadelphia fans, as evidenced by the reception he received when he threw out the first pitch before Game 7 of the 2023 NLCS.

Kruk is now a part of the broadcast booth, joining Tom McCarthy and gracing the listeners' ears with countless stories, hilarious tangents, and overall great color commentary.