10 Mike Krukow-isms that Giants fans will remember long after his retirement

Now that San Francisco Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow is set to “grab some pine, meat” after announcing he will retire at the end of the season, fans are preparing to hear many of his signature catchphrases for the final time.

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Krukow, 74, spent seven seasons as a Giants starting pitcher before joining the club’s television broadcasts in 1990. Over the next 36 years, he became one of baseball’s most recognizable voices alongside longtime partner and close friend Duane Kuiper.

Together, “Kruk and Kuip” formed one of the sport’s most acclaimed broadcast teams. Krukow won 13 Emmy Awards, was named California Sportscaster of the Year three times and was inducted into the Giants Hall of Fame.

So, naturally, Krukow has racked up many, many iconic catchphrases and quotes throughout the years.

In fact, one of his most notable lines, calling most ex-Giants “Forever Giants,” was used by CEO Larry Baer to describe Krukow in a statement just after the retirement announcement.

Here are 10 Krukow-isms that Giants fans will likely remember long after his retirement:

10: Drop trou and hog out

A recent … memorable … line cracks the top 10 simply for its absurdity.

During a game last month, Kuiper referenced the “Tarps Off” movement that swarmed sporting events for some time — aka fans taking off their shirts at games — by saying that it may be more than just his shirt coming off if rookie Bryce Eldridge hit a walkoff grand slam to cap a historic come-from-behind 11-10 victory.

Krukow responded with “Time to drop trou and hog out” after Eldridge hit the slam.

“Most of what I’ve ever used on the show, during the game, is just vernacular that’s in the clubhouse, something that you heard along the way and all of a sudden, it just seems like it was appropriate,” Krukow said on KNBR afterward. “Now, I don’t know if that was appropriate.”

While this isn’t a career-defining catchphrase like some of the later entries, it certainly made its mark as a memorable moment near the end of Krukow’s run.

9: It is outta here!

As intertwined as Krukow and Kuiper are, this one needs to be here.

Kuiper’s most well-known catchphrase “He hits it high. He hits it deep. It is outta here!” has also been noted as Krukow’s favorite catchphrase from his co-broadcaster, according to NBC Sports.

At least once, Krukow even got to make part of the call himself, as shown below:

8: Oil

Oil is one of the Krukow-isms referenced in a 2023 article from The Athletic that broke down many of the top phrases in Kruk and Kuip’s long tenures in the booth.

In Krukow’s words, oil is a substance in the bodies of good MLB players that, it seems, only he could evaluate. Only the great ones have it and even those that have it can leak it, too.

Though not related to his standard use of the term, oil came up again in another of Krukow’s recent hilariously unhinged moments when he said in March that he wanted to see two Philadelphia Phillies hitters “oiled up and flexing after a good workout.”

7: Ownage is ownage

A pitcher that always dominates a hitter and a hitter that is known for crushing moonshots of a specific arm have one thing in common, according to Krukow.

“Ownage is ownage.”

The phrase simply means that once dominance is always dominance.

Though the phrase was coined in a long ago poem, according to The Athletic, and doesn’t look like a word at first glance, it has made its way into the Oxford English Dictionary, as well as the vocabularies of many Giants fans thanks to Krukow.

6: Gamer Babes from Half Moon Bay

Calls like the one above have created vocabulary, but this one created a group and an inside joke for years.

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Sometime around 2011, Krukow first coined the phrase “Gamer Babes from Half Moon Bay” to describe a group of girls wearing a ton of Giants gear, according to a 2013 MLB.com article.

Now there is merch, several chapters of Gamer Babes, Facebook accounts and lore galore.

Although the phrase has been debated on its exact meaning, it seems like the true definition is just any girl who really loves the Giants and doesn’t mind showing it.

5: A Rhino Yawn

Another fan-related calling card for Krukow is the infamous “Rhino Yawn.”

Basically, whenever a fan, typically only a fan of the non-Giants clubs, gets caught yawning on camera, Krukow lets out a wide-mouth yawn more akin to a muffled scream as a way to both embarrass them and, perhaps, himself too.

In one memorable 2019 instance, two Los Angeles Dodgers fans yawned at the same time, leading to Kuiper joining in on the Rhino Yawn fun as shown below:

4: Just another laugher

For many, a laugher is a blowout. When you win by so much you can’t help but laugh at the performance of the opposition.

This isn’t that kind of laugh.

Instead, Krukow’s “Just another laugher” line is used when the Giants narrowly escape what could have been a game-tying or game-winning rally near the end of a game, surviving with a win. It typically comes along with an actual haha laugh extended by the more stressful the situation was.

3: In the squaaaaaat

Announcing the lineup, one phrase is more common than any Giants player ever: “In the squaaaaaaat,” with as many a’s as Krukow can muster.

Every catcher is in the squaaaaaat, not just a squat, according to Krukow.

The phrase has followed every recent Giants catcher into the start of any given game, from likely future Hall of Famer Buster Posey to Tuesday’s starter Daniel Susac and many more.

2: Atta babe!

Perhaps Krukow’s most-used catchphrase, Krukow uses “Atta babe!” pretty much anytime someone does something good.

It could be a fan, a player, a “ball babe” or “ball dude” — his and Kuiper’s terms for the Giants employees that get foul balls down the lines — or anyone else.

For a while, he used to end every appearance on KNBR with the phrase, as well.

1: Grab some pine, meat

To start and end the piece with Krukow’s most-iconic line.

Like many of his other isms, “Grab some pine, meat” stems from Krukow’s playing days, he told ESPN in 2014.

Back in the day, rookies were called “meat” and when someone struck out, they were told to go “grab some pine,” as in the benches made of pine wood since their turn at the plate was up.

While meat is a term used in various ways in Krukow’s on-air vocabulary, he uses the full phrase when an opposing player strikes out.

Now, he’ll be the one to grab some pine — or couch — in his retirement, though his iconic broadcasting career was anything but a strikeout in the lead up.

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This story was originally published August 7, 2026 at 8:09 AM.