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- Mike Krukow will retire at the end of this season after 36 years in the Giants booth.
- Krukow, 74, cited inclusion body myositis and difficulty continuing game calls as factors.
- The Giants will honor Krukow during the Sept. 27 season finale against the Dodgers.
Legendary San Francisco Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow will retire at the end of this season, his 36th in the Giants booth, he announced through the team on social media.
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Krukow, 74, is one half of the iconic “Kruk and Kuip” duo alongside longtime partner and close friend Duane Kuiper, a fixture on Giants TV and radio for decades. He is a three-time California Sportscaster of the Year, a 13-time Emmy winner and a Giants Wall of Fame member.
In a statement posted on the Giants’ X account, Krukow said he and his wife, Jennifer, “have been so blessed to be able to stay in the game for as long as we have and it’s really made it impossible to feel sorry for myself that my career is coming to an end.”
“We are bracing for the emotional hits we know we are going to feel in the next few weeks,” Krukow continued. “Jennifer and I are wondering if it is even possible to let everyone know how deeply we love and respect our Giants family.”
A ‘Forever Giant’
Krukow was diagnosed with inclusion body myositis about 21 years ago, according to a 2017 MLB.com Q&A, which he first publicly revealed in 2014.
As the rare, progressive muscle disease worsened, Krukow had been limited to the studio when the Giants were on the road, but many listeners said they felt like he was still right next to Kuiper while calling games.
Krukow told NBC Sports that the disease was a factor in his retirement because it had become too hard to continue calling games, though he said he hopes to be involved with the organization in some way going forward.
In a statement posted to X, Giants CEO Larry Baer announced that the team will celebrate Krukow’s career with an event during the Sept. 27 season finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers, also a part of Fan Appreciation Weekend.
Before beginning his broadcasting career shortly after retiring in 1990, Krukow was a starting pitcher for 14 MLB seasons, spending the final seven with the Giants. He was an All-Star and won 20 games in 1986.
“We often talk about what it means to be a Forever Giant,” Baer said in the statement. “No one embodies that more completely than Kruk.”
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Hall of Fame push
Krukow’s scorecard from Tim Lincecum’s 2014 no-hitter is on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, where many think he belongs alongside Kuiper.
He has been a finalist for the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually to a broadcaster who has made major contributions to baseball, three times but has not yet won it. Krukow and Kuiper were the runners-up in 2025, and Krukow was also a finalist in 2024 and 2017.
“I’m so sorry to hear Mike Krukow is retiring at the end of the season,” San Francisco Chronicle Giants beat writer Susan Slusser said on X, later tagging the Baseball Hall of Fame in her post. “One of the top joys of covering the Giants is being around Kruk and listening to him and Kuip. It’s a privilege for all. He is one of the very best ever to do it.”
After Krukow’s retirement announcement many on social media, including The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and NBC Sports’ Alex Pavlovic, have called on the Hall of Fame to allow Krukow and Kuiper to win the award together and, hence, earn their place in Cooperstown side-by-side.
Kuiper has told multiple outlets, including the San Jose Mercury News, that he plans to continue broadcasting after this year.
Krukow says ‘thank you’ to fans
Fans have swarmed to support Krukow, with hundreds of positive comments and thousands of likes filling up the various social media posts announcing his retirement.
Former Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford summed up many fans thoughts in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, saying “We’ll all miss hearing his voice on the broadcast. I wish him nothing but the best in retirement.”
Asked by NBC Sports what his message to the fans was, Krukow said the following:
“I would just say thank you for letting me sit at your dinner table every night and share dinner and share the Giants and just share the vibe. That’s where I’m going. Next year, when the first game happens.”
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This story was originally published August 6, 2026 at 12:29 PM.