Last Updated: April 15th, 2024 by Michael Schatz
I have to play homer here for a second. I’m from Philadelphia. The Phillies are my team. And one of my all-time favorite Phillies teams is the 1993 squad. They not only played out of their minds that year, they beat the big bad Braves in the NLCS – I was at the clincher with my dad – before losing in the World Series to Joe Carter’s Blue Jays.
The reason that team is so beloved is because of the personalities on it. There were characters all over that clubhouse. And one of the most popular was John Kruk. He was funny, down-to-earth, and really good at baseball. He was so good that year that he was rewarded with a trip to the 1993 All-Star Game. But, looking back, he probably wishes he hadn’t.
Before we get into what happened, let me just say I miss when guys wore their team jerseys in the All-Star Game. There’s something classic to it. MLB should bring it back. Okay, onto the fun stuff…
In one of the funniest All-Star Game moments, Kruk stepped into the box to face Randy Johnson – probably the most intimidating pitcher of his era. Heck, maybe ever. And Kruk was reminded of that when Johnson uncorked a fastball over his head and to the backstop.
If that had happened to me I would’ve turned around and walked back to the dugout immediately, never to pick up a bat again. But Kruk stayed in the box. In a hilarious moment, he even flipped his helmet around and tried to bat right-handed. But that didn’t work either. As players from both dugouts laughed it up, Kruk bailed and flailed his way to a strikeout. Let’s not forget that John Kruk is a lifetime .300 hitter. And The Big Unit made him look silly.
But it was all in good fun and served as a reminder that at the end of the day, baseball is just a game. The best game ever.