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Mike Krukow explains why he doesn’t agree with Williamson suing Giants over bullpen mounds

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© Isaiah J. Downing | 2019 May 7


Mac Williamson, no longer with the Giants, will now legally oppose the Giants.

The former outfielder alleges that the 2018 concussion that arose from his tripping over an on-field bullpen mound and hitting his head on the left-field-line wall at Oracle Park, as well as the ensuing complications, has “ended my career.”

Williamson is suing the China Basin Ballpark Company LLC, the owner and operator of Oracle Park, which is controlled by the Giants’ ownership group.

“My life hasn’t been the same since suffering the injury,” Williamson said in a Tuesday release through a public relations firm for his attorney, Randy Erlewine. “The concussion ended my career and left me with life-long injuries that have also taken a significant toll on my personal life. I’m fortunate to have such an understanding fiancé who has been there every step of the way and helps me get through the days I suffer nausea, trouble sleeping, mood swings, and other issues. I wake up every day hoping that today is a better day and that I will get closer to how I felt before the injury.”

This week, both Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow joined the Murph and Mac Show to discuss the incident. While Kuiper played it down the middle, Kruk was more pointed in his opinion, saying that while he feels bad for Williamson and likes him as a person, he disagrees with his decision to sue the team.

“When he came up you remember that 10 days he had where he was the best player in baseball,” Krukow began. “He was finally reaching his potential. And every at-bat was one you look forward to and balls were coming off his bat and it was consistant loudness…That was exciting.

“All of the sudden he goes into the wall and I thought he broke his neck when it first happened. I really feared for his health. Then he got up and shook it off and he was in the lineup the next day, but he was never the same player. It was painful to watch him go the rest of his career, and you can imagine how painful it was for him when he truly believed that he had turned the corner, and he was ready to explode and be the player we all thought he was going to be.

“I really feel for him and he was a good guy, we all like the guy. I would never personally sue a big league team. I just wouldn’t do it, no matter what. Especially for something like a sideline mound that’s part of the field. I played in Wrigley Field which had it and at Candlestick Park. I never really thought it was an issue, it was just simply there, it was something you dealt with.

“For a player to get injured because of it and sue the team I don’t agree with it. It could be a case where just a lawyer got ahold of him and said ‘here’s a chance to make some money,’ and that may be why he’s doing it. It’s just a sad story.”

Listen to the full interview below.