Mike Krukow has lived through all nine of MLB’s work stoppages. He experienced four as a player, and now, with the 2021 lockout official, three more as a broadcaster.
Every time the collective bargaining agreement’s expiration date approaches, Krukow holds his breath. He said while nobody’s surprised about this particular lockout, it’s still upsetting. As soon as he joined the Murph & Mac Show, he exchanged pleasantries and let loose.
“Oh, man,” Krukow said. “I’m fine. I’m ticked off, I think everybody who loves the game is ticked off. The inevitable happened.”
Krukow added that he’s thankful the lockout is beginning in December as opposed to a work stoppage closer to the season or even during — like the strike of 1994-95.
That was baseball’s most recent work stoppage, with the 2021 lockout ending 26 years of labor peace. Commissioner Rob Manfred served as outside counsel for the owners then, and MLBPA executive director Tony Clark was still in the Detroit Tigers minor league system.
Krukow worries that not enough people involved with these negotiations were around to feel the “catastrophic” 1994 strike.
During that stoppage, Krukow recalls the Giants keeping him and the other broadcasters — Duane Kuiper, Ted Robinson, and Hank Greenwald — on payroll. They’d go into Candlestick Park and call every season-ticket holder to apologize and offer their support. Some would hang up on them.
“We were so psyched when we got an answering machine and we could just leave a message,” Krukow said. “People didn’t want to hear what we wanted to say.”
The league entered that season without a CBA, and finished without a World Series champion. Kurkow said some fans were turned off by the disastrous campaign permanently.
And while Krukow said he doesn’t think any of the 2022 season is currently in jeopardy, he acknowledged there’s a lot of work to be done.
“Just can’t treat the fans like this,” Krukow said. “I get it. It’s business. There’s a collective bargaining agreement that needs to be negotiated. There are some flaws in it. The players in the last collective bargaining agreement got their ass kicked. So they need to atone for some of the issues that they want to address. And I think they will, and it’ll get done.”
To listen to Krukow’s entire conversation, which included what he thinks about how the Giants’ 2022 starting rotation is shaping up and his take on the Marcus Stroman signing, check out the Murph & Mac podcast here or wherever else you may get your podcasts.
Catch Murph & Mac weekdays from 6 – 10 a.m. on KNBR 104.5 / 680 and streaming live on KNBR.com.