Card Tribute: Mike Krukow

• Grab some pine, meat! I love that phrase! 
• Mike Krukow is more famous for his announcing of Giants games (along with Duane Kuiper), but he was a pretty good pitcher as well
• The Giants acquired Mike in a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies after the 1982 season. Joe  Morgan and Al Holland were traded to the Phillies for Krukow, Mark Davis, and a minor leaguer.
• Before the Giants got him, Krukow had a career record of 58-61 in seven seasons with the Chicago Cubs (6 years) and the Phillies (1 year)
• Mike made his  major league debut on September 6, 1976 (my 10th birthday)

1983 Topps Traded #58T

• In 1983 Krukow was 11-11 with a 3.95 ERA in 31 starts

1984 Topps #633

• Krukow was 11-12 with one save and a 4.56 ERA in 35 games (33 starts)
• Mike led the NL with 234 hits allowed

1985 Topps #74

• Mike had a 3.38 ERA in 1985 but slipped to an 8-11 record in 28 starts
• Won the Willie Mac Award

1986 Topps #752

• Mike's best season was in 1986
• Krukow had a 20-9 record with an ERA of 3.05 in 34 starts
• Mike finished 3rd in NL Cy Young Award voting in 1986
• Krukow pitched a scoreless 9th inning in the 1986 All Star Game
• Beat the Dodgers 11-2 for his 20th win on the last day of the season.
• Won the Willie Mac Award for the second straight year

1987 Topps #580

• Slipped to a 5-7 record with a 4.80 ERA in 30 games (28 starts)
• Allowed 2 runs on 9 hits in a complete-game 4-2 win in game 4 of the NL Championship series

1988 Topps #445

• Went 7-4 with a 3.54 ERA in 20 starts in 1988
• Did not pitch from late June to mid August.
• Pitched his last game of the 1988 season on August 28
• Underwent rotator cuff surgery on September 13

1989 Topps #125

• Started eight games and was 4-3 with a 3.98 ERA
• His last major league game was June 4, 1989
• Underwent surgery on June 30 to repair a torn rotator cuff

1990 Topps #241

• Retired in March 1990 -- he wasn't able to come back from the rotator cuff injury

1989 Topps Giants - Part 4 (pitchers)

Rick Reuschel (#65) was 17-8 with a 2.94 ERA in 32 starts and was the ace of the Giants' staff.

Steve Bedrosian (#8T) was 1-4 with 17 saves and a 2.65 ERA in 40 games in 1989.

Jeff Brantley (#14T) was 7-1 with a 4.07 ERA in 59 games (1 start) for the Giants in 1989.

Terry Mulholland (#41) was 0-0 with a 4.09 ERA in 5 games (1 start) for the Giants in 1989. He didn't pitch until May 25 and then was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies on June 18 with Charlie Hayes and Dennis Cook for Steve Bedrosian and Rick Parker.

Mike Krukow(#125) was 4-3 with a 3.98 ERA in 8 starts in 1989. On June 30 Mike had arthoscopic rotator cuff surgery after spending three seasons going to and from the disabled list with what was thought to be bursitis in his pitching arm. He tried to come back in 1990 but retired during spring training.

Joe Price (#217) was 1-1 with a 5.79 ERA in 7 games (1 start). He was released on May 1 and signed with the Boston Red Sox a week later.

Trevor Wilson (#783) was 4-3 with a 4.35 ERA in 14 games (4 starts). He was 7-7 with a 3.20 ERA in 20 starts for the AAA Phoenix Firebirds. He had one stint with the Giants from late June to early August and then came back when the rosters expanded in September.

1983 Topps Giants - Part 5 (more pitchers)

Fred Breining (#747) was 11-12 with a 3.82 ERA in 32 starts in 1983.

Mike Krukow (#58T) was 11-11 with a 3.95 ERA in 31 starts.

Bill Laskey (#518) was 13-10 with a 4.19 ERA in 25 starts.

Alan Fowlkes (#543) didn't pitch for the Giants in 1983. He spent the 1983 and 1984 seasons with AAA Phoenix and was released during spring training in 1985. Fowlkes signed with the California Angels and pitched in two games before going back to the minors for good.

Gary Lavelle (#791) was 7-4 with 20 saves and a 2.59 ERA in 56 games in 1983.

Rich Gale (#719) didn't pitch for the Giants in 1983. He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds before the 1983 season for Mike Vail.

Others who pitched for the Giants but didn't receive a 1983 Topps Giants card:

• Mark Davis (6-4, 3.49 in 20 starts)
• Mark Calvert (1-4, 6.27 in 18 games - 4 starts)
• Mike Chris (0-0, 8.10 in 7 games)
• Randy Lerch (1-0, 3.38 in 7 games)
• Pat Larkin (0-0, 4.35 in 5 games)
• Brian Kingman (0-0, 7.71 in 3 games)

1986 Topps Giants - Part 6 (more pitchers)

Vida Blue (#770) was 10-10 with a 3.20 ERA in 28 starts.

Mike Krukow (#752)was the ace of the staff in 1986. He was 20-9 with a 3.05 ERA in 34 starts. Mike was an All Star (he pitched a perfect 9th inning) and finished 3rd in Cy Young Award voting.

Mike Jeffcoat (#571) didn't pitch for the Giants in 1986. He spent the season at AAA Phoenix (54 games, 7-2, 4.20 ERA)

Dave LaPoint (#551) didn't pitch for the Giants in 1986. He was traded to the Detroit Tigers in December 1985.

Jim Gott (#463) was 0-0 with one save and an ERA of 7.62 in 9 games (2 starts). He didn't appear in a game after May 8. He also started two games for AAA Phoenix but pitched only 2.2 innings combined in the two starts.

Scott Garrelts (#395) was 13-9 with 10 saves and a 3.11 ERA in 53 games (18 starts). He was a starter until July 2 then from July 6 to the end of the season he came out of the bullpen.

Frank Williams (#341) was 3-1 with one save and a 1.20 ERA in 36 games.

Greg Minton (#310) was 4-4 with five saves and a 3.93 ERA in 48 games. Here is a link to Greg's entry in the book Giants: Where have you Gone?.


Others who pitched for the Giants in 1986 but didn't receive a 1986 Topps Giants card:

Terry Mulholland (1-7, 4.94 ERA in 10 starts--15 games total)

Steve Carlton (1-3, 5.10 ERA in six starts)

Bill Laskey (1-1, 1 save, 4.28 ERA in 20 appearances)

Mark Grant (0-1, 3.61 ERA in 4 games)

Chuck Hensley (0-0, 2.45 ERA in 11 games)

Randy Bockus (0-0, 2.57 ERA in 5 games)

1987 Topps Giants - Part 5 (more pitchers)

Atlee Hammaker was 10-10 with an ERA of 3.58 in 31 games (27 starts). He pitched for the Giants from 1982 until his release on August 12, 1990.

Greg Minton was 1-0 with one save and a 3.47 ERA in 15 appearances. He was released by the Giants on May 28 after a long career (1975-1987) with the club. Greg was signed by the California Angels and he pitched there until his retirement after the 1990 season.

Mike Krukow was 5-6 with a 4.80 ERA in 30 games (28 starts). Krukow was the winning pitcher in game 4 of the NLCS. Mike pitched for the Giants from 1983 until he retired in June of the 1989 season.

Terry Mulholland didn't pitch for the Giants in 1987. He was 7-12 with a 5.07 ERA for AAA Phoenix.

Roger Mason was 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in five starts in 1987. He was 5-1 in 10 starts with AAA Phoenix.

Scott Garrelts was 11-7 with 12 saves and a 3.22 ERA in 1987. He spent his entire major league career (1982-1991) with the Giants.

Kelly Downs was 12-9 with 1 save and had an ERA of 3.63 in 41 games (28 starts). He pitched for the Giants from 1986-1992 and finished his career with the Oakland A's in 1993.

Jeff Robinson was 6-8 with 10 saves and a 2.79 ERA in 63 games. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Rick Reuschel on August 21. Why was the name section of his card red while the rest of the Giants were orange?

1988 Topps Giants - Part 4

Grab some bench meat!
C'mon ball dude, make a play!

Mike Krukow was 7-4 with a 3.54 ERA in 20 starts. Mike missed five weeks from late June to early August and made his last start on August 28.




Atlee Hammaker was 9-9 with five saves and an ERA of 3.73. He started 17 games and relieved in 26 others.

Scott Garrelts was 5-9 with 13 saves and a 3.58 ERA in 65 appearances.

Dave Dravecky was 2-2 with a 3.16 ERA in 7 starts. He made six starts in April and early May and started another game on May 28, then he shut it down for the season after a cancerous tumor was found in his pitching arm.

Don Robinson had a good season as a swingman in 1988. He was 10-5 with six saves and a 2.45 ERA. He appeared in 51 games, 19 of them starts.

1990 Topps Giants - Part 4

Randy McCament was 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA in six innings. He pitched in three games in May and spent the rest of the year with AAA Phoenix.

Steve Bedrosian was 9-9 with 17 saves and an ERA of 4.20 in 1990.

Mike Krukow didn't pitch for the Giants in 1990. His last game was June 4, 1989. He tore his rotator cuff and had surgery on June 10, 1989. Mike retired in March of 1990.

Don Robinson was 10-7 with an ERA of 4.57 in 25 starts in 1990.

Rick "Big Daddy" Reuschel was 3-6 with a 3.93 ERA in 13 starts. He didn't pitch from late May until mid-September. Rick was released on June 19, 1991 and retired after going 0-2 in four April appearances.

Craig Lefferts didn't pitch for the Giants in 1990. He became a free agent after the 1989 season and signed with the San Diego Padres.

Dave Dravecky didn't pitch for the Giants in 1990. He pitched in his last game on August 15, 1989. His career came to an abrupt end after his humerus bone snapped as he made a pitch to Tim Raines. He had had an operation to remove a cancerous tumor a year earlier. The arm and shoulder had to be amputated in 1991. Here is an article about Dave's recent return to San Francisco and what happened that day in 1989.

Bob Knepper was 3-3 with a 5.79 ERA in 12 games (7 starts). Bob also made four starts for AAA Phoenix. He was released on June 26 and didn't pitch in the majors again.

Mike LaCoss was 6-4 with a 3.94 ERA in 12 starts in 1990. He didn't pitch from April 26 until August 11.

John Burkett was the top starter on the staff in 1990. He was 14-7 with a 3.79 ERA in 32 starts and was the only pitcher to pitch more than 200 innings.