Phillies Broadcaster John Kruk Addresses Running for President

The midterm elections are coming up, and Philadelphia Phillies broadcaster John Kruk is thinking about a career change. Possibly even getting into the race for President of the United States of America.

Kruk shared some of those thoughts during Wednesday’s Phillies game. As closer Jhoan Duran entered the game, Kruk and his broadcast partner Tom McCarthy joined in and used their phones to contribute some flashlights. It was then when Kruk explained they did so because “We’re men of the people… we’re leaders of the free world.”

“We’re men of the people… we’re leaders of the free world. People want us to run.” – John Kruk pic.twitter.com/yRooVqmsnB

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 20, 2026

Kruk then went on to add that “People want us to run.” That is, run for president.

In all likelihood, Kruk was joking and has no actual political aspirations. On the other hand, you never do know if Phillies fans hadn’t convinced him to make the jump. After all, it’s not a rare occasion when you can see a fan calling for him, or him and McCarthy, to run for president.

“I mean there’s a pretty good chance it would only be a four-year run,” Kruk said. “God, you and me in the White House.”

The Philadelphia Phillies Have One of the Highest-Ranked Broadcast Booths

GettyJohn Kruk at the Celebrity Softball Game

There’s no doubt that Philadelphia Phillies fans love their broadcast booth. John Kruk is a major part of that, but he’s far from the only part.

In Awful Announcing‘s annual local broadcaster rankings, the Phillies booth came in sixth. Those are based on a fan vote, and it’s back-to-back years they came in sixth. So, there’s certainly some consistency from this group.

“The positive feedback on the Phillies booth is driven by the ‘entertaining’ and ‘impossible to predict’ dynamic between McCarthy and Kruk, but there’s more to their appreciation of the broadcast,” Sean Keeley of Awful Announcingwrote. “Graders describe listening to McCarthy and Kruk as ‘an absolute pleasure,’ highlighting that their on-air chemistry is ‘fantastic.’ Kruk’s casual, humorous commentary makes broadcasts ‘feel like watching a game with a friend,’ though a few opposing fans find the booth overly ‘homerish.'”

For most fans watching a local broadcast, “homerish” isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though. So, it might even be a stretch to call that a criticism.

The Phillies are in the Midst of a Tight Wild Card Race

GettyThe Philly Phanatic during the 2025 playoffs

John Kruk was joking about running for president at the end of a three-game sweep of the Miami Marlins. It was a massive series for a Phillies team that has been in a tailspin since the All-Star Break.

That tailspin took the Phillies out of a comfortable Wild Card position and seems to have cost them a shot at the division. Now, they find themselves in a battle. As it stands now, the Phillies hold the second Wild Card slot. They’re up 2.0 games there, but the Arizona Diamondbacks, St. Louis Cardinals, and Miami Marlins are all within 4.0 games of the Wild Card.

Trying to address some of their deficiencies, the Phillies recently signedNestor Cortes. The hope is that he’ll be able to add some depth to the rotation if need be, and at the very least give them some length in the bullpen.

The Phillies will be off on Thursday. After that, they begin an important three-game series against the Cardinals.

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