#340 John Kruk

About the Front: Sadly, this isn't John Kruk at his grungy 1993 peak, with his long sweaty mullet, goatee, and uniform slathered in dirt and pine tar. It's funny to see how different he looked just one year earlier.

About the Back: Ah, that looks a bit more like the Krukker I remember.

Triple Play:

1. Here's one I just discovered. At AA Beaumont in 1983, John pitched in three games, totaling five scoreless innings. He allowed five hits, walked two, and struck out three.

2. In a losing effort in the 1993 World Series, Kruk batted .348/.500/.391 with four runs batted in.

3. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer in the spring of 1994, and made a full recovery after having one of his testicles surgically removed. The following year, he abruptly retired from the White Sox after singling in his first at-bat on July 30. The base hit brought his career batting average up to an even .300, and his on-base percentage across ten seasons was .397.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: One of the first great baseball moments I witnessed live was Kruk's heart-stopping at-bat against Randy Johnson in the 1993 All-Star Game.

Bill James Said: "You probably know as much about him as I do, a fun guy with a bad body and a chaw of tobacco that would choke a T-Rex."

On This Date in 1993: December 12. Peter Boross becomes the prime minister of Hungary after the death of Jozsef Antall.