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Most sports broadcasters are able to make their job seem fairly effortless, but any occupation that involves entertaining viewers on live television for hours on end while keeping tabs on what’s unfolding is much easier said than done.
There are plenty of situations where people in the booth have to figure out a way to fill airtime, which can result in some commentators going off on some fairly long tangents that have nothing to do with the action on the playing surface (a phenomenon familiar to anyone who’s watched literally any college basketball game with Bill Walton on the mic).
That’s especially true when you’re talking about baseball; the pitch clock has undoubtedly reduced the number of lulls in the action, but the people covering the games still have plenty of opportunities to ramble until their heart’s content.
That’s especially true when you’re tasked with working a blowout, which is the situation former Phillies broadcaster John Kruk found himself in when his former team was sporting a 10-2 lead over the Cubs in the bottom of the sixth inning over the weekend.
It’s hard to blame Kruk for not being particularly invested in the contest based on the score, and he decided to use it as an excuse to chat with longtime play-by-play man Tom McCarthy about a topic that’s apparently very near and dear to his heart: pierogies.
Kruk (who is of Polish descent) apparently thought there was no better time to peruse the menu of The Pierogie Kitchen in North Philly after McCarthy gave it his seal of approval, and the retired lefty gave the restaurants some of the best free publicity it could ask for while discussing some of the menu’s highlights for a solid two minutes.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and track down a spot that serves poutine with pierogies on top.