"It was the loudest I'd ever heard Veterans Stadium — and we had just clinched a pennant and played in a World Series there six months earlier."
That comment from former Phillies clubhouse director and equipment manager Frank Coppenbarger, was made in reference to John Kruk’s RBI double in his first at-bat of the 1994 season. It was the Phillies’ home opener and Kruk’s first game back after his shocking testicular cancer diagnosis in spring training that year.
Kruk was one of the most popular players on the ‘93 team that had just defied expectations and made it all the way to the World Series. He was going through a public battle, and while the team trained in Clearwater and went to Denver and Cincinnati for the first six games of the season, Kruk was in Philadelphia undergoing treatment at Jefferson Hospital.
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He made it back and played two more seasons, one with the Phillies, one with the White Sox. He hit .304 with a .397 OBP over those two seasons before moving on to the next chapter of his life.
Kruk recently recalled those first few moments after his diagnosis in an interview for NBC Sports’ HeadStrong initiative.
“They said, well you have cancer, and I’m like holy crap,” Kruk said. “And it actually spread into the stomach. It was scary. I didn’t know. All I kept telling myself is, I gotta play. I want to play. I heard numbers like you have a 50-50 chance. And think about hitting, if you’re 50-50, you’re a Hall of Famer. So I thought 50-50, you’ve got a shot.
“Once they told me I was cancer-free it was like, let’s go, I’ve got a life to live, see what life brings me.”
MLB
For more from Kruk, the Phillies’ beloved, crotchety broadcaster, check out the video above.
And for more on that spine-tingling moment Kruk delivered in the Phillies' 1994 home opener, this is a must-read from Jim Salisbury.
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