![]() ![]() Nevius is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. "Kuip says he wants to do this until he is 80," Krukow said. "If I'm not going to carry his bag, who is?" "Well look, I sat next to him on the plane for 25 years," Kuiper said. On the road, Kuiper has quietly taken up duties as personal Sherpa, toting Krukow's bags - not that anyone is making a big thing of it. Monday they were in Philadelphia, where Krukow spent the 1982 season, to call the game against the Phillies. Giants fans dress as "Gamer Babes" in hopes of getting singled out in the stands and treat "Kruk and Kuip" like old pals. He and Kuiper are the consummate soundtrack for baseball in San Francisco - witty, knowledgeable and quirky. And we love living in San Francisco."Īnd in case you are wondering, Krukow has no plans to stop broadcasting. Now it is about enjoying our kids and our grandkids. "We just feel so lucky that it isn't something worse," she said. ![]() But like everything else, they're prepared to deal with it. That would be unfortunate, Jennifer says, because Mike is a "fabulous musician" and the whole family plays instruments and sings. I'm worried that I am going to lose that." "I play guitar, mandolin, banjo, ukulele," he said. But what Giants fans might not know is that he is also a gifted musician. It looks like I am shimmying down a rope." Still eager to playĪn avid golfer (a loss of distance on his drives was one reason he suspected he had a problem), he hopes to be able to play again. "I am fine uphill, but downhill - a slope of 3 degrees is Mount Everest," Krukow says. Another change is that any downward incline, steps or even ramps, is a problem. He can walk fine, he just doesn't want to get knocked down." "That's one of the reasons he takes the cart. "He has a hard time walking through crowds," Kuiper said. His balance is so iffy that even a nudge from well-meaning fans could send him sprawling. Krukow has begun to use a golf cart to get out of the ballpark because the press of crowds can be dangerous. My advice to Giants fans is to treat him like you normally would."īut there's also a physical reason. If people stop him and say how sorry they are, he doesn't want that. "I can assure you that he doesn't want to be treated any different. "I think he just wants his life to be as normal as possible," Kuiper said. Having said that, everyone stresses that the last thing the perpetually upbeat Krukow wants is a pity party - that's not his style. "I think this is really good that this is happening." "We urged Mike to do this, but he wasn't ready," Jennifer said. I got in touch with him last week to ask him about it, and he said he was ready to tell his story. Lately, the Krukows have focused on the doctor's mantra: IBM is life-altering, not life-threatening.Īfter seeing Krukow leave the ballpark in a motorized cart and carrying a cane, I wondered if there was a problem. "I said, 'Mike, they ask me all the time.' He didn't want anyone to know." ![]() "He said, 'Do people ask about what's wrong?' " Jennifer said. She and their five children urged Krukow to join a support group - or at least to tell people about his condition. "Everybody was saying, 'What's wrong with Mike?' " "He fell in front of the whole team," Jennifer Krukow said. The low point was in April when he stumbled coming off the team bus in Colorado and took a spill that was so serious he tore the rotator cuff in a shoulder. I'm just an old pitcher.' " Impossible to ignoreīut there was no ignoring it. Guys would ask what's going on, and he'd say, 'Oh, it's my back. "You are talking about a guy who used to run the steps at every major-league ballpark," Kuiper said. That's telling, longtime teammate and broadcast partner Duane Kuiper says, because the last thing Krukow wants is to call attention to the disease and become the object of public sympathy. In the past year, Krukow has begun to wear braces on his legs for support. "I think he thought, if I just ignore it, it won't get worse. "Being the strong, muscular athlete he was, this was very difficult to face," says Jennifer Krukow, Mike's wife. Krukow handled it the same way he used to deal with injuries - pretend it's not a problem and hope it goes away. How does a person - especially an athlete, used to depending on a strong body - respond to such news? "It pisses me off every day," Krukow says. " 'And eventually you may be that old dude riding around in a scooter.' " ![]() "He said, 'You're going to need a cane and then you're going to need a walker,' " Krukow recalls. ![]()
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