John Kruk is a beloved curmudgeon among Philadelphia Phillies fans. But the Phillies broadcaster has apparently made a new, and extremely powerful enemy in WNBA star Angel Reese.
Kruk threw shade at the Chicago Sky superstar forward, who appeared to clap back at the Phillies legend with a cryptic social-media post Tuesday night.
Kruk, of course, spent the bulk of his 10-season MLB career as the Phillies first baseman, helping them reach the World Series in 1993. He was a three-time All-Star with the Phillies in 1991, 1992 and 1993 and shared the team lead in batting average (.348) with outfielder Lenny Dykstra in their six-game series loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in ’93.
Kruk has broadcast games as an analyst on NBC Sports Philadelphia alongside play-by-play broadcaster Tom McCarthy since 2017.
What Did John Kruk Say About Angel Reese?
To be fair, Reese was just minding her own business, playing a game in our nation’s capital when Kruk took a dig at the second-year WNBA All-Star while the Phillies were playing the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night.
It all started so innocuously. With the Phillies leading the last-place White Sox 6-0 in the third inning at U.S. Cellular Field, McCarthy offered on-air happy-birthday wishes to the wife of Bob Wyskowski, his former high-school basketball teammate.
âHe was a heck of a basketball player. Played at Rider and Monmouth,” McCarthy said, referencing New Jersey D-1 college programs. “Itâs all because I missed a lot of shots, and he cleaned them up.”
“I don’t want to say anything, but there’s someone here in Chicago that does that a lot,” Kruk said.
Though he didn’t specifically name Reese, Kruk clearly was referencing her since Reese has become the subject of scrutiny that her rebound totals are inflated due to her missed shots — the trend even has a name online known as “mebounds.”
Reese is leading the WNBA in rebounding, averaging 12.6 per game for the Sky this year, after leading the league in rebounds per game in 2024 (13.1) too.
But she ranks 22nd in the league in points per game (14.2) and is just 34th in the league in field-goal percentage (44.4) and a horrendous 46.4 percent on two-point field goals — which is up from her 40.0 percentage in 2024.
What Did Angel Reese Say About John Kruk?
McCarthy, in his typical deadpan, said he felt the broadcasters “might get some tweets” about Kruk’s dig at Reese. Sure enough Reese threw some shade back at Kruk, indirectly calling him a clout chaser.
“Clout is one helluva DRUG. like it really gets to a point,” Reese shared on X (formerly Twitter) after posting 22 points and 13 rebounds for her 15th double-double of the season and her 1th straight in Chicago’s 103-86 road loss to the Washington Mystics on Tuesday night.
She later added on TikTok “To anybody thatâs been mean to me, and youâre having a hard time in life, good.”
We’re not sure if Kruk is really having a hard time, since he seems to be doing well. But we digress.
Reese shot 6 for 16 (.375) in the game Tuesday night, which snapped a five-game streak of shooting .500 or better. Maybe Kruk was just keeping her honest.
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