Mike Krukow offers hopeful outlook on Duane Kuiper’s cancer diagnosis

In the days leading up to a San Francisco Giants weekend that’s supposed to be about his career, legendary Bay Area broadcaster Mike Krukow has made sure to give his longtime television partner Duane Kuiper as much adoration as humanly possible.

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Krukow appeared on KNBR’s “Murph & Markus” morning show on Monday to talk about all things Giants, but with a focus on his career and that of Kuiper’s too. 

“I had two pillars of life, really, I mean, with [Krukow’s wife] Jennifer and Duane,” he said on his radio appearance. “And it’s something I really — it’s hard to describe. It’s hard for me to put into words.”

No Giants fan would be surprised to learn that the 74-year-old had only the highest of praise for the other half of the best broadcasting duo in baseball — reader polls be damned — as his friendship with Kuiper has been well documented for decades. However, the kind words came with an extra layer of emotion in the wake of Kuiper’s cancer diagnosis, which the broadcaster announced on Sunday. The play-by-play announcer was supposed to head to Los Angeles for the team’s series against the Dodgers but was unable to call the game because of this medical concern. He’s scheduled to come back to the booth before Sunday, when the team hosts Krukow’s farewell.

Krukow said he only found out about his broadcast partner’s diagnosis about six or seven weeks ago, and noted that this diagnosis was ultimately “good news.” Kuiper had previously dealt with a cancer diagnosis in 2021. The chemotherapy treatments kept him out of the booth for most of that season. At first there was concern that this was a return of that form of cancer, but Krukow said that this was different, “more manageable” kind “that has a high percent of success in treating it.” It’s helping Krukow stay positive about his broadcast partner’s future.

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“If he says he’s going to beat this, I believe him,” Krukow said. “And that’s the comfort that we take in that he wants to beat this. So he’s been diagnosed, he’s in treatment now, and then the next step is going to be recovery. And that’s just where we are on this. But I love him. And he’s been so many things to me over the years, and now, I mean, just like he was five years ago, the way he’s taking on this horrible disease, he’s an inspiration. And we’re going to get him through it.”

Even when this final home series was supposed to be a celebration of his career, Krukow was willing to do anything he could to make sure Kuiper was able to do his job comfortably. He even suggested coming back next year so they could do a proper farewell game together so that Kuiper could get some proper recovery. Things are still scheduled to go on as planned, but it’s safe to say that even when the focus will be all on Krukow this week, his focus will be on his longtime friend.

“The priority right now is him, period,” Krukow said.