Kruk, Williams solidify 'character' personas

Remember those two old guy muppets on “The Muppet Show” — their names are Statler and Waldorf — who heckled the rest of the cast from the balcony, then yukked it up at their own jokes?
Well, meet the modern-day Statler and Waldorf — Mitch Williams and John Kruk, mainstays of the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies squad that lost the World Series to the Toronto Blue Jays when Williams gave up a series-ending home run to Joe Carter. (Boo-boo, hiss-hiss.)



Both are in town for the Phillies Alumni Weekend, which will include Kruk’s induction into the team’s Wall of Fame. And both appeared Thursday at the alumni luncheon at the stadium and showed once again why they are beloved in this city.
Put microphones in front of these two, sit back and prepare to be entertained. They’ve known each other for a long time. Both talk baseball for a living now — Kruk for ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” and Williams for MLB Network — and both are real characters.
Kruk in particular has that “grumpy old guy” thing down, even though he’s only 50 years old. You expect him to shout, “Hey you kids, get off my lawn!” at any moment.
During their playing careers, neither Kruk nor Williams was all that fond of answering questions from reporters. But I happened to be standing next to former Phillies pitcher Tommy Greene while Kruk and Williams answered questions from the audience during that part of the festivities.
“Krukky doesn’t look like he’s enjoying this very much,” I said.
“Nah, that’s just him. He’s a Scrooge,” said Greene.
Williams, younger at 46, has gone from being the goat of the 1993 World Series to finding a comfortable place in the hearts of Phillies fans. And it’s because he always took full responsibility for throwing the wrong pitch at the wrong time to the wrong guy.
“Joe Carter is one of those rare right-handed hitters who likes the ball down and in,” Williams told the crowd. “I knew that, so that pitch was supposed to be up and away.”
“Missed by just a little bit, huh?” Kruk added.
Har-har-hardy-har-har. These guys should add a drummer to their act just for the rim shots.
Blue collar guys for a blue collar city. They should never have to buy another beer in this town for as long as they live.