San Francisco Giants: Lopez and Affeldt to Join Broadcast Booth in ’17

San Francisco Giants fans didn’t have much time to mourn the end of the “core four.” Today, on KNBR, Mike Krukow confirmed that Javy Lopez and Jeremy Affeldt will join the broadcast crew for roughly a quarter of the season.

San Francisco Giants fans have been listening to the “core four” of the Giants broadcast for quite some time. John Miller and Dave Flemming do a wonderful job on the radio, and Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper on the T.V. Over the past few years we’ve learned about Krukow’s degenerative muscle condition, Inclusion-body Mitosis (IBM).

Sadly that disease has started to inhibit his ability to stay in the broadcast booth. For so long we’ve been used to hearing his voice, his wise-cracks, and his wonderful analysis on the game. But sadly, he won’t be able to do it as much as in the past.

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This morning, in an interview on the  “Murph and Mac Show” on KNBR, Krukow said he will only be able to do 120 games this year. He confirmed the remaining games would be picked up by Affeldt or Lopez.

Later today, Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle added a little more to Krukow’s broadcast plan:

While it is definitely sad that Krukow’s condition is keeping him from the broadcast booth, it is exciting that the broadcasting “core four” will get to welcome in a couple of members of the “Bullpen Core Four.”

Lopez announced his retirement yesterday, and Affeldt has been retired for a full season now. Together, they made up half of the “core four” of the bullpen that was a part of the 3 world series rings the Giants have won this decade.

Again, this announcement should bring about a good mixed reaction. There must be some sadness, or disappointment in the fact that Krukow can only do 3/4 of the season. There also is excitement that Affeldt, and “Night Train” will be around for at least the foreseeable future.

Next: Giants Sign Beckham

Stay tuned as we build up to Spring Training! Pitchers and Catchers report soon and we’ll have a whole host of outlooks and previews for you.