Javier Lopez radio appearance may hint at SF Giants' plan to replace Mike Krukow

Mike Krukow called his last game as the regular color commentator for SF Giants games on Sunday. While that still feels a little surreal to type, naturally everyone’s mind is now going to turn to who will replace him in the booth. Javier Lopez’s presence at Oracle Park calling a game on the radio side over the weekend might hint at him being one of the main candidates to take over for Krukow which wouldn't really come as a major shock.

Lopez has typically called games on the East Coast for the Giants in the past which makes sense because he lives in Atlanta with his family. It would be great if he can continue doing that even though his new front office job may limit the extent to which he can call games.

Maybe he will be able to do some home games next year as well. While it seems unlikely he’d uproot his family and move them to San Francisco, there’s no reason to think he wouldn’t be able to come out for a few series throughout the season and call games at Oracle.

A lot of fans really like Lopez’s commentary style. The fact that he sees the game through the eyes of a pitcher would be cool because it would provide some continuity with Krukow who was one of the best ever at taking viewers into the mind of a pitcher.

Giants should have a rotation calling games to replace Mike Krukow

Lopez is also super sharp and witty so he can make fans laugh while also being informative. No one is ever going to top Krukow’s sense of humor and charm but then again I’d argue no one ever has. Lopez probably won’t be talking about the “Aztec Two-Step” or “letting out some shaft” but he can drop a clever turn of phrase in the moment.

Really, the most likely outcome is for the Giants to cycle through different color commentators next season. Hunter Pence seems like the likeliest candidate to cover most home games since he resides in San Francisco, but maybe Lopez can come out for a few weekends during the season or Shawn Estes or Rich Aurilia could call some. Those guys already work for NBC Sports Bay Area and travel from Arizona to be in-studio in San Francisco throughout the year so they could fill in as needed.

Lopez has certainly become a fan-favorite in the booth though so it’s great to see him in San Francisco calling some games which bodes well for those hoping he takes on a more prominent broadcasting role next season. Don’t expect him to be the primary guy taking over the bulk of the games, but he should definitely factor into the mix.

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