SF Giants' Top 5 Moments of 2026, No. 1: Mike Krukow's emotional farewell

We’ve reached the conclusion of our top moments from the 2026 SF Giants season series and I’m proud of myself for identifying four moments on the field that were truly exciting, but our final moment on this list can simultaneously count as a “best” and “worst” moment.

Legendary broadcaster Mike Krukow decided to call it a career in 2026 which is truly heartbreaking since it was ultimately his health that forced him to step away from the broadcast booth.

The lead up to the team’s final game of the season was very sad since we all knew what was coming, but the Giants at least went all out for Krukow’s farewell. He got his “Atta Babe” on the wall in right field and Duane Kuiper put up his own hilarious stick figure with a boiler.

The Giants weren’t able to get Kruk a win because of course they didn’t, but at least the postgame proceedings were fitting with all of the speeches and kind words for a man who was the voice of Giants of baseball for so long.

Krukow’s farewell speech was predictably perfect and his extended riff that basically amounted to a defense of being a Giants fan is something that gave me chills when I heard it the first time and will continue to give me chills whenever I revisit that speech.

Giants legends have said goodbye after bad seasons before

While it would have been nice for Krukow to retire after a better season, in some ways it more fitting that he retire after a dud. I’ve kept blowout Giants games on over the years just to listen to Kruk and Kuip in case they say something funny or tell a good story which they would invariably always do. They were that good together which is why I kept watching this season and would’ve kept watching even if I wasn’t lucky enough to make a little money out of it.

For me, the 2018 season will instantly bring to mind Hunter Pence’s farewell as he scootered around the park and the 2019 season will bring to mind Bruce Bochy’s which felt like a fitting celebration of the team's championship years. Both of those seasons were bad on the field so it feels right that 2026 will be the year of Krukow in my mind. 

It’s not going to truly hit us until next year, whenever Giants baseball comes back, and we don’t hear his voice calling the team’s home opener, but it still hit pretty hard on September 27 which is why it really has to be the top moment of the 2026 season. 

Let's just hope 2027 is better and there is more to celebrate when it comes to actual baseball that occurs on the field.

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