Bob Costas: Baseball Hall of Fame voters want to induct Kruk and Kuip together

Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow of the San Francisco Giants at the Wall of Fame ceremony at Oracle Park on Aug. 8, 2026, in San Francisco. (Godofredo Vásquez/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images) The voting body for the Baseball Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award, given annually to a renowned baseball broadcaster, wants to induct Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow into Cooperstown at the same time, according to veteran sports announcer Bob Costas.

>Costas joined the Giants broadcast Wednesday during the Giants-Twins game for two innings to bid a professional goodbye to Krukow during the color commentator's final week on the job. Krukow announced on Aug. 6 that he'd retire from calling games at the end of this season after 36 years.

>With two outs in the top of the third inning, Costas continued a stump speech he had previously made on Bay Area radio to try to induct Kruk and Kuip as a duo, the way Giants fans have enjoyed them for nearly 40 years. But the major roadblock, according to Costas, is the Hall itself.

>"Sometimes, they're too locked in to their procedures," Costas said of the Hall of Fame. "And many of us have argued, ‘Please, put Krukow and Kuiper on the ballot as an entry.' And I think they would be elected - if not first time, then eventually."

>The Frick Award is typically handed to just one person every year, with the lone exception being its inaugural presentation in 1978. The two recipients were Red Barber and Mel Allen, sports broadcasting pioneers who did on occasion call World Series matchups together. This is to say that there is technically some precedent for a known one-two punch to get in together. Still, it's mostly tradition to induct one broadcaster. Past honorees include Al Michaels, Jon Miller, Bob Uecker, Joe Buck and Costas himself. The voters might be willing to break that tradition, but the institution behind the award seems less eager to do so.

>The Frick voting contingent comprises the past honorees who are still alive and a few broadcasting historians. After explaining that makeup, Costas said the current voting group is clear about wanting to vote on Krukow and Kuiper together, not separately.

>"The group, almost unanimously, wants that to happen," Costas said. "But the Hall, for some reason, hasn't allowed it to happen yet. And I hope it happens soon enough because it should."

>Kuiper has been a finalist for the Frick Award five times, including last year. Krukow has been in the final round four times. The push to elect them together has been ongoing for years now, but Krukow's retirement is adding new fuel to the fire and leading to new advocacy, including from Costas on Wednesday.

>Kuiper was not on the broadcast for the day while he goes through treatment for his recently revealed throat cancer, so Dave Flemming was filling in when Costas visited. After the speech, Flemming asked to shake Costas' hand and thanked him for the push. Krukow followed that up by saying, "I wanna hug ya."

>There will be a bit of a wait, though. The next Frick Award will be focused on broadcasters whose careers ended prior to the Wild Card era in 1994, so any possible combined election to the Hall of Fame for Krukow and Kuiper would have to wait until 2028.

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>This article originally published at Bob Costas: Baseball Hall of Fame voters want to induct Kruk and Kuip together.