Mike Schmidt returns, John Kruk jumps to NBC as Phillies go national this weekend

Mike Schmidt returned to the Phillies television booth Thursday night, but not to call the game.

The Phillies legend walked away from NBC Sports Philadelphia this season after 12 years as a part-time announcer, but jumped back in the booth Thursday night to spend the fourth inning with Tom McCarthy, John Kruk, and fellow Hall of Famer George Brett.

It was a fascinating way to spend 20 minutes, especially considering the many ways Schmidt and Brett are linked. Two of the best third baseman in the history of the game, taken one behind the other in the 1971 MLB draft. Brett had 1,596 career RBIs, while Schmidt had 1,595 (Brett “hired someone to go back through his career and find an RBI” Schmidt once jokingly claimed).

And of course, there’s the 1980 World Series, where the Phillies defeated the Royals and Schmidt was named MVP, which Brett said was “hard to swallow.” They were both named the respective MVPs of their leagues that season, with Brett ending the season with a batting average of .390.

“By the way, I had .260 in the bag,” Schmidt joked. “I went 0-10 in the last series and dropped down to .250.”

“I feel so bad for you, Mike. You only had 50 home runs that season,” Brett shot back.

For the record, Schmidt ended the 1980 season with 48 home runs and 121 RBIs.

Schmidt and Brett compared stats, busted chops, and shared a life-long friendship borne through intense competition on the field.

“I hated him. I didn’t like him at all,” Brett said, noting Schmidt beat him “every time I played against him.”

At one point, Phillies announcer Ben Davis, positioned in the dugout during the game, chimed in to note that between Schmidt, Brett, Phillies manager Don Mattingly, and Mets announcer Keith Hernandez, there were 31 Gold Gloves and 9,723 hits in the building.

“Who’s that talking?” Brett jokingly replied before taking a shot at himself.

“They always say you got 3,000 hits. I say, ‘No, I made 7,000 outs,’” Brett said, turning to Schmidt. “How many outs do you think you made?”

“Well, I know I made 7,000 strikeouts. I mean, I can count those,” Schmidt said.

The two even joked about their current roles. Brett serves as the Royals’ vice president of baseball operations, while Schmidt complained he can’t get a title with the Phillies.

“John Middletown, if you’re listening, give Mike a title,” Brett said. “I’m Mike Schmidt, and I own this stadium.”

So why was Brett in town for a Phillies-Mets game? To help Schmidt promote his “Pay Sun Safe” skin cancer awareness campaign, something he’s been passionate about since being diagnosed with melanoma in 2013. As part of his partnership with the Phillies, 12 sunscreen stations have been placed across Citizens Bank Park during games.

As interesting as the pairing and the history was, the broadcast did lose focus of the game at times. Thankfully, McCarthy and company refocused after Derek Hill drove in Bryson Stott to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth.

Unfortunately, the Mets jumped all over José Alvarado in the seventh inning and went on to win 6-4.

The Phillies have Friday night off, but NBC Sports Philadelphia won’t be broadcasting the team again until Monday.

Saturday night’s game will air on Fox, with Joe Davis and John Smoltz calling the game and Ken Rosenthal reporting from Citizens Bank Park. Chris O’Connor, the brother of Pennsylvania State Police Corporal Timothy O’Connor, who was shot and killed during a Chester County traffic stop in March, will throw a ceremonial first pitch.

NBC will take over for Sunday Night Baseball, with Kruk back on the network to broadcast the game alongside play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti and former Mets pitcher John Franco.

While Benetti is the voice of baseball on NBC, the network decided to turn to a rotating crew of analysts to call each game, one representing each team on the field. It’s largely a response to the biggest complaint networks hear when broadcasting baseball games — fans just want to hear their local announcers.

It’s the second game Kruk has called for NBC this season, though the first — an April loss to the Atlanta Braves — only streamed on Peacock. Hopefully this time Kruk will be a bit luckier for the Phillies. Having Zack Wheeler (6-1, 2.01 ERA) on the mound should help.

The Phillies will be back on Peacock July 5 when they take on the Pittsburgh Pirates, but they won’t be alone. Peacock will exclusively stream 13 baseball games that day as part of an event NBC is calling “Star-Spangled Sunday.”

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