Giants announcer Duane Kuiper’s soothing voice aired Wednesday morning on KNBR.
It was Kuiper’s first time on the air since his wife Michelle died unexpectedly on February 20 at the age of 64. Kuiper thanked everyone for their sympathy and support and said that he looked forward to moving forward with the baseball season after taking time off. Bear the loss of your wife of 36 years.
“It’s good to be back,” Kuiper said of resuming her weekly appearance on the ‘Murph & Mack Show’. “It’s not such a bad idea when you lose a loved one to take a little time off and that’s what I did.”
Kuiper, 71, said he would call a Giants Opening Day game with broadcaster Mike Crucco on NBC Sports Bay Area on April 8 at Oracle Park, and depart Monday for a four-day, three-night trip to Spring Training in Scottsdale. Will be Arise.
“I wanted to sit back and get some strength for Opening Day,” Kuiper said. “I want to thank all those people who were kind enough to touch Aadhaar, be it through text or card. I apologize – I didn’t pick up the phone if people called. Wasn’t in the mood… I feel like almost everyone I’ve ever known in my life has touched base. I appreciate it, it means a lot, and it really helped does.”
Kuiper said the plan is to work with Kruko from the studio on a 20-game road schedule as well as a home schedule, while play-by-play announcers John Miller and Dave Fleming travel on road trips.
Last season, Kuiper took time off during the season for chemotherapy treatment to treat an undisclosed ailment, but returned to Booth late in the season as the Giants won 107 games and the National League West. The combination of the pandemic and recovering from chemo meant that Kuiper spent the entire season without communicating face-to-face with players, coaches or manager Gabe Kapler.
“I still haven’t met new people and I want to do that,” Kuiper said. “I probably haven’t interacted with Gabe in person for more than five minutes once or twice. I want to touch base with him and just go out of town for a while. Before you on that plane And there’s probably just something about going to spring training, feeling the heat and you get the baseball vibe.
Among the baseball topics addressed by Kuiper:
Adding left hand pitcher Carlos Rodone
“Roden is one of those guys where if you’re an exclusively left-handed hitter and you’re on the Giants’ schedule, you’re going to see when he’s pitching. Logan tends to hit Webb compared to Rodan. A lot more comfortable for him. And he’s going to be good. It’s going to be a great 1-2 punch.”
Signature of outfielder Jock Pedersen
“I’ve told Jock Pedersen twice in the last three years that he’s going to look good in a Giants uniform . . . He doesn’t try to hit a base in left field, he doesn’t try to flare one off right He tries to hit the ball in the water and it will be fun to watch.
The Giants Aren’t Signing A Big Ticket Hitter
“Everybody wants Trevor Story. Everyone wants (Nick) Castellanos. I was hoping we’d get one of those guys. Even (Kyle) Schwarber. But you see these guys has got some numbers, oh my god. I don’t think Farhan (Zaidi) is ready to give that kind of cash at the moment when he thinks he can commit a really good offense to go along with his excellent pitching Huh.
“I don’t even think they want one of those guys to fill a long roster spot where some of these young guys we keep seeing and hearing are really close. It’s (Louis) Matos the Kid A great example is. Heliot Ramos. I don’t think they want to stop these people from getting where they want, if not this year then certainly next year or the day after.