There have been only a handful of professional athletes to star in two sports; Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson being two of them. Add one more to that list now that John Kruk, former Phillies first baseman and current ESPN Baseball Tonight analyst, has been training this offseason to enter the world of competitive eating.
“This is something I’ve wanted to do for awhile,” said a slovenly Kruk as he shoveled a handful of shredded cheddar cheese into his mouth. “I feel I was born with a God-given talent of eating disgusting amounts of food and I want to prove it to the rest of the world.”
Kruk is not the only one who feels he is cut out for competitive eating. Former teammate, Curt Schilling, witnessed first hand the awesome power of Kruk’s appetite. Stories of Kruk and his mouth are legendary.
“He was the only person on our team who would waive down the hot dog vendor while sitting in the dugout between innings,” said Schilling. “And if you didn’t get to the post-game buffet table before he did, you weren’t getting any food that day.”
Kruk was finally convinced by Buster Olney to put his skills to use after the journalist saw Kruk take down a large deep dish pizza between takes during a taping of Baseball Tonight. Rumor has it there is a clip of it somewhere on the internet, but Kruk says that was nothing. The real show is still to come.
“I want my children to see me retire from professional sports as a champion,” said Kruk, revealing another motivation behind the decision. “And if I have to eat 60 corndogs in 10 minutes for that to happen, that’s what I’m gonna do.”
By Michael Kloempken