The Krukker

When I mentioned Krukkie at the end of my last entry I realized that I had yet to post one of his cards. Improbable, I know, as he is the sole purpose I became a baseball fan in the first place, nevermind a Padres fan. How does a white trash five year old who's never been west of the Ohio River become a San Diego fan? It's pretty simple, actually- I just showed up to kindergarten and the only kid in my class related to a professional athlete was Andrew Kruk. It didn't take long for me to become as fully immersed in Friardom as a kid in West Virginia could be in 1988- which is to say I read their box score in the paper every day and studied their baseball cards like a pederast studies a playground. Within a year he was sent off to Philadelphia but it was too late for me; I was already sucked in. I still followed Kruk's career but couldn't shake the soul sickness that is being a Padres fan.