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Scott Franzke to join John Kruk on TV broadcasts this weekend

Scott Franzke (left) is the radio voice of the Phillies. (Cheryl Pursell)

With Tom McCarthy slated to serve as the play-by-play announcer on CBS’ coverage of the Indianapolis Colts-Houston Texans game Sunday, the Philadelphia Phillies TV and radio broadcast booths will sound a bit different this weekend.

Scott Franzke will shift to the TV booth as the play-by-play announcer, with John Kruk serving as the color commentator on NBC Sports Philadelphia‘s coverage of the weekend series against the Washington Nationals.

“Who wouldn’t want to sit with John Kruk for three hours and pick that brain?” Franzke jokingly asked in a conversation with Phillies Nation Thursday afternoon.

Franzke is well aware of how funny Kruk is, but given that he’s almost always doing a radio broadcast while the former All-Star first baseman is on TV, he often hears second hand about the funny stories told on the TV broadcasts. For a weekend, Franzke says he’s excited to hear Kruk’s tales with his own ears, joking that he’ll “just sit back and listen.”

Franzke has been the radio voice of the Phillies since 2006, but didn’t call a regular season game on TV for the team until earlier this year when McCarthy missed a game in May to attend his daughter’s college graduation.

Even for someone that’s as accomplished of a broadcaster as Franzke, doing games on TV takes some major adjustments.

“Well, I mean, obviously the pictures are there to tell a lot of the story so you don’t have to rely on the mechanics,” Franzke said.

“I think with TV, you’re basically just having a conversation about baseball a little bit and you try to keep it entertaining … keep it moving … keep everybody informed of what’s happening. But you know, it’s definitely a different art form. And it’s going to pose plenty of challenges for me.”

When Franzke first came to the Phillies, Hall of Famer Harry Kalas was entrenched in the TV booth. Since Kalas’ passing in April of 2009, McCarthy has been the TV voice for the Phillies. There’s no reason to think McCarthy won’t (and shouldn’t) hold that role as long as he desires.

There has, however, always been speculation about whether the Phillies did or would ever consider shifting Franzke to the TV booth on a full-time basis. Franzke seemingly prefers calling games on the radio, especially since it gives him a chance to broadcast playoff games, where local TV announcers don’t get to announce postseason action.

“I love doing the radio, without a doubt,” Franzke acknowledged. “I like being able to paint that picture. I like being able to do it that way. I like the freedom that we get on radio to do a lot of different things. There’s advantages and disadvantages to both, I guess.

“I’ve always said that the thing I love the most about doing the games on the radio is being able to do the games in October. And I was really spoiled early in my career. And I’ve been waiting to experience that again, and hopefully it’s coming soon.”

With Franzke out of the radio booth, Lehigh Valley IronPigs’ announcer Pat McCarthy, son of Tom, will fill in as the radio play-by-play voice for the weekend on SportRadio 94 WIP.

Pat did some television work last year for the Phillies, and did a game on the radio in May when Franzke was on the TV broadcast.

Almost certainly a future major league play-by-play announcer — be it on TV or radio — Pat is excited to get his first chance to do games with Larry Andersen over the weekend, already having shared a booth with Kevin Frandsen, Michael Bourn and Kevin Stocker.

“To work with a legend like LA is going to be such an incredible experience,” Pat said via text message. “LA has been in the booth for so many amazing Phillies moments, so to get the chance to spend the weekend with him is really special. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity and it’s one I won’t take for granted. It’s not every day that you get to work with someone that has had such a tremendous impact on the organization and a city. I’m excited for a lot of laughs and hopefully a weekend of wins.”