Leave it up to John Kruk to take the ketchup vs. mustard debate on a hot dog and throw it completely off the rails.
Kruk and play-by-play partner Tom McCarthy were joined in the booth by the Phillie Phanatic and Hatfield mascot Smiley during Philadelphia’s 3-2 win over the Washington Nationals Tuesday night. Smiley was on hand to celebrate BOGO hot dog night, with Hatfield being the official hot dog and sausage of the Phillies. And with Smiley in the booth, Kruk proudly noted he ate two hot dogs for lunch earlier in the day.
It was BOGO hot dog night, after all. Maybe Kruk had wieners on his mind and couldn’t wait until he was at the ballpark to partake. Two hot dogs for lunch, no crime there. The crime, however, may have occurred with what Kruk opted to put on his hot dog lunch.
“That’s what I had for lunch before I came to the ballpark. Two hot dogs, potato roll, with mayo,” Kruk said before repeating, “Mayo.”
John Kruk is a mayo on his hot dogs guy pic.twitter.com/8T2nA2MTxH
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 1, 2026
Kruk defended his choice of mayo by comparing hot dogs to bologna, arguing it’s common to put mayonnaise on a bologna sandwich. Smiley, however, didn’t approve, with the Hatfield mascot shaking his head at the idea of mayo on a hot dog. Smiley didn’t approve, and recently retired MLB analyst Buck Martinez probably wouldn’t approve either.
Martinez was once appalled at the sight of a Toronto Blue Jays fan eating a hot dog with ketchup on it, claiming mustard is the right choice. But Martinez probably hadn’t even thought of mayo as an option.
As gross as putting mayo on a hot dog might sound, it’s far from the worst thing we’ve seen a sportscaster put mayo on. Mike Golic Jr. and Anish Shroff infamously celebrated the Duke’s Mayo Bowl by dunking Oreos in mayonnaise. And all of a sudden, mayo on a hot dog doesn’t sound so bad. Even though it still sounds really bad, like nauseatingly bad.
