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In 1974, in Cleveland second baseman Duane Kuiper’s first month in the major leagues, he started for the first time behind veteran star pitcher Gaylord Perry. Seconds before Kuiper ran to his position to begin the game, Perry looked at him and said, “If you make an error behind me today, you’ll never play another day in the big leagues. Do you understand?!”

That was Gaylord Perry, who did so much more than throw a spitball. He had great stuff, he was a big, strong, rough, gruff farmer from North Carolina, he was irascible, wildly competitive and, like most great pitchers, really mean, fearless and hated to lose. He spoke freely even if it meant angering an opponent or teammate. He played for eight teams, during which time he asked to be traded, threatened to retire, nearly fought with teammate Frank Robinson and, in the famous Pine Tar Game in 1983, confiscated George Brett’s bat, was apprehended by umpires, and thrown out of the game. There was never any backing down by Perry, not from his debut at age 22 with the San Francisco Giants in 1962 or, 22 seasons later, at age 44, with the Seattle Mariners — he was the Ancient Mariner — and Kansas City Royals in 1983.

Which is why it seems unfair that Perry, who died Thursday at the age of 84, is often best remembered for throwing a spitball (even if his 1974 autobiography is titled “Me and The Spitter”). To some, that made him an overrated pitcher. More likely, more accurately, he was underrated.

Perry won 314 games with a 3.11 ERA and 3,534 strikeouts. The only pitchers in history who can match all three of those numbers are Walter Johnson and Tom Seaver. Perry was the first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in each league — in 1972 for Cleveland and in 1978 at age 39 for the San Diego Padres. He and his brother, Jim, are the only pair of brothers to each win a Cy Young. Gaylord Perry won more games than any pitcher in the 1960s and ’70s combined. It took three attempts, but Perry was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1991.

“He was tough,” Hall of Fame outfielder Willie Stargell once said. “He was great. And he pitched angry.”

Of course, Perry did indeed throw a spitball, a pitch he allegedly learned in 1964 from teammate Bob Shaw. Opponents occasionally complained about him loading up. In 1973, New York Yankees manager Ralph Houk charged the mound and pulled Perry’s cap off his head. But at least one of his catchers in the 1970s said that Perry threw only two or three spitters per game, when he really needed a big out. Perry went through the same gyrations on the mound, appearing to touch his cap, his hair, his jersey. In retirement, Perry told me, “I wanted the hitters to think I might throw a spitter. If I could mess with their heads and their approach, I’d have a better chance of getting them out. And I loved getting them out.”

Perry was also remarkably durable. He threw 5,350⅓ innings, sixth most of all time, only 36 fewer than Nolan Ryan. For a nine-year stretch, Perry threw at least 300 innings in a season seven times in an eight-year span. For a 10-year period, he averaged over 300 innings pitched per season. He threw 53 shutouts, tied for 16th most with Jim Palmer, two fewer than Steve Carlton. Perry’s 1.181 WHIP also is in the top 20 all time, just ahead of the great Bob Gibson.

“There were so many great pitchers in the National League in the ’60s and ’70s,” former teammate Willie McCovey once said. “We had one of the very best on our team in Juan Marichal. Not everyone appreciated Gaylord. Every time he pitched, I thought we’d win.”

About the only thing Perry — also a basketball and football star in high school in North Carolina — didn’t do well was hit: he finished with a career .131 average with six home runs. But in 1964, a writer told Giants manager Alvin Dark that Perry, then 24, was a good hitting pitcher, and might hit a home run someday. Dark responded, saying, “Mark my words, a man will land on the moon before Gaylord Perry hits a home run.”

Five years later, at 1:17 p.m. Pacific time on July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 landed and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to set foot on the moon. Thirty minutes later, roughly 238,900 miles away, in the third inning at Candlestick Park, Perry hit his first major league homer, a blast off the Dodgers’ Claude Osteen.

Three years later, Perry was traded by the Giants to Cleveland in a deal for ace Sam McDowell, who would win 19 games the rest of his career. Perry would win 180. Perry is still beloved in San Francisco, where a statue of Perry was unveiled at Oracle Park in 2016, in honor of the 10 years he spent there to start his career.

Kuiper, always playful, now calls games for the Giants and once had someone take a picture of him saluting Perry’s statue. The first salute, as he recalled the veteran pitcher threatening him before that start in 1974, was the middle finger variety. The second was a salute of a respect to a great, great pitcher.

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Devils’ Nemec, scratched in G1, plays 2OT hero

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April 26, 2025

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Devils' Nemec, scratched in G1, plays 2OT hero

  • Greg WyshynskiApr 26, 2025, 01:56 AM ET

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      Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.

NEWARK, N.J. — Simon Nemec hasn’t had an ideal start to his NHL career. But in Game 3 of the New Jersey Devils‘ Stanley Cup playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes, he finally had his career highlight.

The 21-year-old defenseman scored an unassisted goal at 2:36 of double overtime on Friday night to give the Devils a 3-2 win and new life, cutting the Hurricanes’ series lead to 2-1.

In the process, Nemec, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NHL draft, had the most impactful moment of his pro career with his first playoff goal.

“I was so happy,” he said. “Amazing feeling. It’s been a tough season for me, and that’s a really big win for us.”

A native of Slovakia, Nemec spent his first season after the draft in the American Hockey League. He split time between the AHL and the Devils in Year 2, thrust into action because of injuries to the New Jersey defense. He split time between the NHL and the minors again this season. Nemec has played 87 games in the NHL, with five goals and 18 assists while skating to a minus-17.

He was a frequent healthy scratch in New Jersey, including Game 1 on Sunday, and his lackluster play caused many to wonder if Nemec would live up to his lofty draft position. Nemec was last on the Devils in goals above replacement at minus-8.7, according to Evolving Hockey.

Thanks to injuries to defensemen Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon, Nemec was called upon in Game 2 against Carolina and was back in the lineup for Game 3, in which the Devils lost defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic to injury after just 10 shifts. That injury, plus the multiple overtimes, meant massive increases in ice time for veterans such as Brian Dumoulin (36:29) and Brett Pesce (32:25), as well as more responsibility for Nemec.

“You just need guys to step up at the right times,” Dumoulin said. “He knew he was going to be going out there, we’re going to be relying on him, and we needed him. You could see that he took that moment. He wasn’t scared of it, and he took the reins of it.”

Nemec said the overtime goal, which beat Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen (34 saves), was the kind of boost he needs in his career.

“Yeah, it helps me a lot,” he said. “I feel like my confidence is back the last couple games. I’m just trying to play my game and do this stuff. I have to play offense a little bit, too, so my confidence is higher, and I just feel good about myself.”

Devils coach Sheldon Keefe admitted that he dreamed about defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler, who returned to the lineup for the first time since Feb. 4 and played 27:09, being the Game 3 hero.

“But if I was really thinking, I would have said, ‘Wouldn’t this be something if the young guy who just stepped up so big for us here, if he ended the game?'” Keefe said.

The message the coach gave his team in the overtime intermissions was one of aggressiveness. That apparently wasn’t lost on Nemec.

“We’ve got to go win this hockey game. We don’t want to sit back, we don’t want this game to go on forever,” Keefe said. “Credit Nemo with doing that. To have the mindset to do it, not just sitting back and conserving energy. He was on the front foot. You love to see it and love to see him get rewarded.”

Game 4 of the series will be Sunday afternoon in New Jersey.

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Follow live: Kings look to take 3-0 series lead vs. Oilers

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April 26, 2025

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Hagel suspended for Game 3 due to hit on Barkov

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April 26, 2025

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Hagel suspended for Game 3 due to hit on Barkov

  • Greg WyshynskiApr 25, 2025, 10:30 PM ET

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      Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.

Tampa Bay Lightning winger Brandon Hagel was suspended one game by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday night for what it labeled “an extremely forceful body check to an unsuspecting opponent” that injured Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.

Hagel will miss Saturday’s Game 3 in Sunrise, Florida. The Panthers lead the series 2-0.

Around midway through the third period of Thursday’s Game 2, Tampa Bay was on the power play while trailing 1-0. Barkov pressured defenseman Ryan McDonagh deep in the Lightning zone. With the puck clearly past Barkov, Hagel lined him up for a huge hit that sent the Panthers captain to the ice and thumping off the end boards.

A penalty was whistled, and the officials conferred before calling a “five-minute penalty.” After review, Hagel was given a 5-minute major for interference. Barkov left the game with 10:09 remaining in regulation and did not return to the Panthers’ 2-0 win.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper said after the game that he didn’t expect Hagel to receive a major penalty for the hit.

“Refs make the call. I was a little surprised it was a five, but it was,” he said.

The NHL ruled that Hagel’s hit made “some head contact” on Barkov.

“It’s important to note that Barkov is never in possession of the puck on this play and is therefore not eligible to be checked in any manner,” the league said.

In the Friday hearing, held remotely, Hagel argued that he approached the play anticipating that Barkov would play the puck. But the Department of Player Safety said the onus was on Hagel to ensure that Barkov was eligible to be checked. It also determined that the hit had “sufficient force” for supplemental discipline.

It’s Hagel’s first suspension in 375 regular-season and 36 playoff games. He was fined for boarding Florida’s Eetu Luostarinen in May 2022.

The Panthers held an optional skate Friday. Coach Paul Maurice said Barkov “hasn’t been ruled out yet” but “hasn’t been cleared” for Game 3.

“He’s an irreplicable player,” Panthers defenseman Seth Jones said of Barkov. “One of the best centermen in the league. He’s super important to our team.”

The Lightning lose Hagel while they struggle to score in the series; they scored two goals in Game 1 and were shut out in Game 2. Tampa Bay was the highest-scoring team in the regular season (3.56), with Hagel contributing 35 goals and 55 assists in 82 games.

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