Pitcher Enright on cancer fight: ‘Some dark days’
CLEVELAND — Nic Enright thought he would be caught up in the emotions of finally making it to the majors this past weekend.
Compared to everything he has dealt with the past three years since being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, the 28-year-old Cleveland Guardians right-hander was able to take everything in stride.
Enright threw two scoreless innings and struck out three for Cleveland on Sunday in a 5-0 loss to Detroit. He was called up on Saturday after Hunter Gaddis was placed on the bereavement list.
“I remember feeling calmer and much more at peace than I thought I would,” Enright said Monday.
“After I finished warming up and when I jogged in, we stopped for a minute to play ‘God Bless America.’ I used that time to just kind of think of everything that had gone on these last couple of years, all the obstacles that I’ve been through, everything that I and my parents have overcome. And then when the song finished, I was like, ‘All right, let’s go play baseball.'”
Enright received his cancer diagnosis in December 2022 after experiencing tightness in his neck. He was surprised about the diagnosis before going through some of the symptoms — such as getting itchy at night, experiencing night sweats and eczema on his elbow — and discovering he had all of them.
Enright has been undergoing treatments before and after each season, including four rounds of immunotherapy at the end of last season. He will have four more rounds of immunotherapy at the end of this season.
Cleveland selected Enright in the 20th round of the 2019 amateur draft out of Virginia Tech. The Miami Marlins took him in the Rule 5 draft two weeks before his cancer diagnosis in 2022.
“There were some dark days, and that’s when I leaned on all those people around me,” Enright said. “The biggest thing was not letting cancer control me and not letting it dictate how I was going to live my life.”
Enright returned to the Guardians organization in 2023. He missed most of last season due to a right shoulder strain, but went 2-1 with a 1.06 ERA in 16 appearances with Triple-A Columbus.
He missed the first three weeks of this season due to a lat muscle injury. When Enright returned, he allowed only two earned runs in nine innings with one save in nine appearances with Columbus.
Enright made the majors after a 17-11 record and 3.13 ERA in 156 minor league games, including two starts. He is wearing No. 59 with Cleveland, the same number worn by Carlos Carrasco for 12 seasons. Carrasco was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia in 2019 and returned to pitch for Cleveland later that season.
Coincidentally, Enright’s big league debut came in Detroit when the Tigers were hosting Strikeout Cancer Weekend.
“You can’t draw it up. It’s just one of those cool things,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “Just to see all that he’s persevered through different organizations, coming back to Cleveland and getting to make his major league debut with the Guardians. It was a really special day for Nic and his family and really fortunate we were there to watch it.”
Enright said he has received plenty of text messages the past couple days, but one of the more meaningful ones came from Boston’s Liam Hendriks, who recently returned to the majors for the first time in two years after battling non-Hodgkin lymphoma and recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Even though Enright has reached a couple of significant milestones, he doesn’t want his story to end with what happened Sunday.
“I’m super happy with how [Sunday] went, but the goal isn’t to just debut,” Enright said. “The goal is to come up here, take the ball every time my name is called and do everything I can to help this team win games.”
Tyler Johnson has announced his retirement after playing 13 NHL seasons and winning the Stanley Cup twice with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Johnson called it a career in a lengthy message posted on social media Monday. Johnson had battled injuries in recent years and is set to turn 35 on July 29.
“As a short kid from a small town, I saw my chances of playing in the NHL as very slim,” Johnson wrote on Instagram. “But my family — my parents, Ken and Debbie, and my grandparents — believed in me when doubt clouded my mind. Their unwavering faith turned that dream into reality.”
Listed at 5-foot-8 and 191 pounds, Johnson won at just about ever level, capturing the Western Hockey League and Memorial Cup championships in 2008 with his hometown Spokane Chiefs and the Calder Cup championship with Norfolk of the American Hockey League in 2012.
The NHL brought more success, as he skated in 863 regular-season and playoff games since debuting in the league in 2013, putting up 498 points. Johnson was part of the Lightning’s core when they reached the final in 2015 and helped them hoist the Cup back to back in 2020 and ’21.
Johnson finished with Chicago, playing three seasons with the Blackhawks, and Boston, signing with the Bruins early last season following his training camp tryout.
“After a lifetime devoted to hockey, I’m ready for what’s next,” Johnson said. “This moment is bittersweet, but I leave the game with no regrets.”
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Mammoth re-signed center Jack McBain to a five-year contract worth $21.25 million on Monday.
McBain will count $4.25 million against the salary cap through the 2029-30 NHL season, which was announced a little more than 24 hours since the team elected salary arbitration with the restricted free agent forward.
“He is a big, strong, physical player who competes hard on a nightly basis and brings a gritty toughness to our group,” general manager Bill Armstrong said. “Jack is an important part of the championship-caliber team we are building, and we look forward to having him back on our roster for the foreseeable future.”
McBain, 25, is coming off setting a career high with 27 points and playing all 82 games. He was one of six players to skate in every game of the organization’s first season in Salt Lake City.
“Jack’s versatility as a player, his care for his teammates and his demonstrated willingness to do whatever it takes to win, are all critical elements to our future team success,” president of hockey operations Chris Armstrong said.
McBain has 82 points in 241 games with the franchise, which moved to Utah from Arizona. Since debuting in April 2022, he ranks third in the league with 832 hits.
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