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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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Bennett scores 2 as Panthers take 2-0 series lead

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May 23, 2025

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Bennett scores 2 as Panthers take 2-0 series lead

  • Associated Press

May 22, 2025, 11:01 PM ET

RALEIGH, N.C. — Sam Bennett scored one of his two goals in Florida’s three-goal first period, Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves and the Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-0 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference final.

Gustav Forsling and Matthew Tkachuk also scored in another tone-setting opening 20 minutes for the reigning Stanley Cup champions, while Carter Verhaeghe had three assists.

Bennett scored a second time by skating in to clean up an attempt at the right post in the final minute of the second period to make it 4-0, ending a long shift in Carolina’s end prolonged by Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns being stuck on the ice after breaking his stick. Aleksander Barkov added a goal midway through the third as punctuation.

Bobrovsky had his third shutout of the playoffs this year and the sixth of his career, with Florida’s defense smothering a Hurricanes team that typically peppers the net with shots but found little daylight.

Florida had already ripped home-ice advantage away Tuesday night with a 5-2 win, the opener in a rematch of the 2023 conference final swept by the Panthers with four one-goal wins. Florida only tightened its grip on the series with this one and now heads back south to host Game 3 on Saturday night.

On the other bench, the Hurricanes found themselves on the receiving end of a crushing loss by a jarringly lopsided margin. And it marked their 14th straight loss in a conference final, going back to sweeps in 2009, 2019 and the ’23 tilt with Florida.

The Hurricanes managed just three first-period shots and just seven through two periods, prompting a typically rowdy home crowd to vent its frustrations with two chants of “Shoot the puck! Shoot the puck!” Carolina had a brief boost when Sebastian Aho scored on a turnover in the first minute of the second period to cut the deficit to 3-1.

But Florida successfully challenged that the play was offsides. It turned out Burns’ stick-check on Tkachuk near the blue line forced the puck back into the zone and right to Aho in the slot for the finish.

By the third period, Carolina had pulled veteran Frederik Andersen from net and went with backup Pyotr Kochetkov for the final period.

It wasn’t all great news for Florida. Veteran forward Sam Reinhart was knocked from the game in the first period after taking a hit from Aho in the left leg, causing Reinhart’s knee to bend awkwardly.

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Danes oust Canada at hockey worlds; U.S. wins

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May 23, 2025

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Danes oust Canada at hockey worlds; U.S. wins

  • Associated Press

May 22, 2025, 02:15 PM ET

HERNING, Denmark — Nick Olesen scored with 49 seconds left as Denmark stunned Canada 2-1 at the ice hockey world championship Thursday to advance to the semifinals.

“I have no words, it’s unbelievable,” Olesen said after Denmark reached the last four for the first time. “The fans here were cheering for us the whole game and they helped us get the win. It’s crazy.”

Denmark, in the sold-out arena in Herning, had tied it with 2:17 remaining when Nikolaj Ehlers scored through traffic in only his second game at the tournament following his Winnipeg Jets being eliminated from the NHL playoffs.

The Danes had pulled goaltender Frederik Dichow for the extra attacker before Ehlers struck.

Canada outshot Denmark 30-11 in the first two periods but couldn’t solve Dichow, who made 39 saves in all, until 5:17 into the third when captain Sidney Crosby fed Travis Sanheim to score into the roof of the net. Canada was outshot 22-10 in the final period, though.

Denmark has only two NHL players at the worlds, while Canada has only two who don’t play at the NHL level.

“I’m disappointed,” Crosby said. “We got better as the tournament went on. I don’t think tonight was necessarily our best, but we still found a way to give ourselves a lead … but it turned pretty quick.”

Crosby returned to the worlds for the first time since 2015, when he captained Canada to gold. He was expected to do it again with teammates like Nathan MacKinnon.

Canada is the most successful nation at the tournament with 28 titles but has finished empty-handed in the past two editions after it was beaten by Sweden in the bronze medal game last year.

It was only the second win for Denmark over Canada at the worlds.

The semifinals are set for Saturday: Denmark will play Switzerland; and the United States will face Sweden.

Earlier on Thursday, the U.S. advanced by beating Finland 5-2 backed by Conor Garland‘s two power-play goals

Trailing 2-1 in the middle period, the Americans needed 71 seconds to turn things around when defenseman Zeev Buium put home a rebound at 23:53 before Garland’s second goal restored the U.S. lead.

“I really liked how we stayed with it and built as the game wore on,” U.S. head coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We got off to a bit of a slow start but really found our game as time wore on. I give our guys a lot of credit as they beat an excellent hockey team today.”

Garland had given the U.S. a 1-0 lead 4:50 into the game when he received a cross-ice pass from Logan Cooley to beat goalie Juuse Saros from the right circle.

Finland tied it at 1-1 on Eeli Tolvanen‘s power-play goal. Patrik Puistola scored from the slot on another power play 7:46 into the second period for Finland to take a 2-1 lead.

The Americans added two more goals in the third. Shane Pinto scored the fourth 5:52 into the final period and captain Clayton Keller finished the scoring into an empty net.

The U.S. team hasn’t won a medal since taking bronze in 2021. The Finns have been waiting for a medal since they won gold in 2022.

Sweden delighted the home crowd in the Avicii Arena in Stockholm by eliminating defending champion Czechia with a 5-2 victory.

Lucas Raymond and Leo Carlsson led the co-host with two goals each.

Earlier in Herning, last year’s runner-up Switzerland advanced by blanking Austria 6-0.

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Shanahan out as Leafs president after 11 seasons

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May 23, 2025

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Shanahan out as Leafs president after 11 seasons

  • Kristen ShiltonMay 22, 2025, 04:54 PM ET

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      Kristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.

After 11 seasons, Brendan Shanahan will not have his contract renewed as president and alternate governor of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The organization announced its decision in a statement Thursday, ending months of speculation surrounding Shanahan’s future with the franchise.

The 56-year-old Shanahan, a Hall of Famer as a player, had held the position since April 2014.

“Over the past 11 seasons, Brendan Shanahan has made countless contributions to the Toronto Maple Leafs on the ice, off the ice and in the community,” Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment president/CEO Keith Pelley said in a statement. “… Our responsibility and driving motivation, however, is to add a new chapter to the Maple Leafs’ championship history, and it was determined that a new voice was required to take the team to the next level in the years ahead.”

Pelley is scheduled to meet with the media on Friday.

In his own public statement, Shanahan said he was informed during a meeting Thursday of MLSE’s choice not to bring him back. He thanked the board for its support during his tenure in Toronto and shared his admiration for the Leafs’ remaining leadership group that he helped put in place, including general manager Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube.

“I greatly enjoyed working with Brad and Craig, and I firmly believe they are excellent in their roles and have done a great job in their time with the team,” Shanahan said. “Also, I want to thank the players. They are committed and passionate about delivering a championship to this city and will do everything within their power to accomplish that goal. I wish them all the very best.”

The Maple Leafs, prior to Thursday’s announcement, had already granted permission to the New York Islanders to speak with Shanahan about a position with their team.

Shanahan, a native of the Toronto area, joined the Leafs as they prepared to enter a rebuilding phase, installing what publicly became known as the “Shanaplan.” He revamped the front office immediately, hiring former GM Lou Lamoriello and head coach Mike Babcock in 2015. Toronto posted a last-place finish in 2015-16 and won the NHL’s draft lottery, using the first overall pick in 2016 to select Auston Matthews.

The center jumpstarted Toronto’s retooling with the Leafs’ Core Four — along with Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares. In Shanahan’s tenure, the Leafs enjoyed regular-season success that failed to transition into playoff wins, despite multiple changes to staff along the way.

Despite an impressive roster of talent, Toronto has bowed out of the first round in six of its last eight full-season playoff series.

The Leafs did advance to the second round this season and held a 2-0 series lead over the Florida Panthers, but they lost three of the last four, including blowout defeats at home in Games 5 and 7.

Toronto, which recorded seven straight losses in winner-take-all games under Shanahan, has not advanced to the third round since 2002, and its Stanley Cup drought now sits at 58 years.

Shanahan won the Stanley Cup three times with the Red Wings during his 21-year playing career from 1987-2009. He spent time with New Jersey, St. Louis, Hartford, Detroit and the New York Rangers.

A month after hanging up his skates, Shanahan went to work in the league office as VP of hockey and business development. There, he worked with Islanders co-owner John Collins and was later promoted to senior vice president and took over the NHL’s disciplinary responsibilities.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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