As the final seconds ticked down in Edmonton in Game 6, Kings fans were surely feeling sorry for themselves and maybe even thinking that only the LA Kings could lose to the same team four years in a row in the first round, right?
Wrong. The Boston Bruins were already passengers on this pain train back in the mid-80s. The Bruins ran into their hated rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, every year in the first round between 1984 and 1987, and like the Kings, were sent packing every time.
If, however, the Kings continue to follow the Bruins' example, they may find themselves in a very long playoff run nest season.
After four straight losses at the hands of the Habs, Ray Bourque and the Bruins started cooking in 1988. After avoiding Montreal in the first round this time-maybe something the Kings should think about- Boston would take out Dave Andreychuk and the Buffalo Sabres in six games in the first round.
In the second round it would be time for redemption: a rematch with the red, white, and blue nemesis known as the Montreal Canadiens. This time, however, Ray Bourque, Cam Neeley, and Ken Linsemen would finally have their revenge against Le Tricolore in five games.
But getting the Montreal monkey off their back wasn't enough for Boston. They were hungry for more and went on to defeat Kirk Muller and the New Jersey Devils in seven games in the Prince of Wales Conference Finals.
And here's where the parallels with the Los Angeles Kings come into focus. Who did the Bruins face in the Cup Finals? The Edmonton Oilers. Gulp.
Now it's true that the current Oilers feature the formidable duo of McDavid and Draisaitl, it's fair to stay they have nothing on the 1988 Oilers. A quick glace at that roster reveals names such as Jari Kuri, Mark Messier, and Wayne Gretzky: a far cry from the likes of Connor Brown, Evander Kane, and Zach Hyman.
Facing the fire power of these future Hall of Famers would prove to be too much for Boston and they would eventually find themselves on the wrong end of a sweep.
Thus, if it's any solace to the Kings and their fans, precedent has shown that the fifth time can be the charm. The formula? Avoid Edmonton in the first round next year and then don't lose in the Finals.
Entering what is essentially a must-win game for Cleveland on Friday night, already down 0-2 to Indiana, the Cavaliers three key players out last game are returning for Game 3.
Darius Garland (toe), Evan Mobley (ankle) and De'Andre Hunter (thumb) are all available for Game 3, with Garland and Mobley returning to their starting roles.
That starting five, the Cavaliers ' most-used lineup during the regular season and had a dominant +12.5 net rating, has played just 23 minutes across six playoff games due to injury (and has a -5.1 net rating in those minutes).
Cleveland needs Garland and Mobley to take some of the ball-handling and shot-creation load off Donovan Mitchell, who scored 48 points in Game 2 and got the Cavaliers out to a 20-point lead, but wore down during the fourth quarter as that lead slipped away. Mitchell was 2-of-6 in the fourth and Indiana got the win.
Garland has been battling turf toe going back to the regular season, but it was aggravated in Cleveland's first-round series against Miami and he sat out the final two games of that series and the first two of this one. Mobley and Garland were injured on back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter of Game 1 against Indiana. Mobley rolled his ankle when he was crowded by Myles Turner while taking a shot and landed on Turner's foot. Hunter suffered a dislocated thumb when Bennedict Mathurin blocked his dunk attempt. After the game, Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said he didn't think the Pacers' plays were dirty but that the officials need to better protecting player safety.
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - Nathan MacKinnon was all smiles as he arrived for the 2025 IIHF men's World Championship.
That said, he had to answer some tough questions in front of a sea of reporters about the Colorado Avalanche's first-round loss and his former teammate, Mikko Rantanen.
With the Avalanche and Rantanen struggling to agree on a new contract extension early in the season, the team traded the superstar right winger to the Carolina Hurricanes, which then moved him to the Stars at the trade deadline.
The Stars ultimately gave Rantanen an eight-year, $96-million contract extension, and the rest is history. He leads the NHL with eight goals and 15 points in eight playoff games.
MacKinnon attempted to dodge a question about whether the Avalanche made a mistake trading Rantanen, but he did share some feelings about his former teammate.
"It's tough to say," MacKinnon said. "I can't really give you an answer. I don't know. Obviously, I'd love to have him on the team, but he's not on the team, so I don't really know what to say. Definitely miss him. Obviously, he scored a hat trick on us in Game 7. Amazing player and great friend as well."
MacKinnon and Rantanen played in Colorado with each other since the 2015-16 season and shared many valuable memories, including winning a Stanley Cup in 2022.
All of the feelings associated with those memories don't go away.
While the loss of getting eliminated still stings, MacKinnon had nothing but positive things to say about Rantanen.
"He's an amazing player," MacKinnon said. "As you know, he did so much for our team, so no surprise that he's dominating. Yeah, he's been playing great."
There was also a quick discussion about how the Avalanche lost against the Stars in Game 7 of the first round.
MacKinnon made sure to give Dallas its flowers, not before mentioning the two late third-period penalties that allowed the Stars to seize momentum of the game and win.
"They just don't go away," MacKinnon said. "I thought, overall, we had a good series. We played well enough to win. Obviously up 2-0 with 10 minutes left. I think some of those penalties were, I don't know if those are playoff Game 7 penalties, but it is what it is. I feel like our team is close. You know, it's a first-round loss, but it's a pretty good team we played."
It's clear this Avalanche and Stars rivalry is not going anywhere. As for MacKinnon, he still has a different championship to win. Team Canada gets going against Slovakia at 6:20 a.m. ET on Saturday at the World Championship.
But with an important Game 3 set for Saturday night at Chase Center, Warriors coach Steve Kerr is confident the 35-year-old forward will be fine when the players take the court.
“I don’t think it will impact the game,” Kerr told reporters on a conference call Friday afternoon. “I wasn’t aware of what happened, in terms of the fan, like the insults, until I read about it this morning. I talked to him about that and we did talk about the technical counts and just the whole set of circumstances, but I know Draymond well. He’s going to be ready to go tomorrow. He’s going to play a great game.
“He understands where we are in the series and we have this great opportunity. It’s 1-1 and we’ve got home-court advantage. We got our home crowd tomorrow. So he’s excited. I’m excited and we moved past all that stuff.”
Green’s technical foul for hitting Timberwolves center Naz Reid in the head is his fifth infraction in nine games this postseason. Two more and Green faces a one-game suspension.
Long after the outcome of the game had been decided, Green, who played 29 minutes in the 117-93 loss, was riding a stationary bike near the tunnel when he appeared to be taunted by a fan sitting nearby.
“The only thing I can say is that the Timberwolves handled it perfectly,” Kerr said Friday. “For their security to be on it and remove the fan. Obviously, that stuff is ugly and unacceptable. And so we want to thank the Timberwolves organization for handling it as well as they possibly could. I just think that things like this happen occasionally.
“Happened to me a couple of times as a player. Fans crossing the line, yelling stuff at you. It’s painful. I can’t sit here and claim to know what it would be like to be in Draymond’s shoes as a Black man, to hear racially insensitive comments like that.
“But I’ve heard my share of stuff that’s really painful and hurtful and it’s not ideal, but you always want the support of the security and the crowd, the home crowd, and like I said, the Wolves handled that beautifully and Draymond is handling it really well.”
But Kerr wanted to make it clear that one fan doesn’t represent an entire fanbase or city.
“It’s unacceptable for any fan to do that to a player,” Kerr said. “When you say it’s unacceptable, there has to be action that goes with that term, and that’s exactly what the Timberwolves did. Security immediately ejected the fan, so we are really grateful for the way that the T-Wolves handled the situation.
“I know that ‘Minnesota Nice’ is a phrase to describe Minnesotans and I found that to be 100 percent true. The last few days, every single person I ran into was so kind and everybody was saying the same thing like ‘I’m pulling for the T-Wolves, but you guys are always welcome in our city.’ It’s a real thing, the hospitality in Minneapolis, in Minnesota.
“So I never take words from one person and label a city with that. There’s just going to be people, individuals, sometimes they’re drunk, whatever, who cross the line and it’s unfortunate but it doesn’t at all impact my view of the city of Minneapolis.”
Kerr has been open about how, when he played college basketball at Arizona, fans taunted him regarding the murder of his dad, Malcolm, in a terrorist attack in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1984.
So, while Kerr might be the right person to ask if fans hurling racial or other insensitive taunts should be banned from attending future NBA games, he doesn’t want that weight on his shoulders.
“It’s a good question,” Kerr told reporters. “I kind of leave that up to the league to decide. They have their protocols, their rules, But these ugly incidents are … I don’t think they’re common but they do happen occasionally and I mentioned earlier, they happened to me when I was in college. Not racial taunts, but taunts about my father, who had been killed in a terrorist act a year earlier or so. That was the most shocking moment of my entire playing career to hear somebody saying something like that, that was so personally hurtful and painful and intentionally trying to hurt me.
“And so, I empathize with every athlete, whether it’s Draymond last night getting taunted about racial taunts, whether it’s really anything. It seems like a few times a year, you read about situations like this. I think Russell Westbrook, in Utah a few years ago, had to go through something like that, and it’s unfortunate but like I said, I believe most of these incidents are pretty isolated and it’s really important that people handle them the right way and the Timberwolves absolutely handled it the right way.”
Kerr understands what Green is going through, but he fully expects his star forward to bring his best self in a game the Warriors need to win Saturday night.
The Phillies had scored first in nine straight games entering Friday’s series opener in Cleveland and were in business immediately with a Bryson Stott walk and Trea Turner single.
Right-hander Gavin Williams had two on, nobody out for Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos, a situation which more often than not produces runs but didn’t on Friday night. Harper advanced them with a groundout, Schwarber struck out looking and Castellanos went down swinging to end an eight-pitch at-bat.
It was the Phillies’ first and best opportunity of the night in a 6-0 loss. They went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and had no extra-base hits, a quiet offensive night for a team that had scored 70 runs in its last 11 games.
Harper was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and has been in a rut the last six series, going 11-for-63 (.175) with three doubles, a homer, six RBI, nine walks and 19 strikeouts since April 21. It’s been slightly less noticeable because so many other Phillies have hit during that stretch and the team has gone 9-7, but their former MVP hasn’t been himself.
Part of it is the way Harper has been pitched. He’s seen the lowest percentage of pitches inside the strike zone of any player in baseball, 42% compared to a league average of 50%.
And the only player in the National League who has seen a higher rate of breaking balls than Harper (42%) is Castellanos (45%).
The pitch Harper grounded out on in the first inning was a curveball at the bottom of the zone. The pitch he struck out on in the third inning was a curveball well below the zone. He struck out looking in the fifth on a backdoor curveball that caught the upper-outside corner for a strike ’em out, throw ’em out double play with Trea Turner. Harper went down on three pitches in the eighth, striking out on a sweeper at his back foot.
Harper’s numbers overall against the breaking ball this season (.237 BA, .458 SLG) are similar to 2022-24 (.253 BA, .469 SLG), but the last few weeks haven’t been pretty.
Aaron Nola’s night started well with three scoreless innings and two quick outs in the fourth before Kyle Manzardo took him deep to center field. The fifth inning, his last, went walk, flyout, two-run homer, single, single, single to put the Guardians up four and load the bases with one out.
Nola allowed four runs in five innings and is 1-6 with a 4.89 ERA.
The Phillies are 22-16 after the first loss of this week’s road trip to Tampa and Cleveland. They’ll look to even the series Saturday night in Ranger Suarez’ second start. Cleveland counters with right-hander Tanner Bibee, who dominated the Phils two seasons ago with seven scoreless, two-hit innings.
If fortune really does favor the bold, the Knicks' pair of stunning comeback road wins against the Celtics this week bode well for the remainder of their Eastern Conference semifinal bout. NBA history is on their side, too, as teams with a 2-0 advantage in a best-of-seven series have advanced nearly 93 percent of the time.
The Knicks, entering Game 3 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden with full momentum and better health, are primed to take a commanding 3-0 lead over the reigning champions and silence even more doubters. But it's still way too early for any chatter about a potential sweep -- comfort is a luxury they're unwilling to accept.
"Control the controllables, and do everything we can to put ourselves in a position to win," Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns said after Friday's practice. "If we can do that, we'll live with the results. Don't take it for granted, don't get comfortable. You've got to be as desperate as we've been these last two games, in Game 3 and on. Never get comfortable with any success. Never too high, never too low."
While there's no such thing as style points in the playoffs, the Knicks undoubtedly have to clean up their game on both ends of the court. In spite of their improbable victories -- they had never won consecutive playoff games at TD Garden before -- both games featured 20-point deficits midway through the third quarter. They were also outrebounded twice.
The Knicks also can't count on more pitiful three-point shooting from the Celtics, who've gone a pitiful 25 percent (25-of-100) from beyond the arc. They can't expect Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum to keep shriveling up in fourth-quarter crunchtime, or dig another massive hole with inconsistent first-half performances.
Whether or not the first two games have crushed the Celtics' spirit, the Knicks must realize the numbers aren't sustainable and the series is far from over. After all, they've yet to play their best brand of basketball. The reality that their game can still be elevated could serve as an extra source of motivation. Their foot can't come off the gas pedal.
"The mentality is 0-0. Don't even focus on [the series lead]. Focus on the next play, the next quarter," Knicks captain Jalen Brunson said. "Don't look ahead, don't look into anything. Just focus on the task at hand and be present... The game is unpredictable. No matter what you prepare for, there's going to be things that happen that you're not really ready for... We've got to be locked-in together."
The Knicks now own home-court advantage, and perhaps an exceptionally raucous Garden crowd will help them buck a trend. While they've proven to be road warriors, they finished 27-14 at home during the regular season and lost two of three home games in their first-round series against the Pistons.
With the NHL releasing the names in groups by decade of debut, and captain Sidney Crosby and fellow center Evgeni Malkin made the second cut out of players that debuted between 2000-10.
The other names from that cut included Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, Patrick Kane, Patrice Bergeron, and Pavel Datsyuk.
Still dominating the history books 👏
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have been named to the #NHLQCTeam, which recognizes the top 25 players of the last 25 years.
Crosby, 37, debuted in the first post-lockout season in 2005-06 after being selected first overall in 2005, and he has been dominating the NHL ever since. He's registered 602 goals and 1,637 points in 1,311 games, and he sits ninth all-time in points. He also recorded his 20th consecutive point-per-game season in 2024-25, officially breaking Wayne Gretzky's previous record of 19. He is widely regarded as one of the five greatest NHL players of all time.
Malkin, 38, was drafted second overall behind Ovechkin in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Known as one of the greatest Russian-born players of all time, he has put together an impressive career with 506 goals and 1,327 points in 1,184 games. He became just the fourth active player to reach the 500-goal plateau during the 2024-25 season.
Both Crosby and Malkin are three-time Stanley Cup champions (2009, 2016, 2017), and each have won the Conn Smythe Trophy, the Ted Lindsay Award, the Art Ross Trophy, and the Hart Trophy.
The NHL Quarter-Century Team will be fully revealed over the next several days, and it will feature the 25 best NHL players since 2000 as voted on by fans. Each NHL franchise had its own Quarter-Century team - slow-rolled during the back half of the regular season - which was voted on by a panel of media, former players, and executives representing each team.
The 25 players for the NHL Quarter-Century team were made eligible by being voted to their respective team's first-Quarter-Century team. There are no positional limits for the players selected.
Since Manaea's last update of throwing from 105 feet earlier in the week, the left-hander is now up to 120 feet and "feeling good."
"I think he was scheduled to play catch off the mound, not with the catcher squatting down, but off the mound," Mendoza said.
There's still no timetable for Manaea's return, let alone a rehab assignment, but New York is hoping he doesn't suffer any setbacks from his oblique injury this time around after getting shut down in mid-March due to discomfort.
He resumed throwing on April 14 after getting a platelet-rich plasma injection.
There continues to be good news with Montas, who is waiting to make his Mets debut this season.
Following his third bullpen session on Tuesday, the veteran right-hander is scheduled for another one on Friday. After that, the next step is hopefully facing live batters.
"He’s scheduled to throw a bullpen today, I think it’s his fourth one, so hopefully by the end of next week he’s facing hitters," Mendoza said.
The closest one of the three to returning to the big league club is Blackburn, who is currently on a rehab assignment.
After two starts with High-A Brooklyn, the right-hander moved up to Triple-A Syracuse where he pitched 3.2 innings on May 6, giving up one run on three hits and a walk while striking out five.
He's scheduled to throw again on Sunday with Syracuse in Jacksonville.
"I think he’s up to 50-some pitches now," Mendoza said. "He’s continuing to progress well."
The skipper added that the goal is for Blackburn to reach 70-75 pitches, which he will likely reach after two or three more starts, before the Mets make a decision.
Retired NBA veteran and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins believes star Warriors forward Jimmy Butler must be more aggressive in the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves, with Steph Curry indefinitely out with a Grade 1 hamstring strain.
Perkins’ take comes one day after Butler finished with a role player-esque 17 points on 6-for-13 shooting with seven rebounds and four assists in Golden State’s 117-93 Game 2 loss to Minnesota.
“It’s the line LeBron [James] told Luka [Dončić] – ‘Don’t fit in, fit out.’ Jimmy, they need you to fit out now,” Perkins said on Thursday night’s post-game edition of ESPN’s “SportsCenter.” “You’re not the second option, you’re not the Robin – you’re the Batman. Thirteen shot attempts are not going to cut it; minimum 20 shot attempts going into this game. And that has to be the message delivered from Steve Kerr and Draymond Green in order for them to stay afloat, if Steph Curry returns.
“Jimmy is going to have to be aggressive. I love when he’s a point forward and they’re clicking on all cylinders, but to be on the road in Game 2, you look for your guy – your franchise guy, your No. 1 option – to set the tone early; Jimmy didn’t do that, but I believe he will do that at home [in] Game 3 or Game 4. We will be talking about Jimmy Butler. He will be going viral because he will have a 40-piece night.”
The six-time NBA All-Star earned the “Playoff Jimmy” nickname for his postseason prowess. But Butler didn’t look like his old Miami Heat self for the Warriors in Game 2.
Without Curry, who won’t return until Game 6 at the earliest, per ESPN’s Shams Charania, Golden State needs Butler to ditch his Robin act for Batman. Butler showed in the first-round series against the Houston Rockets that he is capable of scoring 25-plus points – a feat he did three times in the opening round – and must make that level of production the norm while Curry is out.
Butler, who was too unselfish in Game 2, can’t approach the rest of the series as a pass-first facilitator, which he worrisomely described after Thursday’s loss.
“I don’t have a burden or expectation,” Butler told reporters postgame about potentially feeling pressure to score with Curry sidelined. “I don’t. I play basketball the right way. I will continue to play basketball the right way. If that time comes where your people that are saying whatever, [I’m] supposed to score 40 or 43, whatever the case may be, I’m capable of it. I can do it, but I love making sure that my guys are comfortable, passing the ball to them, taking the right shots at the right time.
“But we’ll talk about it, if that may be needed. Who knows.”
Perkins talked about “it.” And Dub Nation and probably the entire basketball world “knows” Butler must activate “Jimmy Buckets” mode.
The real question, however, is whether the 35-year-old, who repeatedly has expressed gratitude for being a sidekick in the Bay compared to a centerpiece in South Beach, has another legendary, team-carrying run left in the tank.
We’re getting into the meat of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and The Hockey Show is elbow deep.
This week, hosts Roy Bellamy and David Dwork welcomed one of their favorite hockey broadcasters that both grew up watching.
NHL on ESPN host and play-by-play voice Steve Levy was kind enough to join the show and discuss the latest happenings in the playoffs, including the red-hot Edmonton Oilers and tightening series between the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals.
Steve also spoke about longtime friend and colleague Barry Melrose, and the boys all discussed their favorite This Is SportsCenter commercials.
As for this week’s wins and fails of the week, we had polite chirping by Canadian fans, a historic run by Edmonton and a collective fail for one an embellishment call that had everyone scratching their heads.
Roy and Dave then get into the latest on the Florida Panthers, who trailed the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0 in their best-of-seven second-round series.
You can check out the full show in the video below:
Vegas Golden Knights forward Pavel Dorofeyev will travel with the team to Edmonton with a chance to play.
The 24-year-old winger has been injured since Game 5 of round one against the Minnesota Wild and has been slowly working his way back to full health. In five playoff games, he's scored one goal and two points.
"He's going to travel. He skated this morning and is doing much better. He has a chance for tomorrow with the news we got today. So that's encouraging," said HC Bruce Cassidy.
In his absence, Victor Olofsson has stepped into the lineup, recording two power play goals in a losing effort in Game 2.
Currently, Dorofeyev's injury is undisclosed, which has made it difficult for people outside of the team to understand the extent of the injury.
Stay updated with the most interesting Golden Knights stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favourites on Google News to never miss a story.
Former Detroit Tigers player Chet Lemon throws out a ceremonial first pitch before a game against the Chicago White Sox on June 5, 2016, in Detroit. Lemon, who played for both teams, died Thursday. (Duane Burleson/Associated Press)
Chet Lemon, a product of Los Angeles Fremont High during its heyday who became a three-time All-Star outfielder and a World Series champion during a 16-year major league career, died Thursday at age 70 after a decades-long fight with a blood disorder.
Lemon was a first-round draft pick of the Oakland Athletics at age 17 in 1972 and starred with the Chicago White Sox from 1975-81 and the Detroit Tigers from 1982-90, finishing with a .273 batting average, 215 homers, 396 doubles and 884 runs batted in.
He was the center fielder on the Tigers' 1984 World Series championship team — making a spectacular catch to cement a Game 3 victory over the San Diego Padres — and became a favorite of eventual Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson.
“After watching Chester the last several years, I have to say without a doubt, he’s the best center fielder I’ve seen in my 31 years in the game,” Anderson said in 1984. “Chester is a Pete Rose type. He never complains. He’s always there and he plays each game as if it were the seventh game of the World Series. Chester doesn’t know any other way to play and that’s his greatest asset.
Detroit Tigers right fielder Chet Lemon takes a low-five from teammates as he returns to the dugout after hitting a home run on April 22, 1982, in New York. (Ray Stubblebine / Associated Press)
"Combine all that with his little-boy desire to want to play every day and it is no wonder Chester has all those fans who sit in the bleachers in the palm of his hand.”
“The Detroit Tigers join all of baseball in mourning the passing of Chet Lemon,” the Tigers statement read. “While he was a World Series champion and All-Star on the field, perhaps his biggest impact came off of it. That includes creating the Chet Lemon Foundation and dedicating much of his post-playing career to youth baseball development. Our thoughts are with Chet’s family, friends and all those he coached, mentored and inspired.”
Former Tigers catcher Lance Parrish was one of several former teammates who remembered Lemon fondly.
“Chet was the kindest of men and always had that great smile on his face,” Parrish said in a statement. “He was also a fierce competitor on the baseball field and a great teammate. I loved him like a brother.”
Detroit's Chet Lemon races to first to beat the throw after grounding to San Diego shortstop Garry Templeton during Game 3 of the World Series at Detroit's Tiger Stadium on Oct. 12, 1984. (Ron Heflin/AP)
Chester Earl Lemon was born in Jackson, Miss., on Feb. 12, 1955. He was the oldest of Ralph and Gloria Lemon's four children and the family moved to Los Angeles when Chet was a child. Fremont High was a City Section power that produced a string of major leaguers including Bob Watson, Willie Crawford, Bobby Tolan and George Hendrick under legendary coach Phil Pote.
Pote had become a scout with the A's by the time Lemon graduated from Fremont and they made him the 22nd overall pick in the June draft. Lemon hit well in the minor leagues but was a poor fielder at third base and shortstop. The A's traded him to the White Sox in 1975 while he was in triple-A.
"I was ready in 1975 but had nowhere to play," Lemon told White Sox Interactive. "I was an infielder and Oakland had guys like Sal Bando and Bert Campaneris in those positions. I had heard a lot of talk about teams being interested in me. When I found out about the deal, I thought it was a great move. I was finally going to get my chance — and in a big market as well.”
The White Sox moved Lemon to center field and he flourished, cracking the starting lineup in 1976, setting a still-standing AL record with 512 putouts in center field in 1977 and making the American League All-Star team in 1978 and '79.
“It was a great feeling to be recognized as one of the best players,” Lemon said of his All-Star selections. “What also was nice was getting to know the other guys. You realize that they are all just like you."
Lemon's best season came in 1979 when he led the AL with 44 doubles and set career highs in batting average (.318) and RBIs (86). He also led the league in a less glamorous category: hit by pitches. It was the first of four seasons he was hit more than any other batter in the league, and he was plunked 151 times during his career, ranking 25th on the all-time list.
"I don’t think I realized I was that close to the plate,” he said. “You know, I actually didn’t mind being pitched inside. I felt I could always turn on pitches. If you look at my hits, like all those doubles, I think you’ll find that I went down the left-field line in most of them."
Lemon was traded to Detroit after the 1981 season for outfielder Steve Kemp. Three years later, Lemon became an All-Star for the third time and helped the Tigers win the World Series for the first time since 1968.
“Chet Lemon is the best center fielder in the game today,” Anderson said in 1984. “He isn’t the fastest, but he’s the best at it because he works harder at it than anyone else.”
Detroit centerfielder Chet Lemon takes a fly from Terry Kennedy to end the Padres half of the seventh inning in Game 4 of the World Series at Tiger Stadium on Oct. 13, 1984. Detroit beat San Diego 5-2. (Lenny Ignelzi / Associated Press)
Lemon continued to produce for the Tigers until 1991 when they released him at the end of spring training. Lemon noticed that it was taking him longer to recover from injuries and went to a doctor.
"I remember saying to myself, ‘Am I getting old?’ because I always took care of myself,” he said. “In spring training 1991 the Tigers discovered that I had too many red blood cells in my body. The Tigers thought the numbers they got were wrong. My stomach was always hurting. I thought maybe I had an ulcer or it was just stress. The doctors couldn’t find out what was causing it. They finally did an ultrasound and discovered that I had tiny blood clots in my portal veins.
"About 30 minutes after they discovered that, I was rushed to intensive care, hooked up to machines and given blood thinners. Not only did I have blood clots but I had too much blood and it was too thick, like a slush."
Lemon nearly died from his blood disorder, polycythemia vera, spending three months in the hospital.
“Just trying to turn over in bed was agonizing," he said. "I was being fed intravenously. I did not want to eat, I couldn’t eat. I lost about 60 or 70 pounds and was down to about 130 pounds.”
Lemon was a Jehovah's Witness and declined to receive blood transfusions. Surgery was ruled out because he was on blood thinners to prevent clots. Still, Lemon recovered and eventually coached high school baseball near his home in Apopka, Fla.
He started the Chet Lemon School of Baseball in Lake Mary, Fla. in 1993, became president of the Amateur Athletic Union district near Orlando, and from 2001 to 2008 coached at Eustis High School, leading the team to a state title in 2003.
Former Detroit player Chet Lemon is presented with a framed Tigers jersey by Willie Horton before a game against the Chicago White Sox on June 5, 2016, in Detroit. Lemon was honored as part of Negro League weekend at Comerica Park. (Duane Burleson / Associated Press)
Future MLB stars Prince Fielder, Zack Greinke, Casey Kotchman, and brothers Rickie and Jemile Weeks trained under Lemon, who also established the Chet Lemon Foundation, which provides support for people affected by strokes and aphasia.
“He was a coach, a friend and a mentor who will be highly missed by many in our Central Florida baseball community,” Central Florida coach Rich Wallace told the Orlando Sentinel.
Lemon suffered strokes in recent years that left him unable to walk or talk. He attended the 40th anniversary of the Tigers' World Series title in Detroit in September 2024. He was in a wheelchair but enjoyed the reunion.
"Chet was a cherished teammate and friend," former teammate and Hall of Famer Alan Trammell said in a statement. "I'm so thankful for the time we spent together last summer when the 1984 team had its 40th reunion at Comerica Park. Today is a sad day for us. He will be dearly missed."
Lemon is survived by his wife of more than 30 years, Gigi, and their daughter, Brianna. Lemon's first wife was Valerie Jones, with whom he had four children: Geneva, Chester Jr., David, and Marcus, who played 11 years of minor league baseball.
Woods, 16, shoots 3-over 75 at Wellington Golf Club
Teenager impoves on last year’s first effort (81)
Charlie Woods failed to get out of local qualifying for the US Open, the second straight year the son of Tiger Woods missed out.
The 16-year-old Woods was among a record 10,202 entries for the US Open. He improved from last year’s score in 18-hole local qualifying, posting a 3-over 75 at Wellington Golf Club on Thursday. That left him seven shots short of being among those who advanced to the 36-hole final stage. A year ago, he shot 81 in the local US Open qualifier.
The Hockey Samurai 侍 (@hockey_samurai) on X1988. Habs/Bruins. Adams Div Final. With this goal, Cam Neely puts the icing on the cake and Boston finally beats Montreal in the playoffs. They had gone 0-18 in series since 1946 and Seabass slays the dragon. #NHLBruins
