Latest / OneLegUpAlex Sports / Those With ALS Should Be Honored Not Only on the Anniversary of the Passing of the Iron Horse, Lou Gehrig
Transcript
- Here's your host, Alex Garrett. Well, it's June third, and you know, yesterday was lou Garegg's day and the Yankees win. I think the fitting thing about this road trip for the Yankees was that the captain not only dominated in his first trip back since basically snubbing the Giants and choosing the Yankees, but he made the final out on a day we honored another Yankee captain, lou Garrick. But the bookends of this road trip were immaculate. The fact that the current captain caught the final out in a electric weekend by the Bay, as well as the fact that they all wore the number four, a original Yankee captain and lou Gereg. And yes it was lou Gereg's day, and it honored ALS and those who suffer from it. And all of us are working towards a cure, whether it's Project ALS or the ALS Association. So my view is today June third is let's not stop the conversation, right. I talk with Danny Boyce does Phasia Awareness Month. I feel like once that goes away, they stop the conversation on that, and it's up to Danny and I to pick it up. Well, the same thing goes with ALS, right, It's an ongoing conversation, not just something we honor every June second in honor of Lou Garrick number four, the Iron Horse. So I implore you today on June third and beyond to actually donate to Project ALS, the ALS Association, and work with others to find a cure. Because the only way we can make a day like June second totally worth it is not just by donating on that day, but by continuing to talk about resources every day. We're going to commit ourselves to fighting ALS and find a cure for it while honoring those who suffer from it. Then why make it just once a day, once a year. I remember ten years ago they had the ALS Challenge and they had the ice Bucket Challenge, which did support the ALS Foundation and whatnot. But now every June second is the day to honor and fight against ALS. But I think we can go beyond that this June third. That's why I hope to have Sarah Langs. You know, Sarah Langs has ALS. She was honored in Philly. I saw on MLB network and she's just been a big part of the MOLB community. And I saw our colleagues given a lot of love today on MLB Network, and I figured, let me reach out to Sarah and see what we could do, because she's become sort of a voice and an advocate for those with als, and she deserves to be heard on this podcast, whether it's adapting or sports. Right. That's why we have both. That's why we have both. But here's why I align with lou Gereg the most personally. We never let our disability stop us. I aligned with lou Gereg the most because we always strove and strive to be the best even while dealing with our conditions. Yes, Gereg knew when to call it a day, if you will, after his incredible iron Horse games played streak, but beyond that, he just knew it was time. And I actually got the privilege to sit in the chair that he sat in, I believe, before he did the Luckiest Man speech at the Old Yankee State You how incredible is that it was his own corner that Reyne Gron showed me. And I was at the honor of sitting in that seat that lou Gegg owned in front of that pillar at the Old Yankee Stadium. And when he when Ray also fort me a picture of a kid on one leg shaking hands with lou gereg Boy, did that bring me back to that eight year old me shaking hands, but also made me want to buy a lou Geregg jersey even more and sort of embody that picture and won because he strove for greatness on and off the field. He battled, and he battled and battled als for as long as he could, and I believe he played at least a year, maybe a little less with it. But the guy truly wasn't iron ore horse, There's no doubt about it. And so I think to honor him this month, this day after and by the way, June second is the day he passed away from ALS. That is why we honor lou Garrigg every June second. But I think it goes beyond that. It goes beyond that. It's what his legacy now is is beyond being a baseball player. It was to be a spokesperson for those fighting against als and battling ALS. And so to honor his memory as that spokesperson, we must continue to donate where we can, and I'll send you a couple of resources to continue the conversation of ALS and how we can find a cure together, so that Lou Garrig didn't just pass away on June second for that day only, but for his memory, his legacy, and the legacy of battling that he's left behind and fighting ALS that he's left behind for those in today's world who continue to suffer from it. I hate that word suffering. That's why I use the word battle. But they suffer from it. But we can show the world that nothing is suffered in vain, that these days are not honored and put away till the next year, that there could be a conversation continuing. That's the biggest thing is the conversation must continue after June second, like it must continue for veterans, after veterans a Memorial Day in July the fourth, and we're gonna honor a certain sector of the adaptability community. Let's honor them right by continuing the conversation. So that's why this podcast is dedicated to those with ALS, who are suffering from it, who are battling it, who are overcoming it and striving to be their best, just like Lou Gerrig and you know today you know ALS was often called loulu Garrigg's disease. But when he knew he had it, he walked away and I'll read you I I'll post this story by al Anthony Kastrovins about lou Garrigg's worst full season was best and castraven says, back in nineteen thirty eight, it would have been preposterous to propose that gereg was having his best season by the way, his best season was hitting fewer than his season was hitting fewer than thirty homers for the first time in a decade, and batting average dropped nearly sixty points, tied for his career low in nineteen thirty eight. The prevailing thought at the time was that the iron horse was running out of steam. But knowing what we know now about both the science and the stats, his nineteen thirty eight season takes on a much different dimension. Casrabins writes, Garrick count only hit two ninety five with twenty nine homers, both of which were disappointing drops from his career norms. But more importantly, he did it as the ALS was continued was beginning to erode him from the inside. So indeed, he did play on the onset of ALS. In nineteen thirty eight, he would make that famous speech in nineteen thirty nine, the luckiest man in the World on July fourth, and he would go on to live a couple of years later, you know, for a couple more years. But for a full history of why we celebrate lou Gerrit and why we honor him. On June tewod I will post that link by mister Kastrovins and maybe tag him on Twitter. Well, I'm sorry, X, but you know what I mean. Because if we're gonna really truly honor and put the number four on everybody's patches, everybody's jerseys, even the umpires yesterday, and we're gonna wear the end als shirts, let's think about the origin of what lou gerg was doing with the Als. He hit twenty nine homers as the disease was starting to erode him. Think about that, as it was starting to erode his body, he was still hitting two ninety five and hitting twenty nine homers. If that's not an example of adaptability, you know, in one way or another, and also also the fact that he was still hitting the ball. That's not an example of not giving up. I don't know what it is. As I researched this. You know, Gigg's playing streak games played streak end in nineteen thirty nine at twenty one hundred and thirty consecutive games. Okay, twenty one hundred and thirty games. That's about a year and maybe a half of this disease crippling him from the inside, and he still managed to play a consecutive streak of twenty one hundred thirty. If those numbers, If those moments that you'll read in the links below, in the description below don't fire you up to donate to ALS, to realize that people with ALS have a chance, a good chance to keep living their best life. I don't know what to tell you, So either go to project ALS or the ALS Association and continue their good work as they work to find a cure. That's right, a cure for als. Just because June and second has passed us doesn't mean we can continue to honor the legacy of lou gereg a day later, a week later, a month later, or the hard work of those trying to combat and cure those with ALS. That's different now. On the Alex Scarratt podcast Network, I just wanted to say we are going to continue the conversation because it's only right for an only lou gig for all of those who are overcoming als to this very day,