Yankees honor ALS-stricken MLB researcher Sarah Langs on anniversary of Lou Gehrig's speech

It was one of the most memorable moments in baseball, if not all of sports, when Lou Gehrig, who was recently diagnosed with ALS, addressed an Independence Day crowd at Yankee Stadium.

“For the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break,” Gehrig told the crowd back on July 4, 1939. “Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.”

And after he finished thanking his teammates, wife and fans, Lou Gehrig told the crowd: “I might have been given a bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for. Thank you.”

Now shuffle the years. It’s 2023. The Yankees repeated the scene, but did so to honor a young woman who is beloved in the baseball community. She’s Sarah Langs, a reporter, researcher and producer for MLB.com. Last fall, the 30-year-old Langs went public with her diagnosis of ALS, now commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. On Tuesday, the Yankees did an appreciation day for Langs, who appeared just as sincere and upbeat as Gehrig did decades before her.

In a pre-game press conference, she told reporters “I’m not used to being on this side of this. I’ve been in those seats. This is so, so important to put a spotlight on young women with ALS, to show not everyone looks like Lou Gehrig.”

Yankee ace Gerrit Cole then presented Langs with a t-shirt that featured her favorite saying “Baseball is the best.” Cole then informed Langs that her parents would throw out the game’s first pitch. Langs, who uses a wheelchair, delivered the lineup cards to the umpires.

On the anniversary of Lou Gehrig’s “Luckiest Man” speech, Sarah Langs spoke to the media to help raise awareness for ALS research.

While she was on the podium, Gerrit Cole surprised her by inviting her parents to throw out the first pitch on Tuesday.

(via @YESNetwork) pic.twitter.com/JOSSKlSrf4

— ESPN (@espn) July 4, 2023

Langs, other Yankees stars, recreated Lou Gehrig’s speech

Then in another moving moment, the thousands of fans turned to the video board. Langs and a number of Yankees — Gerrit Cole, Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, Nestor Cortes and Jose Trevino — and manager Aaron Boone took turns giving Gehrig’s speech. So did six other people who doctors diagnosed with ALS before they were 35.

“Be grateful for people.” –@SlangsOnSportshttps://t.co/wI2bgoDNoA pic.twitter.com/ygErfaVRwC

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 4, 2023

Langs grew up in Manhattan. She joined ESPN as a baseball analyst and researcher in 2013. Langs moved to MLB.com in 2019. She loves baseball history and says the spirit of baseball, ultimately, is getting her through life.

“I think it just comes from baseball itself,” Langs told reporters. “I mean, baseball doesn’t stop,” she said. “It’s there every day, unlike any other sport. There’s a game every day and into October and November. So for me, the fact that baseball won’t stop means I’m not going to either.”