Lou Gehrig Day: MLB, Teams, Players, Fans, ALS Groups Join Forces June 2
Thursday, May 30, 2024 at 05:20PM By Barry Janoff
May 30, 2024: MLB, in coordination with all 30 clubs and various partners, has unveiled activation to honor the fourth annual Lou Gehrig Day, June 2, with the goal to remember the legacy of Gehrig and to raise awareness and financial support for the groups and individuals who are seeking a cure for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), widely known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.
In 2021, June 2 was chosen specifically as Lou Gehrig Day as it marks the day in 1925 when Gehrig became the New York Yankees' starting first baseman, and also signifies the day he passed from complications of ALS in 1941 at the age of 37.
On-field, to acknowledge 2024 being the fourth Lou Gehrig Day, players, managers, coaches and umpires will wear a special “4” decal on their uniforms (upper left chest) designed in the Yankees’ uniform color and font.
Red “4-ALS” wristbands will be available to be worn in-game, in addition to commemorative base jewels and lineup cards.
In-stadium and via local and national broadcasts, an illuminated “4” will be on display in all broadcast booths “commemorating those in the fight against ALS and to serve as a unifying beacon of hope."
On June 2, a pre-game ceremony featuring a commemorative video and graphics, in addition to localized club-specific activations, will take place during MLB home games nationwide.
An overview of Lou Gehrig Day MLB team-by-team activation can be seen here.
MLB Network will honor Gehrig’s legacy and raise awareness for ALS through its studio programming, including a special Lou Gehrig Day tribute video narrated by Sarah Langs, MLB researcher and reporter, who is battling ALS.
This video will be shown in MLB ballparks beginning May 31 through Lou Gehrig Day,
Langs on June 2 will be honored in-person by the Philadelphia Phillies in Citizens Bank Park, with the Phillies hosting the St. Louis Cardinals on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball.
The Yankees are in San Francisco to play the Giants June 2 but plan to honor Gehrig after they return to Yankee Stadium.
In San Francisco, some 200 guests from ALS Network, ALS Therapy Development Institute, Muscular Dystrophy Association and I AM ALS will join the Giants for a special pre-game reception.
Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, a finalist for the 2023 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award — presented by the Phi Delta Theta Foundation and "given annually to an MLB player who best exemplifies the giving character of Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig" — will join the Phi Delta Theta Foundation on-field in Oracle Park for a pre-game ceremony and the presentation of the Live Like Lou Scholarship, given to a local student who has been impacted by ALS.
The Lou Gehrig Memorial Award in 2023 was presented to Paul Goldschmidt of the St. Louis Cardinals.
The award was first presented in 1955 and is permanently maintained at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, NY.
Past recipients of the award include Stan Musial, Brooks Robinson, Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Harmon Killebrew, Willie Stargell, Johnny Bench, George Brett, Kent Hrbek, Cal Ripken Jr., Don Mattingly, Tony Gwynn, Jim Thome, John Smoltz, Derek Jeter and Adrian Beltre.
Ripken Jr., Hall of Famer and the player who surpassed Gehrig’s consecutive games played record, will appear on MLB Network to recall Gehrig’s place in baseball history and his link to the “Iron Horse” via three MLB Network vignettes.
“My dad loved baseball, so he would talk about the main figures in baseball history: Lou Gehrig came up,” Ripken Jr. said via MLB.
“If your dad said something about a baseball player, you stood up and listened. Lou Gehrig was one of those players, he would acknowledge that he’s one of the greatest players to play the game, you should learn about him.”
MLB social media platforms will honor Gehrig and the ALS community in a variety of ways, including highlighting legends and celebrity engagement throughout the day.
“If your dad said something about a baseball player, you stood up and listened. Lou Gehrig was one of those players."
MLB.com and all 30 club sites will have editorial content and coverage of Lou Gehrig Day, with a special feature on Lou Gehrig Day activities across the league and Gehrig’s legacy in baseball and with ALS.
Beginning June 2, MLB will run a special charitable auction to benefit The Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS.
The auction will feature commemorative one-of-a-kind MLB authenticated autographed Lou Gehrig Day Topps Now cards (one player for each MLB club), with each player selected by Langs.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame will honor Lou Gehrig — into which he was inducted via a special ceremony in 1939 — with a self-guided tour throughout the museum highlighting his career.
Gehrig was diagnosed with ALS on June 19, 1939, On July 4, the Yankees honored him in Yankee Stadium, where more than 61,800 people heard Gehrig, wearing his Yankees No. 4 uniform, give his now famous “Luckiest Man Alive” speech, which was also his last public appearance.
Among the organizations involved with ALS:
• I Am ALS
• ALS Association
• Project ALS
• ALS Therapy Development Institute
• The Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS
• Lou Gehrig Award
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