You might know Sarah Langs for her catchphrase on Twitter: “Baseball is the best!” A researcher for MLB who has made stops at ESPN, SNY and MetsBlog, she has a knack for finding some of baseball’s most interesting and historic stats, while also enjoying all that makes America’s pastime great and all that makes it weird.
Now the sport she loves is rallying around her and her battle with ALS. With the month of May being ALS Awareness Month, the Mets and the club’s charitable arm, the Amazin’ Mets Foundation, are teaming up with Project ALS to help spread awareness and raise money for research.
The Mets are hosting Lou Gehrig Day at Citi Field on Friday, the same day the club begins a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays. Langs, a proud Mets fan who grew up on the Upper East Side, will be honored by the Mets in a pregame ceremony. The Amazin’ Mets Foundation is making a donation of $10,000 to Project ALS for research in Langs’ name. Project ALS is a non-profit organization that works to identify and support leading scientific research with the goal of developing the first effective treatments for the disease and, hopefully someday, a cure.
“The Mets are rooting for Sarah in her courageous fight, Alex Cohen, team owner and president of the Amazin’ Mets Foundation, said in a statement. “We are proud to support Sarah and Project ALS.”
Broadcast crews around the league will honor Langs as well by hanging illuminated stars. The stars are the creation of Project ALS and can be purchased for $50 at starsforsarah.org. Buying a star is one of many ways Langs is helping people contribute to Project ALS.
Langs has been raising money for the organization through her own initiative called FistBumps4ALS. Much like the viral ice bucket challenge that took over the internet in 2014, Langs is asking participants who donate to Project ALS to take a photo fist-bumping a friend with the hashtag #FistBumps4ALS, and then tag three others to keep it going. So far, she has raised more than $26,000, which isn’t far from her goal of $30,000.
The organization was founded in 1998 by the late Jenifer Estess, who was a New York City theater producer diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease. Since the organization was founded, it has raised over $90 million and directed 80-93% of its funds annually to research programs. MLB has designated June 2 as Lou Gehrig Day, in honor of the day the late Yankees first baseman lost his battle with ALS.
ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and is also sometimes called Lou Gehrig’s disease. It’s a degenerative disease that results in the loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. There is no cure, but treatments can slow the symptoms of the disease. Most cases have no known cause.
An extremely respected figure in baseball, Langs, who was diagnosed at age 29, made her battle public last fall as the playoffs began. She isn’t a typical case, given her age and family history. However, Langs hasn’t let it deter her from digging up stats about how players like Juan Soto and Pete Alonso compare to some of baseball’s historic greats, contributing to national broadcasts and finding continued excitement in the game that brings her joy.
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