It’s HOPE week in the Bronx as the Yankees hosted Sarah Langs and Project ALS ahead of their Fourth of July matchup against the Baltimore Orioles.
Meet Sarah Langs
Born and raised in New York’s Upper East Side, for Sarah Langs, baseball has always been a part of her life. Growing up, her New York Mets were the only team worth rooting for, and her fandom ran as deep as her love for the game.
But after taking the gig at ESPN, her father says she was able to put that all behind her.
“It’s a miracle, sometimes I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Sarah was able to shed her allegiances when she decided to pursue her career which is amazing. She roots for everybody – she wants everyone to do well. She never highlights players who are struggling… I’ve never heard a negative comment about a player from her,” says Charles Langs.
The only thing more impressive about Sarah Langs’ passion for the game might be her resume. While attending the University of Chicago, Sarah spent all four years as a Senior Sports Editor for the Chicago Maroon. After internships with CSN Chicago and SNY, Sarah landed at ESPN where she would work as an analyst, a position she would hold for nearly four years until 2019 when she became a producer at MLB Network at just 26 years old.
Her time at MLB Network has featured regular appearances on broadcasts and in 2021, Langs crewed the first all-female broadcast of a Major League Baseball game, a regular season matchup between the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays.
Langs was diagnosed with ALS last year and has inspired the broader sports world with her fight. She continues to do research and make TV appearances while maintaining a must-follow social media account.
Project ALS meets HOPE Week
For the past 25 years, Project ALS has been leading the fight against ALS by funding teams of scientists and doctors for research and development with the hope of producing better and more effective treatments.
“We’re a baseball-loving 501(c)(3). Our mission is ALS research, and we believe that the only way we’re going to get through this is through really hardcore, targeted, direct research. We really are getting closer and a lot of that has to do with Sarah Langs. I think people are starting to understand that the only way through ALS is fighting it. Showing up, showing joy, and gratitude but it’s also a fight,” a Project ALS representative commented.
The Yankees, of course, have their own unique connection with ALS. Yankees Legend and Hall of Fame 1B Lou Gehrig, after whom the disease is nicknamed, tragically passed away at just 37 years old but not without delivering one of the most iconic speeches of all time.
Tuesday, on the 84th anniversary of that speech, the Yankees honored Sarah Langs and other young women also battling ALS by turning back the clocks for a day at Yankee Stadium. Prior to her pregame press conference, Sarah Langs and Project ALS stopped by Monument Park and the Yankees Museum to pay homage to Yankees greats and of course, Lou Gehrig. While in the Yankees Museum, Langs received a once in a lifetime surprise: getting to wear a game-used hat and holding the bat swung by the Iron Horse himself.
In Sarah’s words, “I grew up loving baseball and here I am with a disease that is known for a baseball player – one of the greatest players of all time, and to have a tangible connection was really, really powerful. ”
The Yankees and HOPE Week
Sarah Langs and Project ALS are just one of five different causes the Yankees have teed up for HOPE week 2023. Monday’s event kicked off the week with Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin and Fordham softball’s Sarah Taffet teaching lifesaving CPR on-field at Yankee Stadium.
Damar Hamlin and Sarah Taffet each received life-saving CPR after suffering injuries on-field and took Monday’s opportunity to raise awareness for the importance of CPR training.
Following Tuesday’s festivities, the Yankees took HOPE week on the road to Paterson, New Jersey, where a handful of Yankees, led by 2B Gleyber Torres, hosted a baseball clinic for local children. This follows similar events that SP CC Sabathia runs through his foundation, PitCCh In.
In the following days, the Yankees rounded out the fourteenth HOPE week in Queens at “Dancing Dreams” dance studio and Street Labs pop up play space in the Bronx, donating time and resources to causes making a difference in the New York City community.
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