Sarah Langs, MLB's senior stats guru diagnosed with ALS, received the Iron Horse Award at ALS United Greater New York's annual Lou Gehrig Legacy Gala. The event at Chelsea Piers in New York celebrated individuals exemplifying courage and leadership in the fight against ALS. Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole was among the other honorees for his philanthropy.
On Tuesday night at Chelsea Piers in New York, the Lou Gehrig Legacy Gala honored Sarah Langs with the Iron Horse Award, recognizing her work spreading ALS awareness within the baseball community. Langs, born exactly 54 years after Lou Gehrig's famous streak of 2,130 consecutive games ended on May 2, 1939, has been intertwined with the Yankees legend's story since her diagnosis with ALS in July 2021. She went public with her condition before the 2022 postseason, receiving widespread support on X (formerly Twitter).
Langs, a reporter and researcher at MLB since 2019, is known as 'Baseball’s senior stats guru.' Despite her illness progressing, she continued verifying stats and posting insights during all seven games of the 2024 World Series, even staying up past 2:50 a.m. ET for Game 3. Previous honors include the New York BBWAA chapter’s 'You could look it up' award in 2023, recognition at last year’s All-MLB Awards Show, and a SABR scholarship in her name. Shirts featuring her catchphrase 'Baseball is the Best' from Rotowear support Project ALS.
In her speech, delivered via voice recreation technology and met with a standing ovation, Langs said, “Throughout this postseason, [Gehrig’s] name popped up on numerous lists of playoff prowess... that’s what he would want -- to be known for his work first, not his disease.” She added, “The best way for me personally to raise awareness is simply by being me.”
Yankees ace Gerrit Cole received the Lou Gehrig Sports Award for leadership and philanthropy. Cole, inspired by Gehrig since a fourth-grade presentation, noted, “Sarah has been super impressive in the community for a long time... a really, really smart person that [adds] a lot of interesting facts to the industry and to the game.” Other honorees included Thomas Pulley with the Jacob K. Javits Lifetime Achievement Award and QurAlis CEO Kasper Roet with the Champion Award. The event, hosted by ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap with Bob Costas as master of ceremonies, raised over $465,000 through fundraising. Kristen Cocoman, president and CEO of ALS United Greater New York, praised the honorees, emphasizing Langs’ “incredible work.” Former MLB catcher John Flaherty and pitcher David Cone also lauded her passion and heroism.