The New York Yankees are proud to announce that they will honor Sarah Langs as their HOPE Week honoree on Tuesday, July 4 — the 84th anniversary of Lou Gehrig making his famous “Luckiest Man” speech.
Earlier this week, Sarah learned about the honor via a surprise Zoom with Yankees Senior Vice President and General Manager Brian Cashman, Senior Advisor Omar Minaya, Manager Aaron Boone, Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, Director of Community Outreach Julia Steinbrenner and journalist/colleague Buster Olney. You can watch a recap here.
On Tuesday, July 4, Langs and other women from the ALS community will be honored in a pregame ceremony, which will include a video of Lou Gehrig’s “Luckiest Man” speech being read by Yankees players, Sarah and other women of the ALS community. Sarah and her fellow honorees will also take the field with the team prior to first pitch and be guests of the Yankees for their 1:05 p.m. game vs. Baltimore.
HOPE Week (Helping Others Persevere & Excel) is returning in 2023 for the 14th edition of the event. The initiative is a unique week-long community program that brings to light five remarkable stories intended to inspire individuals into action in their own communities. HOPE Week 2023 will take place in New York from Monday, July 3, through Friday, July 7.
Each day over the five-day stretch, the Yankees will reach out to an individual, family or organization worthy of recognition and support, surprising honorees with a day celebrating their accomplishments.
HOPE Week is rooted in the fundamental belief that acts of goodwill provide hope and encouragement to more than just the recipient of the gesture. Fans can learn more about the initiative and nominate inspirational individuals for HOPE Week recognition by visiting the official website at www.hopeweek.com.
More details regarding timing and the HOPE Week events will be distributed later this month.
“ABOUT HOPE WEEK HONOREE – SARAH LANGS”
No life is without obstacles, but how do you surmount the insurmountable? How to you rise to the top of your profession when you’re not like virtually anyone else in your field? And how do you stare down the most dire of diagnoses and continue to find joy? The answer can be found in our baseball community.
Native New Yorker Sarah Langs grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and attended the University of Chicago, graduating in 2015 and working all four years for her college newspaper. After internships with SNY and CSN Chicago, she quickly rose through ESPN’s research department and landed a job at MLB Advance Media as a reporter/producer in 2019 at the age of 26, with a focus in finding the statistical nuggets used throughout baseball broadcasts.
She was on top of the world, becoming one of Major League Baseball’s most respected and universally liked statistical analysts in a male-dominated discipline. Yet for the last three years, she has been in a battle with ALS (most commonly diagnosed in individuals between 40 and 70), which has altered every aspect of her day-to-day life.
Despite the challenges of her condition, Sarah continues to make her mark on the game, most recently authoring the official game notes to national media for the recent World Baseball Classic. Her passion, persistence and positive disposition exemplify the kind of fight we all hope resides within us.
“One thing that no disease can take from me is baseball,” Sarah said after publicly announcing her diagnosis on Twitter in October 2022. “I’m still me, no stopping, and so honored and grateful to get to do what I love.”
Her accomplishments in the face of adversity have gained attention throughout the baseball world, including being honored at the 98th annual BBWAA Awards Dinner with the Casey Stengel “You Could Look It Up” Award (click here for her acceptance speech).
“There are a lot of people who are not faced with something like this who are just as loved and appreciated,” Langs said during her acceptance speech. “I want to make sure that those people know it, and I am trying to make them my mission — in addition to making sure that everybody loves baseball.”
Sarah has worked with the top entities in her field, gaining the trust and admiration of broadcasters such as Buster Olney, Jon Sciambi and Karl Ravech, to name a few. She also became a part of MLB TV history by being a member of the first all-female broadcast crew back in 2021.
“I’m so grateful to be part of this baseball community,” said Langs. “And I think it shows just how wonderful baseball is — not just the sport but the people involved — that people rally into a moment like this.”
Her immense reservoir of spirit now has another direction — in raising awareness around ALS.
“Even if I’m gone, even if its 50 years from now, I want to figure out a cure,” Langs said.
Her well-known mantra, “Baseball is the Best!” is featured on T-shirts whose proceeds benefit Project ALS.
Channeling Yankees legend Lou Gehrig, Sarah echoed the gratitude she has for realizing so many of her dreams in such a short amount of time.
“I may have been given a bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for,” Langs said.
MORE ABOUT HOPE WEEK
(Please also visit hopeweek.com)
At its core, HOPE Week is about people helping people. The one thing everybody has — no matter their background or financial situation — is time. By involving every one of our players and coaches, Manager Aaron Boone, General Manager Brian Cashman, our minor league affiliates and front office staff during the celebration of HOPE Week, the Yankees send the message that everyone can give of themselves to make their community a better place.
Equally significant during HOPE Week is garnering publicity for highlighted causes and organizations. The greatest challenge facing many not-for-profits is generating interest, awareness and funding for their missions.
At the conclusion of every HOPE Week since 2010, the Yankees organization has been honored with the President’s Volunteer Service Award, given “in recognition and appreciation of commitment to strengthening the nation and for making a difference through volunteer service.” The awards are bestowed by AmeriCorps, which empowers Americans from all backgrounds to answer the President’s Call to Service.
The Yankees encourage all their fans to get involved … Give HOPE!