Yankees team with Major League Baseball to fight ALS

Spearheaded by the legendary Yankee Hall Of Famer Lou Gehrig, This Wednesday June 2nd, And from now on every June 2nd, Major League Baseball will honor Lou Gehrig for not only his legacy on the field but to raise awareness and funds for the disease that ended Lou's life at the young age of 37.

ALS is Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a vicious disease that attack nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Those affected lose their ability to walk, talk and eventually breathe. While millions of dollars have allowed scientists to make some strides, there is still no cure. There are an estimated 30,000 people, here in the US, that are currently diagnosed with ALS. According to ALS research every nine minutes someone is diagnosed with ALS. The problem is within those nine minutes someone dies from ALS. It's horrible.

Major League Baseball will have players wear Gehrig's number 4 with ALS written in red to help honor Gehrig and acknowledge ALS. The big money raised for Lou Gehrig's day will go to Sean Healey Center and AMG center for ALS. The center unites the world leading experts to revolutionize how treatments are developed for people with the disease. It's an outstanding facility. We need to raise money for research to stop this terrible disease.

Here in Jersey, my good friends at Joan Dancy and PALS have been helping people with ALS and their family members to cope with the disease and help make it easier to handle ALS. I've done many charitable events for ALS. Thanks to my good friend All-Pro, Former NFL linebacker Phil Villapiano, who has hosted many ALS benefits and locally raise millions for ALS research. I'm a big fan of Phil's. It was gut wrenching to get to know some of the ALS patients and not have them around a year or two later.

A little over two weeks ago a very good friend of mine, who I've known since college, called to say he had been diagnosed with ALS. My heart literally dropped. I will share any knowledge I know and provide any support I can. He's a tough guy with a tremendous spirit and we are in this together. Please consider giving what you can to continue this research and hopefully your dollar is the one that finds the cure.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 weekend host Big Joe Henry. Any opinions expressed are Big Joe’s own.