Exactly 75 years ago today, Lou Gehrig made his famous "I'm the luckiest man on the face of this Earth" speech. Everyone knew that he was diagnosed with ALS, or better known today as "Lou Gehrig's" disease. He had retired earlier in the season due to it. It was thought that he can defeat the disease, and cure it. Unfortunately that did not happen. Lou Gehrig was arguably one best players ever in baseball.
Lou Gehrig had 493 home runs,1,993 runs batted in, and a .340 batting average(baseballalamanac.com). He was the all-time Grand Slams leader, with 23, until Alex Rodriguez recently broke it. He had 12 seasons of 27 or more home runs and 13 seasons of 110 or more RBI's(baseballalamanac.com). In 1934, he won the Triple Crown, leading not just the AL, but the whole baseball, but did not win the MVP that season(Mickey Cochrane won it that year). He was the Yankees all-time hits leader(2,721) and doubles leader(534) until Derek Jeter recently broke both records.
Gehrig was also know as the "Iron Horse." We all know of his famous record of 2,130 consecutive games played, eventually broken by Cal Ripken, Jr. Gehrig was the face of the Yankees for such a little amount of time. What do I mean by that? He played with Babe Ruth until 1934 and in 1936 Joe DiMaggio joined the Yankees. In my opinion, it was better for Gehrig like this because he was "under the radar" behind Ruth and DiMaggio.
Today, it is not only a day to celebrate America's independence, but one of the most celebrated baseball players of all time. Lou Gehrig really touched hearts! My grandfather, who was a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, said his favorite player of all time was Lou Gehrig. He was the first player in all of baseball to have his number retired. If any player wants to model themselves after, it should be Lou Gehrig. He showed resiliency, strength, and patience when he played. Happy 4th of July and Lou Gehrig Day! If you want to watch anything on this day watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=626Dt9JdjQs
