Drawing 'huge inspiration' from Pete Frates, Sheehan dedicates 'K ALS' glove to Sarah Langs

ST. LOUIS -- Every time Dodgers right-hander Emmet Sheehan takes the mound, he dons a glove embroidered with a message that serves as a reminder that some things in life are bigger than baseball: "K ALS."

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has a connection to baseball through Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig, who became the namesake of the disease after it ended his life in 1941. MLB observes Lou Gehrig Day on June 2 -- the start of his then-record streak of 2,130 consecutive games played -- but Saturday, May 2, is another notable anniversary. It marks 87 years since Gehrig voluntarily removed himself from the Yankees' lineup in 1939, the end of his career.

Saturday is also notable for being MLB.com's own Sarah Langs' birthday. Langs has been fighting her own battle with ALS since 2021, and last postseason, she brought attention to the fact that Sheehan wears "K ALS" on his gloves.

In honor of Langs' birthday, Sheehan thanked her for the work she does to advocate for others with ALS by saying he would gift her one of his gloves.

"As a way of showing my appreciation," Sheehan said in a social media video posted by MLB, "I wanted to give you one of these gloves for your birthday and make sure you had one. Thanks for everything, and happy birthday."

May is national ALS Awareness Month, a campaign to raise research funds toward studying and finding a cure for the progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks the nervous system and affects voluntary muscle control. But Sheehan wears the message on his glove year-round, and has since his college days.

Sheehan attended Boston College, which was also the alma mater of Pete Frates, a co-founder of the viral Ice Bucket Challenge that swept across the internet to raise awareness and funds for ALS in 2014. Frates was a baseball captain at Boston College before being diagnosed with ALS at age 27 in 2012.

Frates lived with ALS for seven years before passing away in 2019. Before his death, he became an activist for ALS awareness and spent time around the Boston College baseball team, who all wore gloves emblazoned with "K ALS" in his honor.

"Pete was still around when I was at BC, and it was a huge inspiration for all of us," Sheehan said. "And I just decided to keep it going after."

Before college, Sheehan didn't really know anything about ALS. Being able to interact with Frates and his family opened his eyes and has continued to inspire him to this day.

"He would come around the team, and the Frates family is just a really special family," Sheehan said. "They have the Frates Foundation, which supports ALS research. It was a really cool cause, and I didn't know much about it before Boston College, but I was grateful that I got to learn about it and keep it going."