[BobbyB]

St. Lucie Mets game at Tradition battles Lou Gehrig's Disease
staff report
Thursday, July 24, 2008




PORT ST. LUCIE — At 6 p.m., July 26, hundreds will gather at Tradition Field, home of the St. Lucie Mets, to join in a fight to find a cure for a deadly illness.

Throughout the summer, supporters of The ALS Association have been joining with other baseball fans for evenings dedicated to celebrate the life of the 1930’s baseball star, Lou Gehrig. ALS patients on the east coast suffering with his same disease will now have another chance to raise awareness after a similar event with the Vero Beach Rays was rained out July 3.

ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, progressively paralyzes its victims, attacking nerve cells and pathways in the brain or spinal cord. Patients are robbed of the ability to walk, eat, speak, and eventually breathe. Upon diagnosis, patients are given only two to five years to live. ALS has no known cause and no cure.

The agenda for the game looks similar to what had been planned with the Vero Beach Rays. An ALS patient will throw out the first pitch, and the announcer will educate the crowd with facts about the disease. The crowd also will be encouraged to pledge money to the fight against ALS through the program, “Ks for a Cure.”

Each time the St. Lucie Mets pitcher throws a strikeout, money will be donated to the fight against ALS. All proceeds raised through “Ks for a Cure” will fund patient services and cutting-edge research to find a cure.

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/jul/...lou-gehrigs-d/