Why Dodgers Right-hander Emmet Sheehan Has 'k Als' Stitched Into His Glove

ST. LOUIS — Dodgers right-hander Emmet Sheehan first met MLB.com interrogator extraordinaire Sarah Langs during nan World Series past year. But he’d, of course, known of her earlier that.

Langs, who turned 33 connected Saturday, made her people connected nan manufacture early successful her career. Even arsenic a young writer, her talent for digging up absorbing stats, on pinch her contagious positivity and emotion for nan game, group her isolated successful a crowded media landscape.

Langs was alert of Sheehan, too, not only for blossoming major-league career, but besides nan connection stitched into his glove: “K ALS.”

Langs herself was diagnosed successful 2021 pinch Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a progressive neurodegenerative disease, besides known arsenic Lou Geherig’s illness aft nan erstwhile Yankees first baseman. Langs advocates for ALS research, partnering pinch Project ALS, and often highlights others who are raising consciousness and costs for nan cause.

“Just getting nan chance to meet her was awesome,” Sheehan said successful a speech pinch The Times. “She’s a awesome advocator and a really smart mind successful nan world of baseball. So it’s awesome to person her.”

When Sheehan pitches, Langs posts pictures of nan connection connected his glove. For his commencement Friday, Langs’ station included nan caption: “May is ALS Awareness Month. Fitting that Emmet Sheehan is connected nan mound tonight. His gloves each opportunity ‘K ALS.’ How fortunate are we to person that sentiment represented connected an MLB mound?!”

The adjacent day, MLB posted a video of Sheehan wishing Langs a happy day and letting her cognize that he was gifting her a mitt arsenic a token of his appreciation.

“I’m happy I get to beryllium a portion of nan convention wherever [ALS investigation and awareness] is benignant of a main focus,” Sheehan said Saturday, besides highlighting Cubs broadcaster Jon “Boog” Sciambi’s activity done Project Main Street. “It’s been really cool.”

Sheehan has displayed “K ALS” connected his gloves since college, erstwhile he joined a shot programme that embraced nan cause.

Pete Frates, who popularized nan ALS Ice Bucket Challenge successful 2014, was a erstwhile Boston College shot standout. And he returned to BC to service arsenic nan head of shot operations successful 2012, nan aforesaid twelvemonth he was diagnosed pinch ALS.

During Sheehan’s first twelvemonth astatine Boston College, he sewage to walk clip pinch Frates and his family, earlier Frates died successful December 2019.

“We talked astir it a ton,” Sheehan said. “It was a immense portion of our program. So it was a bully opportunity to study astir it and conscionable really unspeakable nan illness is and really it tin impact people.”

The instruction stuck pinch him. And now, arsenic a major-league player, he’s passing it on.