Hrbek honors Gehrig

Today marked the 70th anniversary of Lou Gehrig's famous farewell speech given to fans at Yankee Stadium near the end of Gehrig's battle with ALS. To honor Gehrig, and raise awareness for the disease (which still has no cure), each home MLB team had a reading of Gehrig's historical speech.

The choice seemed obvious for the Twins when it came time to select someone to read the speech: former first baseman Kent Hrbek, who not only played the same position as Gehrig but has devoted much of his life to raise money and awareness for ALS, which claimed his father's life in 1982. Before Minnesota's game against Detroit today, Hrbek stood near first base and read Gehrig's famous words.

I caught up with Hrbek afterwards to talk about what the day meant to him, and what he thought about the ongoing search for a cure for ALS. Take a look at the link above for what he had to say.

I remember caddying in Hrbek's celebrity golf tournament many years ago at Bearpath Country Club, and the event brought out many Twins players and legends alike, including Harmon Killebrew and the late Kirby Puckett, among others. It's no secret Hrbek has done a lot of good in the Minnesota community to raise awareness for the disease that hits him so close to home. And as he said today at the Dome, more and more people are catching on and realizing the seriousness of this still incurable disease.

I tip my hat to Hrbek and others like him. Keep fighting the good fight, Herbie.