Lou Gehrig - ALS Awareness Day

2021-June-02 Lou Gehrig - ALS Awareness Day

Major League Baseball declared June 2 to be Lou Gehrig Day

June 2 is significant as it was the day in 1925 that he replaced Wally Pip as the Yankees regular first baseman, and the day of his death in 1941 two years following his diagnosis with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)

On this day the Somerset Patriots, which became the AA-affiliate of the New York Yankees in the 2021 season,  defeated the Reading Fighting' Phils 5-4

Yankees pitcher Zach Britton, threw 27 pitches in a rehab start for the Patriots

I also add the Major League Baseball passport stamp to the Lou Gehrig first day cover to commemorate the event, as well as to my passport

Inside the Park - Somerset Patriots

2003-Sep-03 Somerset Patriots, Bridgewater, NJ

smudge of dirt from home plate

signed by Robinson Cancel (Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets), Norm Hutchins

Inside the Park - Somerset Patriots

Jul 21, 2013 Somerset Patriots, Bridgewater, NJ

Smudge of dirt from behind home plate

signed by coach Fox Beyer, coach Shane Spencer (NY Yankees), Aharon Eggleston, Jim Hoey (Baltimore Orioles, Minnesota Twins), Sparky Lyle (NY Yankees) Jonny Tucker, Darrell McCall, coach Charlie Leon..

Inside the Park - Somerset Patriots

Another visit to the local Somerset Patriots:

 MLB passport cancel had not been updated from Jul 11.

Signed by pitcher Amalio Diaz #38, coach Marty Janzen #36 (Toronto Blue Jays)

pitcher Matt Soren #35

Jul 12, 2015 Somerset Patriots, Bridgewater, NJ

The Long Island Ducks defeated the Patriots 7-2

Inside the Park - Somerset Patriots Fan Fest

Cory Domel, Glen Barker, Brett Jodie, Jon Hutton, Scott Kelly, Aharon Eggleston, Adam Donachie, Carlos Guzman

2017-Apr-08 Somerset Patriots Fan Fest, TD Bank Ballpark, Bridgewater, NJ

Bold = Majors

The Fan Fest offered free admission to kick off the spring and the upcoming baseball season. The Fest included a chance for fans to meet the players and obtain autographs.

I brought along an Olympic Baseball first day cover to obtain a few autographs... It's always a nice day at the park...

1999-Jun-07 Bridgewater NJ

The Somerset Patriots were one of the founding members of the Atlantic League in 1998. However, the team spent its inaugural season as a road team while TD Bank Park was being constructed. In the 1999 season, the Patriots opened their ballpark, where they quickly became one of the most successful franchises of the league in both the win and attendance columns