Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was never meant to be Lou Gehrig’s most enduring legacy. In a cruelly ironic twist of fate, Gehrig, who was known as the “Iron Horse” for his spectacular durability, is perhaps most closely associated with the disease that ultimately destroyed a body once capable of playing 2,130 consecutive baseball games. But the nature of remembrance eliminates individual authorship. We do not get to choose how we are remembered.
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Just two games remain in the Mariners’ 2018 season, and I’m doing my damndest to appreciate each of these small baseball gifts, knowing full well that by mid-November I’ll find myself daydreaming about walking through the main concourse at Safeco Field, or pulling up highlights from a great win back in May.