Watch all 30 MLB first basemen recite Lou Gehrig's farewell speech

Watch all 30 MLB first basemen recite Lou Gehrig's farewell speech

Wikipedia summarizes the moment:

"The crowd stood and applauded for almost two minutes. Gehrig was visibly shaken as he stepped away from the microphone, and wiped the tears away from his face with his handkerchief. Babe Ruth came over and hugged him as a band played 'I Love You Truly' and the crowd chanted 'We love you, Lou.' The New York Times account the following day called it 'one of the most touching scenes ever witnessed on a ball field,' that made even hard-boiled reporters swallow hard."



In 1930, Gehrig batted in 173 runs. Feeling a bit disappointed with himself, he rebounded to knock in 185 in 1931. He AVERAGED 149 RBI per 162 games in the course of his career, including the games he played after being weakened by his disease.

When he won the triple crown in 1934, he had 49 homers with only 31 strikeouts. His 166 RBI that year remain the highest total amassed by a triple crown winner, but the Yankees finished second that year and his performance was so routine by Gehrig's standards that he finished only fifth in the MVP balloting.

His lifetime OPS plus is 179. Only two men in the history of the American League have ever done better, couple o' guys named Ruth and Williams. Columbia Lou could play some ball.