It’s Opening Day, and as the New York Yankees take the field against the San Francisco Giants, hope feels as fresh as the first pitch of a new season.
Dan Reischel has always believed that a baseball and an ounce of hope can change what is possible.
In 2021, this belief led him on a quest to play 162 games of catch, one for every game in a Major League schedule, as the world slowly emerged from the isolation of the pandemic. He started in his driveway, just trying to reconnect with family and friends he had not seen in more than a year. He ended the project in center field at Yankee Stadium, trading throws with his dad, Frank, and eventually Aaron Judge.
What began as a simple invitation — “Want to have a catch?” — turned into HOPE Week recognition from the New York Yankees and a reminder that small acts of connection can ripple far beyond what you can see.
Around this time last year, Dan felt that familiar tug again. He started wondering whether he could take that same spirit of possibility and channel it into something that could directly impact others' lives.
His idea was, by his own admission, a little crazy: begin with an object of modest value, a single Lou Gehrig postage stamp, and over the course of 15 to 20 trades, “trade up” all the way to a Babe Ruth-autographed baseball.
The rules he set for himself were simple and strict. Every item had to be more valuable than the last. No item could repeat something he traded before. Each trade had to involve a new Yankees-related piece, always stepping a little higher, always inching a little closer to the finish line: a ball signed by Ruth himself.
And when he finally reached the ball, he would not keep it. He would auction it off and send every penny to the Live Like Lou Foundation to support families living with ALS and research toward better treatments and, one day, a cure.
There was something almost poetic about starting with Gehrig and aiming for Ruth.
Gehrig, the Iron Horse, was one of the greatest players to ever wear Yankee pinstripes, whose life was tragically cut short at 37 by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Ruth, his teammate and friend, was the larger-than-life slugger whose name still echoes through ballparks and history books.
To Dan, the challenge was as much about honoring the bond between those two legends as it was about the items themselves.
The first trade came quickly. Dan swapped his Lou Gehrig stamp for two vinyl stickers featuring original artwork of Aaron Judge and Derek Jeter, a small jump in value but a big leap in momentum.
From there, the list of items grew longer and more storied. The stickers turned into a Mickey Mantle mini poster, a reminder of another Yankees icon. The poster gave way to a Hideki Matsui bobblehead, a nod to a modern October hero.
Then came a Whitey Ford–signed pennant, a Lou Gehrig replica Mitchell & Ness jersey, and even a limited-edition Reggie Jackson–signed comic book cover — each trade carefully chosen to move just a little bit higher while staying rooted in Yankees lore. And most recently, that Reggie Jackson “Mr. October” signed Pop Fly comic book cover was flipped for an absolute beast of a baseball card: a Topps-certified, on-card, jersey-number-matched two-of-five Derek Jeter autograph, hand-signed by Dan’s favorite Yankee of all time, Derek Sanderson Jeter.
Every part of the way, the Babe Ruth Trade Up Challenge has felt like a spiritual sequel to 162 Games of Catch.
That earlier project was about rebuilding connection in a world that felt fractured, inviting people from all walks of life — Hall of Famers, broadcasters, nieces, neighbors — to step onto a patch of grass and share stories while a baseball moved back and forth between them.
The Babe Ruth Trade Up Challenge takes that same belief in small acts and applies it to the fight against ALS, inviting collectors, fans, and strangers to join the chain and help push the next trade a little higher for a cause that matters deeply to Dan.
For Dan, he has seen up close how cruel ALS can be and has watched people like his friend Mark Scheyder face the disease with courage.
The thought that a ball signed decades ago by Babe Ruth could help people living with the disease that bears Lou Gehrig’s name today is what keeps Dan chasing the next trade, even if the road feels long and the finish line still far off.
That is why Opening Day feels like the perfect time to tell this story.
As every team resets to 0-0 and fans everywhere dare to believe that anything can happen over the next 162 games, Dan is leaning into that same sense of fresh possibility — one more trade, one more step, one more chance to turn a piece of baseball history into hope for ALS families.
The journey has been fun, yes — tracking down unique items, connecting with fellow fans, telling the story of Gehrig, Ruth, and ALS one trade at a time.
But underneath the fun is the same conviction that guided 162 Games of Catch: If you focus on hope, and you are willing to start small and say yes to the next opportunity, truly anything is possible.
One Lou Gehrig stamp. 15 to 20 thoughtful trades. A Babe Ruth baseball that becomes more than a piece of memorabilia.
And if all goes according to plan, one more way the game can give back is by giving something priceless to the people who need it most.
If you want to follow along on Dan’s journey or even trade up with him, follow him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danreischel, or you can send him an email at BabeRuthTradeUp@gmail.com.
