So some kid out there thinks he’s the reincarnation of New York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig. And he and his family think that by claiming he’s Lou Gehrig, and not someone like Babe Ruth, we would all just let it slide and let him and his family have their fun little moment.
Forget that. It’s time for little eight-year-old Christian Haupt to prove to me that he actually was the best Yankee of all time (yeah, I said it) in a past life. It’s put up or shut up time, little buddy.
Gehrig was a career .340 hitter, blasting 534 career doubles, 493 home runs and 1,995 runs batted in, which is good for fifth all-time. So this means if Haupt really is who he says he was, there should still be some of those legendary baseball skills hardwired into his brain. Anyone can memorize some trivia about the man, but I’ll only be convinced once he gets in the box to take on a devastating slider from Noah Syndergaard or maybe a fastball from Aroldis Chapman. And if Haupt doesn’t wet his pants while playing a full game in uniform for a major league team, I might just start to believe. If Bill Veeck were alive, he’d make this happen.
Christians’ mom Cathy became convinced her son was Gehrig in a past life because he said he used to be a tall baseball player, and knew such mind-bending facts as teams once traveling on trains. Christian also reportedly once pointed to a picture of Gehrig and Ruth and said the two don’t talk to each other. Cathy even got in on the fun by “remembering” her past life as Gehrig’s mom while under hypnosis.
So long story short, their grift has become a book (and soon a movie) called The Boy Who Knew Too Much, a great title wasted on this subject, and we’re all supposed to sit idly by and let it happen? In this age of…sigh…alternative facts, shouldn’t we finally take a stand and demand that someone provides proof for their otherwise baseless claims? Don’t we owe it to Gehrig’s legacy to prove this?
Get in the batter’s box and make me believe you’re the reincarnation of Lou Gehrig, kid.