Gabe Griffin to throw first pitch at Barons game

Cyclists embarked on the journey of a lifetime June 28 as they began their 3,300-mile ride across America for Gabe Griffin.

Now, as the ride is coming to an end, Gabe is celebrating by throwing the first pitch at the Birmingham Barons game Aug. 8.

"The Barons are excited to welcome Gabe, his family and the Ride4Gabe team to Regions Field," said Barons General Manager Jonathan Nelson. "He's shown incredible courage in his fight against Duchenne, and we're proud to raise awareness for the disease through this endeavor."

Nine-year-old Gabe suffers from a rare form of muscular dystrophy called Duchenne. It affects about 15,000 boys in America and is caused by an absence of a protein that keeps the muscles intact.

Scott Griffin, Gabe’s father, said Gabe could be in a wheelchair by the time he is 11 or 12, and his life expectancy is only about 20 years.

Scott and five other team members have been on this bicycle trek across the country for about a month to raise money and awareness to fight this terrible disease.

“This ride has been a culmination of so much planning and hard work,” Scott said. “Now that the riders have been pedaling for over a month, it’s been such a blessing to see everything coming together and to see people’s hearts for my son. We are so excited to be coming home.”

The Birmingham-based Ride4Gabe team will arrive at home about 250 miles away from Mobile — their final destination. Gabe will be rejoined with his father and the rest of the team that has taken his story across the nation. Then he will throw the first pitch at the Barons game.

As they continue on their way to Birmingham and Mobile, you can keep up with the team at facebook.com/ride4gabe or ride4gabe.com.