[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 128 (Wednesday, September 14, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 14, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                        TRIBUTE TO ANDY MacPHAIL

  Mr. DURENBERGER. Mr. President, in Minnesota we have always respected 
the judgment of Andy MacPhail, general manager of the Minnesota Twins. 
That is why we were so shocked to hear that he was leaving Minnesota 
and the Twins, for Chicago and the Cubs. You think you have a person 
figured out and then all of a sudden----
  Seriously, Minnesota baseball fans bid a fond farewell this week to 
Andy MacPhail as he heads east to become president and CEO of the Cubs. 
We are tremendously grateful to him for a wonderful decade of baseball 
in Minnesota. He helped bring many of us our pinnacle experiences as 
sports fans: The Twins two thrilling World Series victories in 1987 and 
1991. He assembled two world championship teams with his genius for 
blending athletic talent and human chemistry.
  One thing that has made baseball so much fun in Minnesota is Andy's 
openness and obvious love of the game. He connects fans to a simpler 
appreciation of the game, before it became dominated by agents, labor 
negotiations, and the like. He proved you could run a baseball team as 
a very efficient business and still love baseball like a kid.
  In these dark days for the Nation's pastime we need more of that 
spirit.
  After the MacPhail Twins won the 1987 World Series, I had the 
opportunity to host Andy here in the Senator's dining room. As soon as 
we came in, he was approached by a member of the wonderful wait-staff 
who had some very pointed questions for the general manager. You see, 
many Washingtonians still refuse to recognize the move of the then 
Washington Senators to Minnesota, so it is still their team. Anyway, 
this fan was objecting strenuously to Mr. MacPhail's trade of Frank 
Viola to the Mets for five players. Andy just took it all in stride.
  Two weeks later I got to talk with Bart Giamatti, just before his 
death, and in that conversation, he said the Viola trade was one of the 
best in recent baseball history. The Twins' 1991 world championship, 
built around the nucleus of players obtained in that trade, proved him 
right.
  The people of the city of Chicago will come to enjoy Andy MacPhail as 
much as we do. He may not become Michael Jordan or Oprah Winfrey, but 
his candor and good natured personality will make Chicago a better 
place to live, and a much better place to watch baseball.
  From all your friends in Minnesota, Andy we wish you every success 
within the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. Chicago, count your 
blessings.

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