[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 137 (Monday, October 5, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S11448]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            FOURTEEN LITTLE LEAGUERS--THE PRIDE OF ALL OF US

  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, when one pauses to ponder the implications 
of it all, 1998 has been a remarkable year in terms of there having 
been a sort of rebirth of (I still contend) America's great national 
pastime--baseball.
  And as an old (very) former sports writer, I have never pretended 
that baseball has not always been my favorite sport. I like all of 
them, I hasten to say, but baseball is, to this good day, Number One 
with me.
  So what, you may inquire, has made this year all that great? Let us 
begin by recounting the drama of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, each of 
whom broke the 37-year-old home run record of Roger Maris--and then 
kept on breaking their own records.
  I had meant, Mr. President, to pay my respects long ago to 14 very 
special youngsters from Greenville, North Carolina, who made hearts 
beat faster and faster as the team made their way to the national 
championship game of the Little League World Series.
  Greenville is the hometown of a lot of good things and good people. 
East Carolina University is there, including its splendid medical 
school. It is a colorful city (56,000) which understands and practices 
the free enterprise system. And you better believe that everybody in 
the area around Greenville was proud of those 14 young Little Leaguers 
who made it to the championship game.
  The young guys from Greenville lost that championship game to the 
team from Toms River, New Jersey, but they were winners big time just 
the same because they did win the consolation game with the excellent 
Canadian team. Look at it this way, Mr. President--the Little League 
team from Greenville ranks third in the world.
  I have a hunch that they know that they are Number One in the hearts 
of all of us who watched them on television, night after night, 
cheering them on.
  I should mention, by the way, that these comments were prompted by a 
fine young member of the Helms Senate Family, Josh Royster, who kept 
track of those fantastic youngsters from Greenville who made all of us 
proud.
  Josh was impressed with the manner in which coaches and parents and 
countless other folks sacrificed to support their team. They traveled 
across the country for the better part of six weeks, rooting for the 
Greenville Fourteen. That's what morale and role modeling and love and 
good citizenship are all about. And then when the 14 young guys arrived 
home, Josh says that 2,000 people turned out to greet them and cheer 
them on.
  A long time ago, when I was a lot younger than the Little Leaguers of 
1998, Dad told me something that I have never forgotten: ``Son,'' he 
said, ``the Lord doesn't require you to win. He just expects you to 
try.''
  Those 14 young guys did try and I suspect they won a lot more than 
they now realize. For one thing, there's a Senator up here who's hoping 
that Greenville's Little Leaguers will be in the championship game 
again next season. I am not alone in my feeling that those youngsters 
will be glad they did.

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