[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 39 (Thursday, March 11, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H1253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            BALTIMORE ORIOLES-CUBA EXHIBITION BASEBALL GAMES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cardin) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, I want to follow the comments of the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) and the gentleman from Maryland 
(Mr. Cummings) in really congratulating the Baltimore Orioles and Peter 
Angelos for arranging for a game between the Baltimore Orioles and the 
Cuban national team.
  As the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) indicated, baseball really 
speaks an international language. This is going to be good for our 
Nation and good for the people of Cuba. None of the economic proceeds 
will go to the government of Cuba. Peter Angelos has really, I think, 
done a favor for this Nation. I support this game. It has nothing to do 
about politics. It is a game. Two countries whose identity is deeply 
rooted in their national pastime. I think a fan who was quoted in the 
Miami Herald recently had the right outlook for this game when he said, 
``They should play it. It's a game after all.''
  I would also like to quote from one of the real great diplomats in 
baseball, one of the great Earls, the Earl of Baltimore, Earl Weaver, 
the famous manager of the Baltimore Orioles. I think he had the game of 
baseball right when he said, in baseball you can't sit on a lead and 
run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. Earl once said, 
you got to throw the ball over the plate and give the other man his 
chance. That is why baseball is the greatest game of them all, and now 
we are going to be able to have a good will game, two good will games 
between the Cuban national team and the Baltimore Orioles.
  Mr. Speaker, let the games begin.
  I am thrilled at the likelihood of an historic sports exchange with 
Cuba in the very near future
  I am sure many of you have heard the news of a goodwill game between 
the Cuban national team and Maryland's beloved Baltimore Orioles. I 
commend Orioles owner Peter Angelos for his hard work to make this 
dream a reality.
  I am here tonight to express my strong support for this initiative 
and to urge the U.S. Congress to join all of us here tonight in 
supporting this worthy endeavor.
  I want to say from the outset that any proceeds from this exchange 
will not go to the Cuban Government. The proceeds will go to support 
baseball and other activities related to sports in our two countries.
  Indeed, supporting this initiative has nothing to do with politics. 
That may seem strange here in Washington where it is our job in many 
respects to see the world through a political prism.
  But this is one time, thankfully, when it is to our advantage to see 
an exchange between two countries, not as a political event, but simply 
as a game--America's game and Cuba's game. These are two countries 
whose identity is deeply rooted to their national pastime.
  I think a fan quoted in the Miami Herald recently had the right 
outlook for this game when he said, ``They should just play. It's a 
game after all.''
  It is indeed a game after all. A bat and a ball, two teams, a field 
and the undivided attention of two nations. That is all, Mr. Speaker, 
and that should be enough for now.
  Perhaps we should heed the diplomatic words of one of the world's 
great Earls--the Earl of Baltimore. Earl Weaver's famous comment about 
America's pastime is the reason why this game is such a wonderful idea 
and opportunity for both nations:
  In baseball ``you can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the 
line and just kill the clock,'' Earl once said. ``You've got to throw 
the ball over the plate and give the other man his chance. That's why 
baseball is the greatest game of them all.''
  Wherever it might be played, baseball is the best game around. So Mr. 
Speaker, let the games begin.

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