[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 126 (Tuesday, October 1, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H6857-H6859]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONGRATULATING OAKLAND ATHLETICS FOR SETTING MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
RECORD FOR LONGEST WINNING STREAK
Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the resolution (H. Res. 530) congratulating the players, management,
staff, and fans of the Oakland Athletics organization for setting the
Major League Baseball record for the longest winning streak by an
American League baseball team.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Res. 530
Whereas on September 4, 2002, the Oakland Athletics set the
Major League Baseball record for the longest winning streak
by an American League baseball team by winning 20 consecutive
games;
Whereas before September 4, 2002, the record for the
longest winning streak by an American League baseball team
had stood for 55 years;
Whereas the only other 2 American League baseball teams to
win 19 consecutive games were the 1947 New York Yankees and
the 1906 Chicago White Sox;
Whereas only 2 Major League Baseball teams have won 20 or
more consecutive games--this year's Oakland Athletics with 20
consecutive wins and the 1935 Chicago Cubs with 21
consecutive wins;
Whereas the team also set a record for the Oakland
Athletics by winning 24 games during the month of August;
Whereas during their winning streak the Oakland Athletics
outscored their opponents 141 to 65 and trailed their
opponents during only 10 innings of the 180 innings of the
streak;
Whereas the starting pitchers of the Oakland Athletics--
Barry Zito, Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Cory Lidle--pitched
into the seventh inning in all but 6 of the games won as part
of the streak and were credited with 15 of the 20 consecutive
wins;
Whereas shortstop Miguel Tejada and first baseman Scott
Hatteberg each hit walk-off hits or home runs during the
streak;
Whereas the Oakland Athletics were 4\1/2\ games out of
first place in the Western Division of the American League
and 2\1/2\ games out of the lead for the American League wild
card at the beginning of the streak, and ended the streak
with a 2 game lead in the division;
Whereas the Oakland Athletics accomplished this feat with
the help of wise decisions by Manager Art Howe and General
Manager Billy Beane; and
Whereas the Oakland Athletics had to sweep some formidable
opponents in order to achieve this record, including the
leader of the Central Division of the American League, the
Minnesota Twins: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives congratulates
the players, management, staff, and fans of the Oakland
Athletics organization for setting the Major League Baseball
record for the longest winning streak by an American League
baseball team.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shimkus). Pursuant to the rule, the
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Sullivan) and the gentleman from Illinois
(Mr. Davis) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Sullivan).
General Leave
Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks on H. Res. 530.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Oklahoma?
There was no objection.
Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the House consider House Resolution
530, legislation introduced by my distinguished colleague from
California (Mr. Ose). This resolution congratulates the players,
management, staff and fans of the Oakland Athletics organization for
setting the Major League Baseball record for the longest winning streak
by an American League baseball team.
The Athletics, or A's as they are affectionately known, won 20
straight games earlier this season en route to winning their second
American League West Division championship in the last three seasons.
During their remarkable streak, the A's outscored their opponents 141
to 62. The A's were defeated 2 to 1 on August 12 by the Toronto Blue
Jays and did not lose until September 6 against the Minnesota Twins.
After the game that ended the improbable streak, Twins third baseman
Corey Koskie said, ``To win 20 games in a row, I don't know too many
high school teams that do that. To do that at the major league level is
an amazing feat.''
Mr. Speaker, manager Art Howe and the Oakland Athletics have enjoyed
a wonderful season, winning 103 games and qualifying for the playoffs,
highlighted by their phenomenal 20-game winning streak.
I ask that all Members honor the efforts of the Oakland Athletics
this season by supporting the adoption of House Resolution 530.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
might consume.
Mr. Speaker, on the evening of Wednesday, September 4, the Oakland
[[Page H6858]]
Athletics made baseball history by becoming the first American League
team to win 20 consecutive games.
With a 12-11 victory over the Royals before a record crowd at Network
Associates Coliseum of 55,528 fans, the A's passed the 1947 Yankees and
the 1906 White Sox for the longest-running streak in American League
history.
The game had plenty of drama and made-for-television episodes. The
A's jumped out to an 11-0 lead after 3 innings, but ended up getting
caught with 11 unanswered runs. The game was tied when the A's pulled
off a game-winning homer in the bottom of the ninth.
The Oakland A's accomplished this feat by beating many formidable
opponents, and I, too, want to congratulate the team for earning its
place in the baseball record book, and I would urge adoption of this
resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from California (Mr. Ose).
Mr. OSE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma for
yielding me the time.
Mr. Speaker, it is October 1, and every October 1 every American
wakes up and realizes that it is playoff time. Today we across the
country and in the cities fortunate to enough to have teams still
participating, those playoffs started.
In the National League, the defending world champion Arizona
Diamondbacks face off against the St. Louis Cardinals while the San
Francisco Giants challenge the Atlanta Braves. Over in the American
league, the Yankees face the Anaheim Angels, and the Oakland A's take
on the Minnesota Twins.
It is only appropriate that we take this opportunity at the end of
the season to look back at the season and at an amazing record by those
amazing A's.
The truly historic part of this past season is what we are here to
honor today, and that is the record 20-game winning streak of the
Oakland A's. When the A's took the field on August 14, they were 4\1/2\
games back in the American League West division standings. They were
2\1/2\ games out in the wild card race, and they got hot. They did not
just get hot, Mr. Speaker, they started to cook.
Left-handed pitcher Barry Zito took the mound that night and, as he
has for much of the Athletics' season, set the tone for what was to
come. Zito led the A's to a narrow 5-to-4 victory, and he started
something truly amazing.
The A's won their next 19 games in a row. They had a second victory
against Toronto.
They took three against the White Sox where shortstop Miguel Tejada
got his 100th RBI of the season.
They took four against the Cleveland Indians, including pitcher Corey
Lidle's one-hit shutout.
They took three against Detroit where even Mother Nature, Mother
Nature, conspired to try to stop them, but where the A's returned from
a 2-hour rain delay to keep on winning.
They won three against Kansas City, took all three, and Zito led them
to their 10th straight road victory.
At that point, they took three more against Minnesota where Tejada
went yard off the almost unhittable Twins closer Eddie Guardado and
kept the streak alive.
Then two more against the Royals where Tejada and first baseman Scott
Hatteberg led the A's back in the late innings with game-winning
hitting, but as everything must, this came to an end.
Finally, Twins pitcher Brad Radke stopped the seemingly unstoppable
A's, and that is what makes today's game, incidentally between the A's
and the Twins, round 1 in the American League West playoffs. That is
all much more exciting. Guess who is pitching for the Twins today? It
is Brad Radke, and I just want to bring my colleagues up to date.
It is the third inning, and the A's are up 5 to 3.
{time} 1730
The 20 games the A's won is the longest winning streak in American
League history. In the past 55 years, no team had even won 19 in a row.
In fact, the only two American League teams to win 19 straight were the
1947 Yankees and the 1906 Chicago White Sox. In fact, only one other
Major League Baseball team has ever won 20 in a row and that is the '35
Chicago Cubs who won 21 consecutive games.
Baseball is a game of statistics. Think about this. This is truly
amazing. Every year every major league team has 142 opportunities to
create a 20-game win streak; yet for 55 years, 55 years, this is 2002,
so that would have been back to just after the end of World War II, for
55 years no team has accomplished what the A's did this year. Right in
the face of a heated pennant race, they kept at it.
Let us look at some of their numbers. During this winning streak, the
A's outscored their opponents 141 to 65 and trailed their opponents
during only 10 innings of the 180 innings of the streak. Their starting
pitchers, Zito, Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Corey Lidle, pitched into
the seventh inning in all but six of the 20 games won and were credited
with 15 of the 20 wins; and even when they did trail, as we all would
hope, they fought back.
I mentioned that Tejada and Hatteberg each had walk-off hits
contributing to victories, game-ending rallies. This is a team that was
trailing the Seattle Mariners and the Anaheim Angels when August began,
and they came back to win the division. It was a great run.
Mr. Speaker, as in everything we do in this country, this 20-game
winning streak took true teamwork. Defense, baseball is defense,
baseball is pitching, baseball is offense, baseball is scouting. Credit
not only goes to the players, but to the entire A's organization. I
join with my colleagues in congratulating owners Steve Schott and Ken
Hoffman; Billy Beane, who used to play himself; manager Art Howe, who
used to play for Houston; and the other members of staff who
contributed to building this record-setting team. They put this
remarkable squad together despite losing many team leaders to free
agency and with one of the smallest budgets of the league. Despite
these challenges, they not only set records, the A's finished the
season with a better record this year than last. In Sacramento, home of
the A's AAA affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats, we watch many of the
young men hope to make it to the big leagues with Oakland. It is truly
a great pleasure to see them move up and move into the majors and make
such an impact.
I look forward to seeing more great baseball as the playoffs begin
today, but in my mind 2002 will always be the year of the Oakland
streak.
I would like to thank my colleagues for their support of this
resolution, especially my cosponsors, the gentlewoman from California
(Ms. Lee), the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo), the gentleman
from California (Mr. Calvert), the gentleman from California (Mr.
Herger), the gentleman from California (Mr. Matsui), the gentlewoman
from California (Mrs. Napolitano), the gentleman from California (Mr.
Radanovich), the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman), the gentleman
from California (Mr. Stark), the gentlewoman from California (Mrs.
Tauscher), the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas), the gentleman
from California (Mr. Thompson), the gentleman from California (Mr.
McKeon), and the gentleman from California (Mr. Baca).
Mr. Speaker, it is still 5 to 3. The A's are winning. The streak is
alive.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may
consume to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee). I do not know if
she has had a 20 and 0 record, but I know that she has won many
victories for the people of Oakland and for people all over the
country.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, first I want to thank the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Davis), the very distinguished member of the Committee on
Government Reform, for yielding me this time and for his leadership on
so many issues that we are tackling here in this House.
Also I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Ose) for his
efforts in bringing this resolution to commend my hometown team of the
Oakland A's to the floor today.
This is a bipartisan effort; and, Mr. Speaker, as a Democratic
sponsor of this resolution, I rise today to congratulate the amazing
Oakland A's, the players, the management, and the staff, for setting
the Major League
[[Page H6859]]
Baseball record for the longest winning streak by an American League
baseball team.
On September 4, 2002, the Oakland A's set the major league record for
the longest winning streak by an American League baseball team by
winning 20 consecutive games. Prior to this accomplishment, the record
for longest winning streak by an American League baseball team had
stood for 55 years. Only two major league baseball teams have won 20 or
more consecutive games, this year's Oakland Athletics with 20
consecutive wins, and, it is my understanding, the 1935 Chicago Cubs
with 21 consecutive wins.
During the winning streak, the Athletics outscored their opponents
141 to 65 and trailed their opponents in only 10 of the 180 innings of
the streak. The key to any successful baseball team is of course its
pitching staff. During the streak and for the duration of the season,
Oakland's pitchers have been nothing short of spectacular. During the
streak, Cy Young hopeful Barry Zito, Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Corey
Lidle pitched into the seventh inning in all six of the games, won as a
part of the streak, and were credited with 15 of the 20 consecutive
wins.
The phenomenal success of the Oakland Athletics can also be
attributed to the team's clutch hitting. While the A's have a different
hero really every night, Miguel Tejada's emerging superstardom and
really uncanny knack for late-game heroics has led the A's and truly
energized the fans. The A's began the streak four and a half games out
of first place in the Western Division of the American League and just
concluded the regular session four games ahead of second place Anaheim.
Remarkably, the A's accomplishments and continued success has come with
the third-lowest payroll in the major leagues. Who said that low-budget
teams cannot compete and really win?
The success of the A's can also be attributed to the managerial
skills of Art Howe and the unique ability of general manager Billy
Beane to build a perennial contender with a very limited budget.
The winning streak and success of the Oakland A's has brought
together people from all walks of life and has really brought a new-
found excitement to Oakland fans and the community. The accomplishments
of the Oakland Athletics organization really extend far beyond their
20-game winning streak or their American League West title. For
example, the Oakland A's community fund supports charitable
organizations in their efforts to improve educational programs, aid to
the underprivileged. They assist in crime and drug prevention and
service to children, service to our senior citizens and those who work
to improve the quality of life for people throughout the Bay Area.
On September 15, another example, the Oakland Athletics organization
hosted their fourth annual Breast Cancer Awareness Day and raised over
$100,000 for the cause. The athletic scholarship programs, disaster
support fund, Little A's, and A's Amigos are just a few examples of how
the athletics organization is really truly involved in our entire
community. The accomplishments and contributions of the Oakland
Athletics organization both on and off the field are worthy of
recognition. So today I would like to congratulate the A's and its fans
on a truly remarkable record-breaking regular session.
Mr. Speaker, does the gentleman from California (Mr. Ose) know are we
still in the third inning with the A's up?
Mr. OSE. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield?
Ms. LEE. I yield to the gentleman from California.
Mr. OSE. Mr. Speaker, I do not know. My last report is 3 to 5 A's. Go
A's.
Ms. LEE. The fans are rooting and cheering them on to win their real
first post-season game. I know that I am not alone in wishing the
amazing A's the very best in their race for the pennant. Mr. Speaker, I
want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Ose) and the gentleman
from Illinois (Mr. Davis) for yielding me the time.
Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I
am pleased and delighted that Oakland has had such a great run. It is
also great to know that Chicago teams, although quite aways back, 1905
and 1936, at least we were there at that time; but I certainly
congratulate Oakland fans, the team, its management.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished colleague from
California for bringing this resolution to the floor. We congratulate
the Oakland Athletics for the terrific 2002 season highlighted by their
20-game winning streak. I urge all Members to support this resolution.
Mr. POMBO. Mr. Speaker, growing up in Tracy, California, I have been
a fan of the Oakland Athletics ever since they first came to Oakland in
1968. I was 7 years old at the time.
I remember their World Series Championship three-peat teams from
1972, 1973 and 1974, which featured players like Vida Blue, Bert
Campaneris, Rollie Fingers, Jim ``Catfish'' Hunter, Joe Rudi and a
young ``Mr. October,'' Reggie Jackson. Being from the northern part of
California's Central Valley, just over the Altamont Pass, the fact that
their 1974 World Series Championship came by defeating the Los Angeles
Dodgers made the victory even sweeter.
And what baseball fan can forget the 1989 World Series, the ``Bay
Bridge Series'' between Oakland and the San Francisco Giants? A great
Oakland team, led by Jose Canseco, Dennis Eckersley, Rickey Henderson,
Mark McGwire, and Dave Stewart prevailed in that series, but it was an
earthquake that registered 7.1 on the Richter Scale, and the area
uniting in response to the emergency situation, that we remember best.
Today, Mr. Chairman, as the Major League Baseball postseason begins,
I am proud that the House of Representatives is taking a moment to
recognize the latest accomplishment by the Oakland A's, their amazing
20 game-winning streak. And I am proud to be an original cosponsor of
this resolution honoring this great team.
Mr. Chairman, winning 20 games in a row is no fluke. It takes a
sustained effort both by the pitching staff and batting line up to win
20 in a row. I'm proud to say that the fearsome Oakland starting
pitching staff, Barry Zito, Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Corey Lidle won
15 of the 20 games in the streak.
At the plate, the A's showed a never say die attitude, with shortstop
Miguel Tejada and first baseman Scott Hatterberg each hitting an RBI at
the final at bat of the game, winning the game and keeping the streak
alive. This streak is the longest in American League history, second
only to the 1935 Chicago Cubs' 21 game-winning streak. As we enter
baseball's post season, the 20 game-winning streak serves notice to the
other teams in the playoffs that the Oakland A's are a team to be
reckoned with.
I congratulate Manager Art Howe, General Manager Billy Beane and the
entire Oakland Athletics organization.
Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shimkus). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Sullivan) that the House
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 530.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________