[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 39 (Thursday, February 27, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S1164]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, as Iowa farmers count down the days to 
get into the fields, baseball fans are counting down the days for that 
first pitch to cross the plate. As a farmer and also as a baseball fan, 
hope springs eternal.
  However, we have gotten wind that Major League Baseball is throwing 
local clubs a curve ball--a curve that would hurt baseball, hurt local 
economies, and the fields of dreams in my home State. That is three 
strikes right there.
  I have got news. Don't count us baseball fans out. These local 
communities and this U.S. Senator aren't going to sit on the sidelines. 
Now, here is the news: Major League Baseball said that it may cut ties 
with as many as 42 Minor League clubs, including three historic 
affiliates in Iowa: The Burlington Bees, the Clinton LumberKings, and 
the Quad Cities River Bandits.
  I have been in communication with the deputy commissioner of Major 
League Baseball, Dan Halem, both in letters and on the phone, about the 
importance of these teams to Iowa. I am sure a lot of my colleagues 
have made the same contacts.
  I have also joined, with a bipartisan group of my colleagues, in 
introducing a resolution today supporting all Minor League Baseball 
teams across the country. For generations of Iowans, these ball clubs 
are a vibrant source of civic pride, a vibrant source of entertainment, 
and--would you believe it--also a vibrant source of economic 
development.
  While I have been to just a handful of Major League Baseball games, I 
have fond, fond memories of going to Minor League Baseball games in 
Waterloo, IA. We call them the Waterloo White Hawks, a club team for 
the Chicago White Sox. I had an opportunity, as a young person, to see 
Luis Aparicio play there in Waterloo before he made it big in the 
majors as a shortstop for the Chicago White Sox.
  You can see that I want Iowans to continue to have that same 
experience. For the record, I am and will always go to bat for Iowa. As 
Iowa's senior Senator, I will do what I can to ``root, root, root for 
the home team.''
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. (Mr. SCOTT of Florida.) Without objection, it 
is so ordered.

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