    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [February 26, 1996]
    [Pages 340-341]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Welcoming the World Series Champion Atlanta Braves
    February 26, 1996

        The President. Thank you very much. Senator Nunn, Congressman Lewis,
    Congressman Bishop, Terry McGuirk, Harvey Schiller, Bill Bartholomay,
    Stan Kasten, John Schuerholz, and to Bobby Cox and the coaches, the
    staff, and of course, the Atlanta Braves, let me welcome you all to the
    White House. We are delighted to have you here.
        Secretary Riley is relocating from South Carolina to Georgia as a
    result of the outcome of the World Series. [Laughter] We're glad to see
    you here.
        This is a happy day for all of us. Three years ago, shortly after I
    became President, I had occasion to meet the Canadian Prime Minister
    when he hosted a meeting in Vancouver between President Yeltsin and me.
    And he wanted to have all this high-flowing policy discussion, and I
    said, ``Now, before anything else, I want to tell you that my number one
    objective in our relations with Canada is to win the World Series
    back.'' [Laughter] And I want to thank the Atlanta Braves for helping my
    foreign policy with Canada to succeed.
        It was a great season, and it was a magnificent World Series
    victory. Since 1990 this team has been the winningest team in baseball,
    with three National League pennants and four division titles and an
    absolutely extraordinary level of performance, which for every baseball
    fan in America has been a thrilling thing to watch. Your victory is very
    well-deserved, not only because you have been there before but
    throughout the season you were dogged by doubts and second-guessing. I
    can identify with that. [Laughter] You proved your critics wrong, and
    you achieved baseball's highest goal by overcoming adversity and
    criticism.
        Casey Stengel once said, good pitching beats good hitting and vice
    versa. [Laughter] Well, the Braves proved that last year. You had great
    hitting, great fielding, and great pitching. Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux
    have won every Cy Young Award for the past 5 years. You may have an
    antitrust suit on your hands, even with baseball's exemption. [Laughter]
        We were all thrilled by Dave Justice's play and his solo home run in
    the final game, which put the Braves on top. And we were--I think all of
    us who grew up around baseball were literally stunned--I think
    ``stunned'' is the only word--by the success of your entire pitching
    staff. We may never see a performance like that again in my lifetime,
    and I want to compliment all of them, especially since Senator Nunn told
    me on the way in they were all good golfers as well. [Laughter]
        I think the Braves have shown us the best side of professional
    sports: perseverance and hard work and commitment, and a commitment that
    has endured over seasons. There really does seem to be a spirit of
    teamwork that has worked for this team. At a time when so many people
    wonder whether the team spirit and the ties to community still
    characterize professional athletics, the Braves have demonstrated beyond
    doubt that in Atlanta and with the Braves that is still the truth, and
    that it has been richly

    [[Page 341]]

    rewarded by consistent performance year-in and year-out and finally by
    the World Series victory.
        For all of that, I say on behalf of our entire country,
    congratulations. Welcome to the White House. It is an honor to have you
    here. And if you keep doing what you've been doing I expect you'll be
    here for several more years, and I hope I'm around for a few of them to
    welcome you back. Thank you very much.

    [At this point, several gifts were presented to the President.]

        The President. Thank you very much. I looked in here hoping I could
    find out how many strokes I would get from each player. [Laughter]
        Let me say again to all of you, I welcome you here. We're going to
    take a little picture now and then have a receiving line next door so we
    can bring everyone in. It occurred to me that I ought to make one more
    point since the team is here and we were forced to delay this once
    because of the operation in Bosnia.
        This room is a good reminder of why teams and why this country
    should never say die. And I think I should tell you this. It was in this
    room in 1814, 182 years ago, that symbolically the light of liberty in
    America almost went out. This room was all set up for a fancy banquet,
    and unbeknownst to the people who were planning to come, in the War of
    1812, the British had actually landed a few miles from here.
        And our President, James Madison, was the last President of the
    United States that actually was the operating Commander in Chief of the
    Armed Forces. He was out of the White House, and his wife, Dolley, was
    basically going to host this dinner we were having. And so James Madison
    sent his wife word that the British were coming and that she should get
    out of here before she was killed.
        But she had to save that picture of George Washington, which was
    painted in 1797, 200 years ago next year, by Gilbert Stewart. And we
    bought it for $500 in 1797. It's worth a dollar or two more today.
    [Laughter] She cut that picture out of a frame, rolled it up, and just
    before the British rolled in here she cleared out, along with all the
    party-goers. They came in and had the gall to eat all of our food, and
    then they burned the house down. And a lot of people thought the next
    day that America's days were numbered. It didn't turn out that way.
        And I think if we all remember that, we can do more in our own lives
    to help our country, our teams, our families, and our communities. And
    that's the sort of spirit you've exhibited. I hope you'll--when times
    get tough, you'll remember that story. That was a long time ago, and
    we're still here.
        God bless you, and thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 5:55 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Terry McGuirk, executive vice
    president, Turner Broadcasting Service, Inc.; Harvey Schiller,
    president, Turner Sports; Bill Bartholomay, chairman of the board, and
    Stan Kasten, president, Atlanta Braves Organization; John Schuerholz,
    general manager, Bobby Cox, field manager, and Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux,
    and Dave Justice, players, Atlanta Braves; and Brian Mulroney, former
    Prime Minister of Canada.