[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.