    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
    [May 27, 2003]
    [Pages 539-541]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 539]]

    Remarks Honoring the 2002 World Series Champion Anaheim Angels
    May 27, 2003

        The President. Thank you all. Please be seated, except for the
    players. [Laughter] It's my honor to welcome the world champion Anaheim
    Angels to the White House. Congratulations.
        I understand some of the players were so excited that, well, like
    David Eckstein, who actually went out and
    purchased a suit. [Laughter] Fine looking. [Laughter] I don't know if
    David shared with the players here that I actually invited David for
    dinner. George Will and I hosted a baseball
    dinner here a while ago, and David came, and he didn't take any
    silverware. [Laughter]
        I really want to congratulate the team owners. First, I want to
    congratulate you, Arte, for being an owner of
    the team. It's pretty quick how things happen here in America. You buy
    the team; now you're at the White House. [Laughter] But I think you and
    Carole will love baseball. I know Laura and I really enjoyed our time with the mighty Texas
    Rangers, although somewhat disappointed by the fact that we never
    actually got to come to the White House. But at least we're all in the
    American League West. How about that? So congratulations on becoming a
    new owner.
        I also want to pay homage to Gene Autry. Gene was the owner of the
    team when I was fortunate enough to be in baseball, and he's an amazing
    guy. I know that he's smiling down now here on the--looking at the Rose
    Garden and realizing his beloved Angels have finally won the world
    championship. So I want to thank the players and the manager and the
    coaches for working hard to see to it that Gene Autry's dream came true.
        I also want to give Jackie Autry my best, a
    person I got to know during baseball as well. She's a woman of strong
    opinions, but one of the things she did love most of all was the Angels.
        And I'm glad my friend Sandy Alderson is
    here. It's good to see you, Sandy. He used to be the general manager of
    the Oakland A's, which was an unpleasant experience for not only the
    Angels but the Texas Rangers, playing the A's. But you're doing a great
    job as--running baseball operations. Sandy served our country in the
    Marine Corps. He's a guy that when the country called, he served. And I
    know you're as proud of the Marine Corps as I am, as how they handled
    their business in Iraq and freed the Iraqi people from the clutches of a
    barbaric regime. So, welcome.
        I do want to congratulate Bill Stoneman,
    who's a fine executive. He's a good, steady fellow who did a great job.
    I called him after you all won, to pass on my congratulations. I know
    you're proud of the job he did, as well as all the business folks here,
    to make sure the operation runs well.
        I want to congratulate Mike Scioscia. He's
    turned out to be a pretty good fellow, it looks like, you know--
    [laughter]--Manager of the Year, a good, steady guy. It's hard to bring
    a team from being 41 games down the year before to become the world
    champs. It says something about focus and desire and willingness to win.
    It speaks a lot about hope, and that always happens because you've got
    good management. Mike Scioscia is a--obviously, a good manager. I want
    to congratulate Mike.
        I also want to say hello to my friend Mickey Hatcher. Obviously, we didn't do a very good job about
    checking the security of every person that came. [Laughter] I got to
    know Mickey when he was working for the Rangers. He was a breath of
    fresh air. I suspect you're still a breath of fresh air--[laughter]--
    occasionally a bad breath of fresh air. [Laughter] It's good to see you,
    Mick. Thanks for coming.
        I want to thank all you all for being here. I particularly want to
    thank members

    [[Page 540]]

    of my Cabinet, California fans Ann Veneman and
    Tony Principi, who are here to celebrate
    with you. I didn't realize we had this many Anaheim Angel fans in the
    White House. I see Ari Fleischer somewhere
    around here. He's not exactly an Anaheim Angel fan, but--as a matter of
    fact, he's a Yankee fan, and I appreciate the message you delivered him.
    [Laughter]
        I want to congratulate the Texans who are on the team. [Laughter]
    You've got a boy from west Texas--no wonder you're the world champs--
    from Abilene, I believe Lackey is from. Good to
    see you, John. And Weber--Weber is not from----
        Manager Mike Scioscia. We don't know where
    Weber is from.
        The President. That's right. [Laughter]
        Manager Scioscia. Web, where you from in
    Texas?
        Ben Weber. Beaumont.
        The President. Yes, that's good.
        Where's Benji Gil? Oh, there he is. Benji Gil,
    I remember when he was fresh-faced rookie. [Laughter] He came up with
    the Rangers. It's amazing what facial hair does. [Laughter] But it's
    good to see you, Benji. Congratulations.
        Where is the rally monkey? [Laughter]
        Audience member. Woo-hoo!
        The President. Oh, there he is. [Laughter] Keep your remarks short,
    please. [Laughter] I want to--first of all, I hope the players here
    forgive me for being the one owner who voted against the wild card
    system in baseball, if you know what I mean. [Laughter] There have been
    two teams in the history of Major League Baseball that have gone from
    the wild card to the world champs, and Anaheim is one.
        I mentioned what that said to me. It was something about character
    that can overcome odds. The players here showed a lot of character.
    Baseball really is a team sport. The capacity for people to work
    together for 162 games, a long and grueling season, is an important part
    of being successful, which means players have to be willing to put aside
    their selfish interests, that you have to be willing to work for
    something really greater than yourself.
        And so one of the reasons why we like to host world champs here in
    the White House is to be able to remind our fellow citizens that there
    are certain ingredients necessary to become a champion. One of the key
    ingredients is to serve the team and not the individual statistic, and
    that's precisely what the members of the California Angels did.
        It also gives me a chance to remind people who come to the White
    House that when you're a champ, you have a responsibility to the
    communities in which you live. There are a lot of kids who look at the
    world champs and wonder about the example you set. They look at you and
    say, ``Is it okay to curse or drink or carouse?'' And I hope the answer
    you give them, loud and clear, is, in order to be a champ, you've got to
    make right choices in life.
        A champion is somebody who sets high standards and lives to those
    standards. A champion is somebody who assumes responsibility of a
    champion, which is to not only set a good example but, when you're in
    your community, use the spotlight that you've achieved to encourage our
    fellow citizens to love a neighbor just like you'd like to be loved
    yourself. I know many of you do that, because you're not only champions
    on the field, you're champions off the field as well.
        Welcome to the White House. God bless your talents, and may God
    continue to bless America.
        Manager Scioscia. Mr. President, it took
    us 42 years to say this, but we'd like to present you with a World
    Champion Anaheim Angel jersey that I know you'll wear proudly, and we
    apologize for going through your beloved Texas Rangers in the American
    League West. [Laughter] But thank you very much.
        The President. Thank you, Mike. Good to see you all.
        Manager Scioscia. Thanks for inviting us.
        The President. Congratulations.

    [[Page 541]]

    Note: The President spoke at 10:53 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to columnist George Will; Anaheim
    Angels owner Arturo Moreno and his wife, Carole; Jackie Autry, widow of
    former Angels owner Gene Autry; Sandy Alderson, executive vice president
    of baseball operations, Major League Baseball; and vice president and
    general manager Bill Stoneman, manager Mike Scioscia, shortstop David
    Eckstein, starting pitcher John Lackey, relief pitcher Ben Weber, and
    second baseman Benji Gil, Anaheim Angels.