    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
    [March 31, 2004]
    [Pages 490-492]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Honoring Members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame
    March 31, 2004

        Thank you all for coming. Laura and I are
    honored and thrilled that you're here. We have a fair amount of lunches
    and dinners here, and I've got a confession to make. This is my favorite
    one. [Laughter] It's kind of like having your baseball card collection
    spread out in real life. [Laughter]
        Some of you were here the last time we invited the Hall of Famers
    here. It was one of the first lunches we had. It's when I discovered
    that one of the best parts about living in the White House is that when
    you invite somebody for lunch, they generally come. [Laughter]
        We're glad you're back. Vice President Cheney is with us. Mr. Vice President, thank you for coming.
    Secretary of Energy Spence Abraham is with
    us. He's a Tiger fan, I believe, if I'm not mistaken.
        We've got a great Hall--lot of Hall of Famers. One that I work with
    on a regular basis, of course, is Senator Jim Bunning.

    [[Page 491]]

    Mr. Senator, thank you for being with us today.
        I want to thank Jane Forbes Clark, the
    chairman of the Hall of Fame, appreciate you being here, Jane. Dale
    Petroskey, thank you for being here, Dale,
    as well. He is the president of the Hall of Fame.
        All the Hall of Famers, we're glad you're here. And thanks for
    bringing family members too. You're welcome to the people's house.
        I appreciate the ESPN Baseball Tonight folks who are here,
    Joe, Tim, and
    Peter. That's where I get my news. [Laughter]
    They do a great job of making--bringing baseball into our homes.
        My Chief of Staff is here, by the way, Andy Card. He is a long-suffering Red Sox fan. I'm glad you're here.
    George Will is here as well--long-suffering Cubs
    fan. But welcome, everybody.
        I particularly want to congratulate Paul Molitor and Dennis Eckersley, who
    will be the newest members of the Hall of Fame. Thank you all for
    coming. We're honored you're here, and congratulations. And Ozzie
    Smith and Gary Carter and Eddie Murray took
    your rightful place amongst some of the game's greatest players. We
    welcome you here as well. Thanks for coming, honored you're here, and
    congratulations.
        I can't wait for the baseball season to open. You know, some people,
    like when they go up to relax, will have the symphony on. I have a
    baseball game on. I like to do my--prepare for the next day, and my
    background noise is a baseball game. I'm really looking forward to it.
    And it's a great way for us to kick off the season here in Washington is
    have some of the greatest players ever to come and help us kick off
    baseball.
        It's such a wonderful sport. There aren't any time limits, which
    means you can go and enjoy yourself. It's a great place to go and relax.
    It's a wonderful place to visit with somebody you love. It's an
    important part of our history. And we love to herald it here. We love to
    herald it so much that one of my favorite things to do is to host tee-
    ball on the South Lawn, so that future Hall of Famers can come and say
    to one of their classmates, ``I love baseball, and I got to play at the
    White House.'' [Laughter]
        One of the traditions, of course, is for the President to throw out
    the opening pitch for baseball. I'm going to do so for the Cards. I was
    talking to Phil Niekro coming in. My arm is
    a little sore. [Laughter] I was getting suggestions on how to throw a
    knuckler. [Laughter]
        I also know that a former pitcher for the American Legion team in
    Casper, Wyoming, will also be throwing out an opening day pitch in
    Cincinnati. That would be your Vice President.
    He suggested that they not pull out the radar gun. [Laughter]
        You know, I love the game of baseball. I grew up loving baseball.
    It's a sport that's passed down from dad to son, in my case--actually,
    my mother used to keep score for the Yale
    Bulldogs. I happened to be 1\1/2\ years old when she was keeping score
    for the Yale Bulldogs. So both my parents
    passed on the love of baseball. I played Little League baseball in
    Midland, Texas. It's where I peaked. [Laughter] I actually played for
    the Midland Cubs--except, unlike Ernie Banks, I
    was not known as ``Mr. Cub.'' [Laughter] I was known as an all-right
    catcher.
        I think one of the wonderful things about being with Hall of Famers
    is you set such high standards for other players, as you've set the
    stage of excellence. I know there's a lot of players who are getting
    ready to start the opening season that long to be sitting here in the
    White House like you are. You've set such a high mark of how to be
    excellent in a grueling sport, in a sport that requires not only
    incredible skill but a lot of patience. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
    And you've set the standard, and we're proud to have the standard-
    setters here in the greatest house on the face of the Earth, the
    people's house, the White House.

    [[Page 492]]

        Thanks for coming. May God bless you and your families, and may God
    continue to bless our great country. Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:25 p.m. in the State Dining Room at the
    White House. In his remarks, he referred to ESPN broadcasters Joe
    Morgan, Tim Kurkjian, and Peter Gammons; and columnist George Will.