[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
[January 23, 2004]
[Pages 123-126]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Honoring the 2003 World Series Champion Florida Marlins
January 23, 2004

    The President. Thank you for coming. Please be seated. Bienvenidos a 
la Casa Blanca. [Laughter] Thanks for coming to the White House. I'm 
honored to be here to welcome the world champs, the Florida Marlins. 
Maybe this will cause one of your biggest fans to stop bragging, the 
Governor of Florida--[laughter]--my brother. I 
appreciate you being here, Jeb. Thanks for coming. It's good to see you. 
[Laughter]

[[Page 124]]

    I don't know if you know this or not, but I've had the fortune of 
being a part of baseball, and I've never been so impressed by a club 
that came together and played together as the Marlins. It speaks a lot 
to the ownership and the manager and the support personnel and the 
players, that they were willing to play together to win. And they won 
when a lot of people said they weren't supposed to win, which is the way 
we kind of like it here in Washington, DC. [Laughter]
    I remember when my friend Pudge Rodriguez stood up to the world and said, ``2003 is going to 
be the year of the Marlin.'' And a lot of people said, ``I'm not so sure 
he knows what he's talking about.'' Turns out he did know what he's 
talking about, and I want to congratulate Pudge. I've known him--I'll 
never forget when he first came up. I think it's true that he got 
married on the same day that he got a hit--is that right, Isabel? The 
same day he got his first big league hit?
    Maribel Rodriguez. Yes.
    The President. Yes, that's right; yes. [Laughter] The same day he 
got his first big-league hit--I think it was against the Chicago White 
Sox----
    Audience member. It was.
    The President. ----he got 
married. And here he sits as a member of the great world champs. Pudge, 
congratulations for being a good friend and a great player.
    You're so good about predicting victories, you got any suggestions 
for, like, '04? [Laughter]
    Audience member. [Inaudible]
    The President. I hope so.
    I do want to thank Porter Goss and Tom 
Feeney, Congressmen from the great State of 
Florida, great supporters of the Marlins, for coming. I appreciate you 
boys being here. They left--they let an interloper in here, Howard 
Coble, he's the Congressman from North 
Carolina. You're wondering why a guy from North Carolina is here. It's 
because he and the manager are members of the Old Geezers Club--
[laughter]--and they're friends. Howard is a good one, isn't he?
    Jack McKeon. That was nice, and for that 
compliment, here you go. [Laughter]

[At this point, Mr. McKeon, Florida Marlins manager, presented the 
President with a cigar.]

    The President. Thank you, sir. But Howard 
is a good one. Howard is a good one. Appreciate you coming.
    Mayor, I'm glad you're here. Manny--Mayor Diaz is here. Congratulations for being the mayor of a 
great city. Jeffrey Loria and Sivia have been friends of mine for a long time. And one of 
the most joyous phone calls I have made since I was the President was to 
call Jeffrey and congratulate him on being the owner of the world 
champs. And gosh, the joy in his voice was just worth the phone call.
    See, what you don't know is when I was fortunate enough to be with 
the Rangers, he was the owner of the AAA Oklahoma City club, our AAA 
affiliate. So we got to know each other, and every time we'd call up a 
good player, he'd call and get madder than 
heck about it, and say, ``You're running me out of talent.'' And I'd 
say, ``Well, that's what happens when you're in the minor leagues.'' And 
here he is in the major leagues, the world championship, and I never 
even came close. [Laughter] But I want to congratulate you, Jeff, for 
being a solid owner.
    David Samson came through one of these 
endless receiving lines that politicians stand in. And he said, ``I'm 
David Samson.'' I said, ``I know who you are.'' He said--I said, ``How's 
the club look?'' He said, ``We're going to win it all this year.'' And I 
kind of dismissed him like another crank and moved him on. [Laughter]
    Team member. Just like everybody else. [Laughter]
    The President. Yes. And lo and behold, he was right. David, congratulations. And I appreciate you bringing 
Cindi.

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    Larry Beinfest is the general manager. 
It's hard to be the general manager of any ball club. It's hard to 
figure the right ingredients and to put it all together, but he has. And 
Larry, I want to congratulate you--and congratulate you and Jeff for 
figuring--David for figuring out that Jack 
McKeon was the right catalyst to serve as the 
manager of the club. He's what I call the Donald Rumsfeld of baseball--[laughter]--kind of crusty but knows 
what he's doing, you know? [Laughter] And I want to congratulate you.
    You've started a trend, recycling old guys to bring championships. 
[Laughter] But you know what you're doing. You're a great baseball man, 
which is a high compliment. And you're standing up here as a world 
champ, and it must be a thrill.
    I appreciate Ozzie Guillen being here. 
First, I want to congratulate Ozzie for going over to the White Sox to 
be a--to be the manager. I remember when Ozzie was a shortstop for the 
White Sox and he always had such a wonderful smile on his face. It was a 
joy to watch a guy participate in obviously an activity he loves so 
much. And Ozzie, I want to congratulate you for not only being a world 
champ but for now being in a position where you can bring a world 
championship perhaps to the Chicago--the south side of Chicago.
    The Hawk, Dawson is with us, Andre Dawson 
as well. He's another great champ. One reason why this organization 
obviously did well is it found excellence and incorporated excellence 
throughout the organization. Tony Perez as well, 
a hall-of-famer. I mean, Jack and Jeffrey were not afraid to find the very best people they 
could and say, ``Help us fashion a team,'' and you did. And I welcome 
you all here.
    I do have to take some credit for the success. [Laughter] You know 
how politicians are. You got Doug Davis, former 
Ranger--[laughter]--a guy we used to call Rosie, Wayne 
Rosenthal is the pitching coach, former 
Ranger, Perry Hill, former Ranger. [Laughter] 
Somehow, the Rangers deserve a little bit of credit, you know? We 
never--[laughter].
    I want to congratulate the three folks I just named. I got to know 
them there in Arlington. Really fine people as well. I know it's a 
thrill for them to be here as well. I do want to help the team a lot.
    You know, champs are people that play hard, play smart, and play as 
a team, and that's exactly what the Marlins did. The kind of a lineup 
that was pesky at the top, tough in the middle, and reliable at the 
bottom. And you could field your positions, and it was a true team 
effort to win.
    I'll never forget watching the classic Series game against the 
Yankees in Australia. The time thing was a little awkward, so we taped 
it. But it was a dramatic victory, and it spoke to the character of the 
team. And this team does have character, and it's character not only on 
the field but off the field.
    And the other night in the State of the Union, I said something I 
think is vital, that professional sports has got an obligation to send 
the right message to our children. And there's ways you do that. One is 
you play hard and play fair, and when you win, you're good sports. 
Another way to do it is you keep your bodies clean. And I hope the 
Florida Marlins and the players and players all around America join me 
in getting rid of steroids out of sports right now, so as to send the 
right signal to our kids and help parents raise healthy children. 
Character matters. And these performance-enhancing drugs say, ``What 
matters more is achievement over character,'' and that's just not the 
way we think. And championship teams are teams made of character.
    I also appreciate so very much the fact that the players and the 
organization understands that when you've got the spotlight, you have an 
obligation to serve your community. And I'm very aware that the Marlins 
management contributes to Florida's Adopt-a-Classroom program. I 
appreciate that, Jeffrey, and I appreciate 
you using

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your position to not only provide entertainment for the people of South 
Florida but to help lives, improve lives one person at a time.
    I appreciate the fact that Josh Beckett--a 
big, old Texan I might add--[laughter]--is involved with youth baseball. 
I hope that youth baseball reaches into places where a lot of kids may 
have lost hope. There's nothing more hopeful than for a person to be 
able to play on a team and realize their God-given talents on the 
athletic field. It's essential that baseball brings us joy, to not only 
suburbia but inner-city America as well. And Josh, I appreciate you 
understanding the vitality of youth baseball in America.
    I appreciate A.J. Burnett working with the 
Florida division of the Center of Missing and Exploited Children, being 
willing to be involved, to use his position as somebody who South 
Florida looks up to, to help children. And what I found interesting is 
that more than 30 children featured in his ``Play It Safe'' days at 
Marlins games have been rescued. You know, winning baseball games is one 
thing; rescuing children has got to be a fantastic accomplishment. And 
A.J., I appreciate so very much your heart.
    And then there's Juan Pierre. Every team in 
baseball wants him leading off, feisty little guy that he is and a great 
ballplayer. [Laughter] Yes, don't worry about putting weight on, you did 
all right. [Laughter] Whatever you did last year, do it again this year. 
[Laughter] And keep doing what you're doing--it's called ``Pierre's 
Pack.'' It brings underprivileged kids to the ballpark. See, he makes a 
good living, and he's willing to share those hard-earned dollars with 
the underprivileged kids.
    To me, this is what being leaders are all about and champs are 
about. It's one thing to win on the field, and that's what we're here to 
herald, and it's a fantastic--fantastic moment for the ballplayers and 
the fans and everybody involved with the organization. But winners also 
do things off the field too. Winners understand they have obligations. 
They've got obligations to be a good mom or a dad. They've got 
obligations to give something back to the community and to the country 
that has made this opportunity for them possible. And the Marlins are 
fulfilling it all. They won on the field, and they're winning off the 
field. And I'm grateful.
    Congratulations to the world champs.

Note: The President spoke at 2:50 p.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida; Mayor 
Manuel Diaz of Miami, FL; Ivan ``Pudge'' Rodriguez, catcher, Florida 
Marlins, and his wife, Maribel; Jeffrey H. Loria, chairman, chief 
executive officer, and managing general partner, Florida Marlins, and 
his wife, Sivia; David Samson, president, Florida Marlins, and his wife, 
Cindi; Larry Beinfest, senior vice president/general manager, Ozzie 
Guillen, former third base coach, Andre Dawson and Tony Perez, special 
assistants to the president, Doug Davis, bench coach, Wayne Rosenthal, 
pitching coach, Perry Hill, first base/infield coach, Josh Beckett and 
A.J. Burnett, pitchers, and Juan Pierre, outfielder, Florida Marlins.