[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.