[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
[February 13, 2006]
[Pages 233-235]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks Honoring the 2005 World Series Champion Chicago White Sox
February 13, 2006
The President. Welcome. Thank you. Be seated. They may be playing
basketball, but it's always baseball season here. [Laughter]
The last time the Chicago White Sox won the World Series was 1917.
President Woodrow Wilson was living here. Reinsdorf, I don't know if you came here then or not. [Laughter]
There were only eight teams in the American League, and the league
leader hit a total of nine home runs. After 88 years of waiting, the
White Sox have earned the right to be called world champs, and we're
glad you're here.
I--first of all, I want to welcome Jerry Reinsdorf. Some of my most joyous times in my life have been
during--as a baseball owner. Harold Baines
may not have thought they were so joyous, since we never won much.
[Laughter] And one of the reasons that I ended up in baseball with my
partners is because of Jerry Reinsdorf's help, and I want to thank you
for that now that we've got the team here. I know how much you love the
game, and I know how much you love the Chicago White Sox. And so it had
to be a thrilling moment for you and Eddie and
the owners that were patient for all those years you didn't win. And so
I congratulate you from the bottom of my heart, and thank you for your
friendship. It's great to see you.
I appreciate Ken Williams, a man who
obviously knows what he's doing, who is--was able to put a team
together. It's easy to put stars on the field. The hard thing about
baseball is to put people who can play together, and I congratulate you
for being a great general manager.
I welcome Ed Farmer and the broadcasting team.
Eddie, good to see you again. Thanks. I can see they all remember you--
at least one person does. [Laughter]
It's good to be here with Bob DuPuy of
baseball. I thought you're here to sign the lease, you know, but it's--
[laughter]--another subject.
I do want to thank the members of my Cabinet who are here. It's
great to see you all. I thought you all told me you were Red Sox fans.
[Laughter]
I want to thank the--Senator Durbin
and Senator Obama from the great State of
Illinois, and Don Manzullo and Roy
LaHood. Thank you all for coming.
I--my question to most of these folks is like, ``Were you White Sox
fans at the beginning of the season?'' [Laughter]
Audience member. Yes, he puts us on the spot.
The President. Yes, he did. No, I'm not putting you on the spot. But
I know one person--elected official who was a White Sox fan at the
beginning of the season. As a matter of fact, he was a White Sox fan at
the beginning of his life. He's been forever a White Sox fan. He is a
great mayor of a great city, and that's the mayor, his honor, Dick
Daley. Thanks for coming.
Roland Hemond--it's good to see you,
Roland. Thank you. Just showing off my baseball knowledge. Anybody that
knows--[laughter]--knows Roland Hemond knows something about baseball.
And it's good to see Harold Baines and the
other coaches.
I understand Ozzie is on vacation, which I
fully understand. If he's a Caribbean guy, taking a look at the weather
forecast up here yesterday would have made me not want to come as well.
[Laughter] But I want to congratulate Ozzie Guillen, as well as the team
and the staff, the coaching staff, and the managers, and all those who
worked hard to make these guys ready to play. And I want to congratulate
Ozzie on being a great manager, manager of the year, as well as becoming
a United States citizen earlier this year. We're proud to have him as an
American citizen.
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I don't want to bring up the Sosa trade, so I
won't--[laughter].
Audience member. Please don't.
The President. I won't. [Laughter] But it's great to see you. Harold
Baines is one class act. I mean, that guy
can not only hit, but he brought a lot of class into the clubhouse, and
I'm really proud to see you here, Harold. Congratulations to you and the
buddies you're working with.
And to the players, congratulations. We're really proud to have you
here at the White House. It means a lot for baseball fans, White Sox
fans, all across the country that you would take time to come and be
honored here at the White House, and it's my great honor to honor you.
It's a big deal to have you here.
The amazing thing about this team is you went wire to wire, which is
really hard to do. You win one-nothing on opening day, and like, they're
in your rearview mirror for the rest of the season. It takes a lot to
win 99 games and to remain in the lead and not falter. And it says
something about the character of the team that you put together and the
character of the players.
The--I got a firsthand report from the World Series from two people
I love dearly who had actually front-row seats, and that would be my
mother and father.
[Laughter] I'm not going to tell you who they were rooting for, but it
didn't have much effect on the outcome of the series, I'll put it to you
that way. [Laughter]
I was impressed as a baseball guy--at least somebody who follows it
still, closely--that you had four complete games in a row in the
playoffs. That's a good strategy, Jerry, to
keep the bullpen--[laughter]--keep the bullpen fresh. [Laughter]
You know, there was great players, but nobody off the chart, if you
know what I mean, which means you competed as a team. Jermaine Dye had an interesting quote that I think is worth
sharing with people who are paying attention at this moment. He said,
``From the start of spring training, everybody was hungry.'' He didn't
say one player was hungry or a guy going into arbitration was hungry or
a free agent for next year was hungry. He said everybody was hungry.
They're--everybody wanted to go out there and win together. Everybody
was pulling on the same rope. That's why you're the world champs.
Everybody was pulling on the same rope. And that's what we're here to
honor, a great championship team.
I congratulate Jermaine for being the MVP
of the World Series. I congratulate Paul for
being the MVP of the American League Championship Series. It must be a
pretty cool feeling to hit a grand slam in the World Series. I didn't
get one in Little League, much less the World Series. [Laughter] And you
had a grand slam; you caught the last out of the season; and you
witnessed the birth of your child all in the same month. Man, what a
special month. The Lord has blessed you. That's why you're called ``Mr.
Soxtober.'' [Laughter]
I know the effect you had on White Sox fans, and it must have been
electrifying. One women in her nineties said, ``I've been a Sox fan all
my life; I never thought I'd live to see the day.'' Think about that--
think about the joy that you all put in the hearts of this 90-year-old
person, and probably some young ones, too, that were pulling for the
White Sox.
The people of Chicago turned out en masse not only because you were
baseball champs but because you have brought some character to the city.
I want to applaud the organization for supporting inner-city Little
League. I think it's really important for this great state of baseball
to reach out to people of all walks of life to make sure that the sport
is inclusive. The best way to do it is to convince little kids how to--
the beauty of playing baseball.
I appreciate the baseball fields you're building in Chicago, kind of
little centers of hope, little diamonds of joy for people to come and be
able to play the greatest game ever invented. I appreciate the Chicago
White Sox Charities, your support of
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cancer research and cancer treatment in the metropolitan area. Most of
all, I appreciate the fact that these players understand they're setting
examples for young boys and girls all across Chicago as well as the
country. You're setting the example that something--serving something
greater than yourself is important in life; coming together as a team is
a heck of a lot more important and satisfying than worrying about your
own batting average or your own ERA.
And so here we are in the White House, Jerry, honoring the great Chicago White Sox. I'm proud to be
with you. God bless your championship and God continue to bless the
country.
Paul Konerko. Mr. President, on behalf of
our organization and all the fans on the South Side and all over the
world, we want to present you with this jersey and jacket.
The President. I thought you were going to give me a loan.
[Laughter]
Jermaine Dye. And also, we know deep down
you probably wish this was a Houston Astros jacket. [Laughter]
The President. Now wait a minute----
Mr. Dye. Hopefully, this will do.
Mr. Konerko. Thanks for having us here
today.
The President. Actually it was a Texas Rangers jacket. [Laughter]
Note: The President spoke at 2:35 p.m. in the East Room at the White
House. In his remarks, he referred to Jerry Reinsdorf, chairman, Harold
Baines, bench coach, Eddie Einhorn, vice chairman, Ken Williams, general
manager, Ed Farmer, radio broadcaster, Roland Hemond, executive adviser
to the general manager, Ozzie Guillen, manager, Jermaine Dye,
outfielder, and Paul Konerko, first baseman, Chicago White Sox; Robert
A. DuPuy, president and chief operating officer, Major League Baseball;
Representatives Donald A. Manzullo and Raymond H. LaHood of Illinois;
Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago, IL; and Sammy Sosa, outfielder,
Baltimore Orioles.