[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 22 (Monday, June 2, 2003)]
[Pages 661-663]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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.

[[Page 662]]

    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 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

[[Page 663]]

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.

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; Bill Stoneman, 
vice president and general manager, Anaheim Angels; and manager Mike 
Scioscia, short stop David Eckstein, starting pitcher John Lackey, 
relief pitcher Ben Weber, and second baseman Benji Gil, Anaheim Angels.