President Congratulates Anaheim Angels
Remarks by the President
The Rose Garden
10:53 A.M. EDT
PRESIDENT BUSH: 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. (Applause.)
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 and applause.) 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.
Our
White House Kids reporter talked to First Baseman
Scott Spiezio, Pitcher Troy Percival, Right Fielder
Tim Salmon and Manager Mike Scoscia.
Watch the video...
I also want to pay homage to Gene Autry. Gene was the owner of the
team when I was fortunate 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.
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. (Applause.)
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 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 and applause.)
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 --
COACH SCIOSCIA: We don't know where Weber is from.
THE PRESIDENT: That's right. (Laughter.)
COACH 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 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 Angles 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 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. (Applause.)
MR. 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.
MR. SCIOSCIA: Thanks for inviting us.
THE PRESIDENT: Congratulations.
(The President is presented with the jersey.) (Applause.)