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Skriven 2006-02-13 23:41:32 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0602133) for Mon, 2006 Feb 13
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President Congratulates Chicago White Sox, 2005 World Series Champions
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 13, 2006

President Congratulates Chicago White Sox, 2005 World Series Champions
The East Room



2:35 P.M. EST

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. (Applause.)

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 partner is
because of Jerry Reisndorf'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 -- 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. (Applause.) Thanks. I can see they'll remember you -- at least one
person does. (Laughter and applause.)

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 Senator Durbin and Senator Obama from the great state of
Illinois, and Don Manzullo and Roy LaHood -- Ray LaHood. Thank you all for
coming.

I -- my question to most of these folks was, 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. (Applause.) Thanks for
coming.

Roland Hemond, 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 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.

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
rear-view mirror for the rest of the season. It takes a lot to win 99 games
and to remain 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.

I got a first-hand 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 affect you had on White Sox fans, and it must have been
electrifying. One women in her 90s 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 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 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. (Applause.)

MR. 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.)

MR. 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 and
applause.)

END 2:46 P.M. EST

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