Remarks Honoring the 2023 World Series Champion Texas Rangers

Audience member. We love you, Joe!

The President. Well, good afternoon.

Audience members. Good afternoon.

The President. And welcome to the 2023 world champions right here. I want to make it very clear: I saw him and I immediately made friends with him. [Laughter]

[At this point, the President grabbed the arm of Texas Rangers Executive Vice President and General Manager Chris Young.]

Look, you know, to the team owners and executives, these incredible players standing behind me, and to all the supporters and families, thank you for coming up. Thank you for being here. I really mean it.

Please, y'all, have a seat, if you have one.

Dallas-Fort Worth and the entire Metroplex, you're used to winning championships. I noticed that. And I want the record to show, I've got a little bit of a—an ability to—to say nice things because I married a Philly girl. [Laughter] Anyway, Philly fans are tough. [Laughter] And if I didn't root for the Phillies, I'd be sleeping alone, but—[laughter]—she understands that's part of the job—[laughter]—anyway.

From football to basketball to hockey to soccer, many doubters wondered if baseball would ever join them. Well, to paraphrase Corey Seager, "I guess we do know." We do know.

The American League West was as tough as it's ever been, with division races decided on the last day. Although you may not have clinched the division, you certainly got the last word in. [Laughter]

After sweeping Tampa Bay and Baltimore——

By the way, it's not "Baltimore." It—my dad is from Baltimore.

[The President briefly imitated a Baltimore accent.]

It's "Baltimore." Okay? [Laughter]

——you got your revenge on the Houston Astros. And then you beat Arizona to become World Series champions. And you set some records along the way.

Your standout pitcher, Nathan—where are you, Nathan? And, by the way, I want to know who the hell Nathan's haberdasher is. I like his threads, man, I tell you. [Laughter] Looking good, Nathan.

Pitcher Nathan Eovaldi. Thank you.

The President. Major League record with five wins in a single postseason.

García, another Major League record: most RBIs in a single season.

In my job, I'm always looking for runs batted in, you know? [Laughter]

And, you know, your manager, Bruce, earned four World Series as a coach. I told him—I told him he's going to need another finger—[laughter]—or else he's got to put the fifth ring on his thumb. I mean, I don't know how you do that, man. You know? Anyway.

As you know, we're 50 years since this franchise left Washington. You're back in the Nation's capital as world champions, and you deserve it.

From righting—fighting hard to make the postseason to finally winning the first-ever title, I think there's a word—a word you all embody: resilience. You're a hell of a resilient club, man.

And, as you know, your GM, Chris, pulled out a pad of paper in San Diego and asked the Rangers staff if they believed you could win. It's clear, if they didn't answer right, they were going to get fired, but anyway. [Laughter] It's clear the whole organization and all of you answered yes and you meant it.

You never gave up. You never, never gave up. And you kept the faith. And like your favorite band, Creed—[laughter]—you took each other higher and higher. You really did. [Laughter]

Look, let me close with this. Along with being champions of the world, you're the first and foremost champions in your community. The support you give the community—I mean this sincerely—it matters. It matters a lot.

Local schools, feeding and educating children—it matters. Cultural centers, celebrating Latino history and Latino culture, which everybody ought to start learning more about.

By the way, parenthetically, you know that 28 out of every high school students is Latino. We better start figuring it out.

And the health and well-being of our Nation's veterans, military families, and first responders. What you do matters because that's America at its best.

So, congratulations to the world champion Texas Rangers, and good luck for the rest of this season, man.

I'm now going to turn this over to your GM, who can play a little ball himself. Chris, it's yours.

Executive Vice President and General Manager Chris Young. Thank you, Mr. President. President Biden, thank you for the very gracious remarks. And thank you and your staff for hosting us here at the White House.

The President. Happy to have you.

Mr. Young. This has been a—you all have graciously accommodated our rigorous schedule and provided us an unbelievable reception, for which we are extremely grateful. So, thank you.

The President. Thank you.

Mr. Young. The opportunity to be honored here at the White House by the President of the United States is the continuation of what has been the most successful and historic season in the history of the Texas Rangers baseball club.

The success of our team is not possible without the collective efforts of our entire organization, starting with our majority owner, Ray Davis; our team president, Neil Leibman; our entire front office; our manager, Bruce Bochy; a tremendous coaching and support staff; and, most importantly, these players.

As it—as many of you know, the 2023 season was a roller coaster of a season. It was filled with highs and extreme lows, and there were moments where it didn't feel like we could possibly win the World Series.

But these group of guy—this group of guys, they never gave up hope. They never veered off course. And in the end, they persevered and won it all.

The character of this team and the resilience they demonstrated will forever define the 2023 Texas Rangers. These players made history and forever changed the perception of our franchise.

Most importantly, to you fans, you all waited a long time for this championship—52 years. You all deserve this championship, and we thank you for your patience. [Laughter]

It's a huge honor to be here today celebrating the 2023 Texas Rangers and the World Series champions—championship.

And at this time, I'd like to ask Bruce Bochy, our on-field manager and leader, to present President Biden with a couple gifts on behalf of the team.

The President. All right!

Mr. Young. Thank you.

[Manager Bruce Bochy presented the President with a team jersey.]

The President. It says "Biden 46," but this is more important. [Laughter] There you go.

I played center field. I had one hell of an arm. I don't have it anymore. [Laughter]

Mr. Bochy. All right. Here you go. Got your two-steps on.

[Mr. Bochy presented the President with Texas Rangers cowboy boots.]

The President. Oh, man, I tell you what. [Laughter] That'll give me another 2 inches. [Laughter] [Inaudible] Thank you, thank you, thank you.

All right. What am I doing now? [Laughter] You're stealing my jersey? [Laughter]