President Trump Participates in a Visit with the 2024 World Series Champions the Los Angeles Dodgers

Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, accompanied by Mark Walter, owner and chairman of the Los Angeles Dodgers. That's a good looking group. I see some people oftentimes like politicians behind me. It's not so pretty. That is a very good looking group of people and I'm thrilled to welcome to the White House and very special people, actually very talented people, the 2024 World Series champion, the Los Angeles Dodger. And I want to congratulate you on a legendary season. And I watched it very closely. Some of those teams were home teams and you did a big number. You're really amazing how it all came out and how it all ended. With us today is Dodgers owner and chairman Mark Walter. Thank you very much, Mark. Congratulations. President Stan Castin, one of the greatest managers of the really ever to wear the Dodger blue. Dave Roberts, what a time he's had. Thank you, sir. That's great. What a job. I think he would have lasted even with George Steinbrenner. Right? I love George. He was very quick. He would. You lose two games and you were fired, Right? Great job, Dave. Also want to recognize Secretary of Agriculture. We have some great people, Brooke Rollins, who you know, when I came to office, they said the eggs are very gone through the roof. Eggs. He said, what the hell are they talking about? I was there for four days and they were blaming me for eggs. And they had. They've gone up like six times or something, so record number. You couldn't get them. And I gave it to Brooke and I just saw the other day, they're down 73%. Right. That's pretty good. And the press doesn't mention that. Nobody talks about it, so. But I know Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez. De Rimmer. Thank you. Congratulations. The Chief of Staff, Suzy Wiles, who's a big Dodger fan by the way. Susie, thank you. And we have also Representatives Kevin Kiley. Congressman Kevin Kiley. Young Kim. Thank you. Congratulations. Great job. Jay Olbernolte. Jay. Thanks, Jay. Nanette Barrigan. Nanette, where's the. Hi, Nanette. Oh, look at that. What nice outfit. One of my favorite people, Gus Billarakis. Congressman Addison McDowell. Newton to the Congress, but doing a great job. Thank you, Addison. A real good baseball player. And a friend of mine, Roger Williams. Great job. And another new Congressman, but he's been there a long time in a mental sense, because he has really done a job and he knows Congress very well. He was with me for seven years. Brian. Jack. Brian. Congratulations, Brian. And others. We have a couple of senators here. I just don't particularly. Like I said, I won't introduce, over the course of this amazing season, the members of this team. I didn't think it was that big a deal. Actually, Washington, over the course of this amazing season, the members of this team gave us some of the most incredible performances ever seen in the baseball diamond. In all of baseball history, only six players have ever hit 40 home runs and stolen 40 bases in a single season. And an elite group known as the 4040 Club. It's a 4040 Club and very few people make it. But unanimous. National League MVP Shohei Ohtani. Looks like a movie star. He's got a good future, I'm telling you. He shattered all of those records last year. Think of it, all of them. And he did something even more because he became the first ever member of the 5050 club. So 4040 is tough. Hitting 54 home runs and 59 steals and accomplished an accomplishment unparalleled in 149 years of major League Baseball. Think of that. That's just incredible. Even more incredibly, Shohei clinched that achievement in what some have called the greatest game ever. Was it that good of a game? That was a pretty good game, right? Is he good? Only getting better. And he's getting better and better. That's scary for a lot of people, huh? Even more incredibly, Shohei clinched the achievement. I mean, it really was. And at a time that. At an age that nobody ever thought was possible, on September 19, 2024, he did the unthinkable by going 6 for 6. This is a pretty amazing. I didn't realize it was that good. I saw that game 6 for 6 against the Marlins with three homers, 10 RBIs and a pair of stolen bases. Other than that, it was not a great game. How many people have gone six for six? Just period. Right? Not very much, right? Maybe a dozen. Maybe a dozen. Amazing. As you know, the Dodgers were down a lot of talent on the mound last season due to injury. The resilient group used 40 different pitchers, the most ever by an eventual World Series championship team. They had to go and get them. I don't know how they got them and where they got them, but they got them because they won. I know you especially missed the heart and soul of the pitching staff, Clayton Kershaw, who is really. These are the best looking people I've ever seen. It's incredible. But Clayton has been unbelievable. And if you look, you look at his records and you look at the stamina, the endurance that he's had, and we're really Happy to have him. I'm glad to meet him. I've watched him for a long time. He's a young guy yet, but I've watched. You are a young guy, but I've watched you for a long time. So congratulations. Amazing. All year the Dodgers faced down adversity. You entered the playoffs battered and bruised, but not broken. When you ran out the healthy arms, you ran out of really healthy. They had great arms, but they ran out. It's called sports. It's called baseball in particular. And pitchers, I guess you could say, in really particular. But the starting rotation. During the National League Division Series, this scrappy Dodgers bullpen shut out the Padres, saved the season and forced game five. Then key players battled back from mid season injuries to help deliver the National League pennant, including superstars. Mookie Bets. Oh, is he good? Good looking. Mookie. That guy can play, can he? I mean, unbelievable. You really. Mookie is. I've been watching it. I don't want to say I watched him when he was on Boston, but I did. I didn't think. I didn't think that was a particularly good trade when they made it. And I happened to be right. And Max Muncie, I want to congratulate Max. Max. Max, come here, Max. His arms are very strong when I touch them. I'm used to shaking politicians and hitting their armors like jello. And now it's like. Now it's like steel. All these guys, but Max, that's great. And also Yoshi Yamamoto. Yoshi. Yoshi. Wow, what great athletes. And of course, series MVP Tommy Edmond. That was an mpvp. That's pretty good. That's a lot of talent. You had to beat out there for the MVP, but they all had an incredible. Tommy was 407 with 11 RBIs in six games. That's not bad, right? That's not bad. Great job when it counted too. Next came the blockbuster World Series against another iconic team, team known as the New York Yankees. I love the Yankees. George was a great friend of mine. He had very few friends, but he was. And if you want to spend work, sit for nine innings with a game, watching the Yankees play with George, you were exhausted by the end of the game. It was very. It was actually hard work, but we love George and they're doing a good job and they're doing well this season and you're already 9 and 2 and so you're doing a good job. Maybe you see the same thing over again. In game one of the World Series, Freddie Freeman on A sprained ankle. He's a great player with a broken finger and a broken rib. Channel Kirk Gibson's legendary walk off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. That was a very. That was a game that pretty much everybody remembers. He could hardly swing the bat, but he did. He swung it one time and it was a. It was a shot. On the first pitch Freddie saw. In the bottom of the 10th, he hit an unforgettable walk off grand slam home run. The first in World Series history. It's amazing. The Dodgers rode the momentum to win two of their next three games, placing them on the verge of baseball immortality in a dramatic game. Five down five runs on the top of the fifth. That was a strange for those Yankee fans. But I'm not saying I was a Yankee fan because I have. I love these people behind me. But down five runs in the top of the fifth with two outs and the bases loaded, the Dodgers gave us one of the grittiest half inning World Series events showings that anybody's ever seen. Mookie started the rally by beating out a routine ground ball to first, which he's fast as hell. I don't know how the hell you having that speed is. Isn't that a great thing? I played baseball, but it was sort of slow. I wasn't fast driving in the Phenomenal. Kikik Hernandez. Where's KK? It's a hell of a group. Then Freddie drove in two more runs and TE Oscar Hernandez drove in another couple of runs. That's a group. TE Oscar. So you're doing well this season too? A little bit, yes. That's what I heard. That's what I heard. After a few dominant innings from Blake training. Where's Blake? I heard dominant. Right? Great job, Blake. And the team was crowned the World Series champion against a great team. The Yankees are a great team and always a great franchise. And I guess, I don't know, like 28 or something. They've won a lot, probably maybe more than any team in history overall. And you might be catching them pretty soon if you keep going. You've got little ways to go, I guess. This gathering report at the start of the Series said that the Dodgers could win by focusing on the fundamentals. And that's exactly what they did. You showed America that it's not about individual glory. It's about the team digging deep and sprinting right through first base. And you did that all the time. I watch. I watch some games. I love baseball. I don't get to watch as much as I'd like. But you always see a spirit on this team. I think a lot of that has to do with the ownership and the management, frankly. But you. You see a spirit on the Dodgers that you don't see with a lot of teams. A lot of teams I turn on. I say, oh, let's forget it. When I turn on the Dodgers, I like to watch the team. And now that I've gotten to meet these guys, personally, I like it even more. I'm going to like it even more. And you're off to a great start. After seeing how successfully you've begun the season, I can tell you that you can plan on being back here. I hope you're going to be back here next year. I don't want to give you too. I don't want to give you too much because we want to have a little suspense for next year. But I will tell you, we're going to go down. We're going to do something we don't do generally. We're going to run them down really fast. They have a game today. Do you have a game today or tonight? We're going to run them down to the Oval Office and we're going to show them the fabled Oval Office, and there's nothing like it. And this wonderful owner, one of the greatest owners in sports, by the way, from everything I've heard, one of the greatest owners in sports, along with your other compatriots. Right, fellas? It's a great team of owners, and that's very important. But we're going to. He said they'd love it, and I think he'd like to do it himself. So we're going to. We'll get out of here and we will run. We'll sprint down and will see the Oval Office, which is really something to see. You know, it's funny. People come from all over, the biggest people, the richest people, the most powerful people. And they come and they go into the Oval Office and they just stare. Oh, wow, that's something. They all have beautiful offices. They have offices that are the best in the world in many cases, but they love the Oval Office, so. So with all of that, I'd like to now introduce you to the Dodgers chairman, Mark Walter, to say a few words, and then we're going to follow that up with. Clayton is going to say a couple of things, and that's a great representative of a great team. Thank you very much, Mark. Thank you. Well, thank you very much. We're very pleased to participate in the tradition of Bringing champions to the White House. Last season was an incredible season. We won the World Series second time since 2020 and only eight times in our seasons or our history. We played in front of almost 4 million fans and we had many millions more on television. Our global following has soared and not only from Shohei Ohtani, but also from Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Clayton Kershaw and many, many more. Alongside this on field success, we have been deeply immersed in our community. Our players and managers have supported our, have each had foundations and support for communities. Our Trust last year has committed $100 million to help Chicago or LA Fire. And so, on behalf of the organization, I want to thank you. Thank you very much.

Okay.

Wow.

This is. This is an incredible honor for me and to be to stand here today representing the Los Angeles Dodgers and this group of staff and players behind me today. The 2024 Los Angeles Dodgers season is one that will go down the history books. Always holding a special place in the hearts of myself and those there with me, as well as millions of Dodger fans around the world. This organization exemplifies what it means to come together as one for a greater purpose and represent something so much bigger than themselves. The selflessness and humility that each one of these players and staff have shown over the last year is truly an inspiration. They have constantly played hurt, switched positions and taken the ball to put the team first. As a spectator for our championship run last year, I was in awe of this group. Their unwavering confidence coupled with the selfless pursuit for team excellence was an inspiration. That is why I'm so grateful to get to speak today on their behalf, as I know none of them would say this about themselves. Moving forward, I hope the 2024 Dodgers can serve as an inspiration to many like they were to me. Not just in sports, but in life. Remembering to put others before ourselves, it moves, moves a team and a society forward. So thank you for allowing me to speak today because the story of the 2024 World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers is a true joy to get to tell. And it's because of the extraordinary people that are behind me and their incredible pursuit of excellence.

Thank you. And.

Mr. President, we have a gift for you as well.

Sam.