The Texas Rangers visited the White House on Thursday to celebrate their 2023 World Series win with President Joe Biden. Biden mentioned that the team was making a special return to the city where their franchise began.
“You’re back in the nation’s capital as world champions, and you deserve it,” Biden said, referring to the team’s history as the Washington Senators before it moved to Texas in 1972. “I think there’s a word you all embody, resilience.”
It’s a tradition for championship teams from professional and college sports to visit the White House and be honored by the president.
This visit was a rare public appearance by Biden since he announced on July 21 that he would not run for reelection and would support Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic ticket in November.
The Rangers now play in Arlington, near Dallas. Biden noted that the area had become familiar with championships in football, basketball, and hockey, and many wondered if baseball would ever join them.
He mentioned that the Rangers did not win last year’s American League West division, which was very competitive.
The team made the playoffs as a wild card and defeated Tampa Bay and Baltimore before getting “revenge on the Houston Astros,” Biden said, to reach the World Series, where they won in five games against the Arizona Diamondbacks in November.
“You never gave up,” Biden said. “You kept the faith.”
The event started with the band playing an orchestral version of “Higher,” the 1999 hit by Creed, which became the unofficial anthem for the 2023 Rangers.
During their current season, the Rangers lost to the Astros at home on Wednesday and went to New York after the ceremony for a series against the Yankees.
This was the Rangers’ first championship, but their manager, Bruce Bochy, has won four titles. He had previously visited the White House after winning with the San Francisco Giants in 2010, 2012, and 2014, celebrating with President Barack Obama.
