Requiring Evaluation By Government Accountability Office of Social, Economic, and Historic Contributions By Minor League Baseball

Floor Speech

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Mrs. TRAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from New York, Chairwoman Maloney, for her leadership.

Mr. Speaker, this bill would direct the GAO to evaluate the social, economic, and historic contributions that Minor League Baseball has made to American life and culture.

George Will wrote last October: ``In baseball, as in the remainder of life, the most valuable rules are unwritten.''

To my mind, one of the cardinal rules is: ``Don't forget where you come from.'' My grandmother, an immigrant from Brazil, worked in the very mill building in Lowell where I now have my Congressional office. And each day, we help people just like her. It is a constant reminder of the community Lowell is--welcoming, loyal, diverse, and proud.

Mr. Speaker, in 1996, the Spinners came to Lowell, Massachusetts. The Spinners are an affiliate of our beloved Red Sox, and they play just 30 miles away in Fenway Park. Ever since that first season, fans from across the Merrimack Valley have rallied to them each summer.

The Spinners are today as much a part of our city as the Lowell National Historical Park, UMass Lowell, and the Merrimack River. The city has invested in ensuring that LeLacheur Park, where the Spinners play, is among the best ballparks in our country.

Baseball has deep roots in communities just like Lowell across the Nation. However, fans of the Spinners and 41 other teams nationwide, had a rude awakening last fall when it was learned that a contraction proposal put their affiliations at risk. Instead, they were offered a pipe dream alternative that would almost certainly spell the end of professional baseball in these communities.

The bill before us notes that: ``Preservation of Minor League Baseball in 160 communities is in the public interest, as it will continue to provide affordable, family-friendly entertainment in those communities.''

Mr. Speaker, these communities deserve better than to be forgotten. They deserve better than to be considered merely in the context of a balance sheet. These communities have supported their teams through thick and thin, and they produce the talent that we all see on the baseball diamond at the major league level.

Mr. Speaker, I urge MLB: Don't forget where you come from. Baseball has always been a game rooted in communities like mine.

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