Thomas Daschle: “I wanted to start this morning by acknowledging yet another remarkable year by the Minnesota Twins. Tonight, the Twins…”

“I wanted to start this morning by acknowledging yet another remarkable year by the Minnesota Twins. Tonight, the Twins will be playing in the Major League Baseball playoffs, and this marks the third year in a row that the Twins have made the playoffs. We follow the Twins in South Dakota because we have no team ourselves in the eastern part of the State. So the Twins have become very special to many South Dakotans as well. I might remind my colleagues that this is the same small market Minnesota Twins team that was threatened not long ago with 'contraction'--a euphemism cooked up by big city owners for shutting down a team that generations of South Dakotans have come to call their own. Tonight the Twins will face off against the New York Yankees, whose huge payroll ensures that it is never a surprise when they make it to the playoffs. The Twins will pitch their ace, YO-han Santana--who also happens to be a leading contender for the Cy Young award. His dominance is in many ways a symbol of what has made the Twins so solid. After being cast off by another team, he was brought up in the Twins system, which rewards dedication and loyalty. And like so many of the Twins stars, he is a hard worker who leaves everything on the field. It is no mistake that the Twins' strengths--dedication, loyalty and hard work--are the same traits that have made the Midwest strong.”