Full Text of HR0874 99th General Assembly
HR0874 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives would like to congratulate
Chicago Cubs | 4 | | manager Joe Maddon on being named Major League Baseball's 2015 | 5 | | National League Manager of the Year by
the Baseball Writers' | 6 | | Association of America for leading his team to achieve | 7 | | tremendous
accomplishments this year; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Joseph John "Joe" Maddon was born in Hazleton, | 9 | | Pennsylvania on February 8,
1954 to Joe and Albina Maddon; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Joe Maddon played baseball and football for | 11 | | Lafayette College located in Easton,
Pennsylvania; he | 12 | | graduated in 1976 and pursued a career in baseball shortly | 13 | | thereafter; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Although Joe Maddon signed a minor league contract | 15 | | with the then-California Angels
organization as a catcher, he | 16 | | would not make it to the higher echelons of the organization as | 17 | | a player; however, he proved to have a different
calling and a | 18 | | more important role to play by coaching, scouting, and managing | 19 | | for the Angels for 31 years; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Joe Maddon has enjoyed much success throughout his | 21 | | storied managerial career in
Major League Baseball (MLB); after |
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| 1 | | becoming the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (later named the
Tampa Bay | 2 | | Rays) manager in November of 2005, he was determined to help | 3 | | turn around a struggling team; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, In 2008, Joe Maddon successfully led the Tampa Bay | 5 | | Rays to their first winning
season, their first American League | 6 | | East Championship, and their first American League | 7 | | Championship pennant - ultimately reaching
the World Series, | 8 | | where they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies; for his | 9 | | revolutionary transformation of a
down-on-its luck baseball | 10 | | team to a World Series contender, he was
awarded the American | 11 | | League Manager of the Year Award, the first of his career (his | 12 | | second
would come in the Tampa Bay Rays' 2013 season); and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Joe Maddon would continue to lead a championship | 14 | | caliber team in the Tampa Bay
Rays in the following years, | 15 | | reaching the post-season in 2010, 2011, and 2013; after 9 | 16 | | seasons
of managing Tampa Bay, he amassed an overall winning | 17 | | record of 754 wins and 705
losses; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, After the 2014 season, Joe Maddon decided to end | 19 | | his tenure with the Rays and pursue
other opportunities; on | 20 | | November 2, 2014, the Chicago Cubs announced him as their new | 21 | | manager; he brought with him not only a new-found sense
of | 22 | | hope, but, perhaps more importantly, a stellar resume and | 23 | | proven track
record of success; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, With Joe Maddon joining a new team came new | 2 | | opportunities for both the 'skipper' and the historic
Cubs | 3 | | franchise; after years of rebuilding, readjusting, and | 4 | | renewing the ball club, general
manager Theo Epstein and Cubs | 5 | | fans everywhere believed that a key piece of the Cubs'
winning | 6 | | equation had been found; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, The young Chicago Cubs team, under the direction | 8 | | of Joe Maddon, went on to post
a record of 97 wins and just 65 | 9 | | losses - a record good enough to put them at third best in MLB;
| 10 | | they successfully defeated their division rival, the | 11 | | Pittsburgh Pirates, in a one-game wild card
playoff bout to | 12 | | earn a place in the National League Division Series; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The Cubs then went on to play the National League | 14 | | Division Series against their archrivals,
the St. Louis | 15 | | Cardinals; after a heated series, the Cubs proved victorious | 16 | | and went on to
face the New York Mets in the National League | 17 | | Championship Series (NLCS) - a feat that had
not been | 18 | | accomplished by the Cubs since the memorable 2003 season; while | 19 | | the season would
end with the NLCS this year, the Cubs proudly | 20 | | displayed excellent character and will - a
testament to manager | 21 | | Joe Maddon; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, The 2015 season was the first time since 2008 that |
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| 1 | | the Cubs managed to reach the
playoffs; the Cubs, made up of a | 2 | | medley of young, salubrious talent, has given Cubs fans
| 3 | | everywhere a renewed reason to root on the team; manager Joe | 4 | | Maddon is very much a reason
for this; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, For his demonstrated efforts and proven | 6 | | leadership with the 2015 Chicago Cubs,
Joe Maddon, received 18 | 7 | | of 30 possible first-place votes from the Baseball Writers' | 8 | | Association of
America, and was the only manager named on every | 9 | | one of the ballots cast for National League Manager of
the | 10 | | Year; he now joins Jim Frey (1984), Don Zimmer (1989), and Lou | 11 | | Piniella (2008) on the
short list of Cubs managers to win such | 12 | | a prestigious award; therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 14 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 15 | | congratulate Chicago Cubs
Manager Joe Maddon for being named | 16 | | Major League Baseball's National League Manager of the Year and | 17 | | wish
him and his ball club continued success in their pursuits | 18 | | of a World Series championships in the
years to come; and be it | 19 | | further
| 20 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 21 | | delivered to Chicago Cubs Manager Joe Maddon as a
symbol of our | 22 | | appreciation.
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