Players, coaches, front office staff and ownership from the 2020 World Series championship squad are the first sports team since the pandemic started 15 months ago to make the traditional visit<\/b>
\nWASHINGTON \u2014 Thirty-two years, six Presidents and several baseball generations later, the Dodgers made it back to the White House, World Series trophy in tow. A group of approximately 50 members of the organization \u2013 players, coaches, front office staff and ownership \u2013 visited the White House on Friday morning, where they were honored by President Joe Biden, becoming the first sports team since the pandemic started 15 months ago to make the traditional visit. Biden praised the organization as \u201ca pillar of American culture and American progress \u2013 the team that brought us the voice of Vin Scully and the arms of Sandy Koufax and Fernando Valenzuela\u2026 and above all else the heart of Jackie Robinson.\u201d Twenty players from the 2020 team were in attendance at the East Room ceremony along with team owner Mark Walter, president and CEO Stan Kasten, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman \u2013 and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. Among those not participating in the East Room ceremony were reliever Blake Treinen, the only member of the 2020 team still on the Dodgers\u2019 active roster who did not attend, and injured pitcher Dustin May, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery. Mookie Betts did not attend when the Boston Red Sox visited the White House following their 2018 World Series victory but did attend Friday. Biden joked about the divided baseball loyalties in his administration and predicted more championship visits for the Dodgers, saying they were \u201cbuilding a new dynasty for a new generation\u201d and joking that \u201cit\u2019s never a good idea to bet\u201d against players like Betts, Clayton Kershaw and Cody Bellinger. \u201cIt takes a team to persevere through one of the most challenging seasons, one of the most challenging years of our nation\u2019s history,\u201d Biden said. \u201cWhen the pandemic struck, it upended just about everything, every part of American life. Families were grieving for loved ones lost. The economy had collapsed. The pain and fear in the nation were dreadful. \u201cWhen the season began, it was easy to feel we had bigger things to worry about than sports. Of course we did. But I think we discovered that we need sports more than we ever realized. We see it now as fans return to ballparks and arenas all across the country.\u2026 It\u2019s a uniting feature.\u201d Biden also praised the Dodgers for having Dodger Stadium used as a COVID-19 testing site, a vaccination site and a polling place over the past year. Long suffering for his playoff disappointments, Kershaw stepped to the podium and made some remarks before he and Walter presented a Dodgers jersey to Biden \u2013 No.46 to the 46th president. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts presented a jersey to Vice-President Kamala Harris, joking that the Northern California native looked \u201cgood in blue.\u201d Biden joked that he was \u201ca man of courage\u201d for holding up the Dodger jersey and posing for photos. The First Lady, Jill Biden, he said, is a \u201ca Philly girl through and through\u201d and roots for the Phillies. Related Articles MLB places Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer on administrative leave during assault investigation\t Max Muncy\u2019s grand slam gives Dodgers a rain-shortened win\t No starters: Dodgers shut out in NL All-Star voting\t President Biden to host Dodgers at White House on Friday\t Trevor Bauer still scheduled to start for Dodgers on Sunday, despite assault investigation\t \u201cMr. President, thank you for having us. It\u2019s an honor to be here and get to celebrate our World Series victory,\u201d Kershaw said at the podium. \u201cLast season was a special one for us, but it was also a challenging one for our country and our hope is that we were able to provide just a little bit of comfort and joy and relief to our fans going through some tough times. \u201cThis season, it has been incredible to have fans back in the ballpark. We missed their energy and their passion for the game. It means so much to us that people are coming back to the ballpark and things around the country are going back to normal. Hopefully \u2013 like you said \u2013 we can come back and visit again next year.\u201d<\/p>\n