Joe Maddon in Coal Country

[HORN BLOWING]

My grandparents on both sides, when they came over from the old country, they all wanted to improve life for their children.

[BELL RINGING]

But it was tough.

[CHATTER]

[WHISTLES]

My grandpa, those who've died from black lung, he worked in the coal mines. My mom said he would be spitting up black as he was on his deathbed.

[METAL CLANKING]

My grandpa Maddon also began in the coal mines, and he established a plumbing business. And my dad and all my uncles became plumbers. Me growing up, I did not want to be a plumber. My dad knew that.

My dad would come home from work. He'd be black from working in a stoker, pulling out some ashes, whatever, literally black. His hands would be black. You could see the whites of his eyes. He grabbed the glove and go play catch.

He knew how hard it was for my grandpa. He knew how hard it was for him and my uncles. He did not want it to be that hard for me.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Peanuts! Peanuts!

It has been 107 years since the Cubs won the World Series.

The right manager could make all the difference. He's got the magic. He's popular with the players, and he likes to mix it up.

Well, hope always springs eternal in Wrigleyville.

[CHEERING]

It's all about building relationships.

As you get to that point where everybody feels respect and trust, now we can really get somewhere.

[CHEERING]

Here's the 0-1. This is going to be a tough play. Play it! The Cubs win the World Series!

[CHEERING]

I think you have to be pretty self-confident. If you don't have good self esteem, all kinds of things intimidate you.

Hazleton has been challenged in that regard. There's no question about it. The city itself, the structure itself has lost its confidence. You're a coal cracker. You're from Northeastern Pennsylvania. That's just your identity. There's been no real economic boom around here since coal.

Some days, I don't even recognize the place. There's no streetlights. There's potholes everywhere. And all you hear about is all the tension in the city. Wow.

No! Get out!

[SHOUTING]

Illegal immigration is destroying cities such as Hazleton.

Hazleton Mayor Louis Barletta is now defending the Illegal Immigration Relief Act, passed by the city council. The city ordinance would fine landlords who rent to illegals or employers who hire them.

Somebody say, oh, you Mexicans, you have to leave from here. But what about the discrimination? Because you're white? And we are Brown?

This ordinance has never been about discrimination. This ordinance has been about checking with the federal government to see if a person is lawfully present in the United States.

It's standing up for American workers, for United States workers, and for taxpayers.

Everything has been magnified. And primarily, the negative side was being magnified. There's so much misinformation going on here. You got to quell the madness at some point. You got to put your foot on its neck.

[APPLAUSE]

The Hazleton Integration Project is trying to help bring together the cultures within our city-- the Hispanic and Anglo cultures. We want to create a situation where the kids come together, whether it be academically, maybe a boxing class, take a yoga class, debate club, whatever. We want to create these baseball leagues. We want to get kids playing on the same teams getting to know one another.

You want to make kids friends fast, put them on the same team with the same common goal. And I promise you, color of skin, language barriers, what you like to eat, that goes away just like that.

Make them interact with one another because I'll tell you what, the parents are going to follow them in. They got to come pick him up. They got to come watch him play. And then at some point, you got to start talking to one another. And I like him. I like this guy. I like this lady. I mean they're good people.

[CHEERING]

Go, go, Hazleton!

The moment we trust each other, at that point, we could build something.

[CHEERING]

[BAND MUSIC PLAYING]

These people wanted to be in our hometown, and now, it's their home town Hazleton. You have this group that wants to come in and raise families, and go to church, attend schools, and create jobs.

And I really thought if we did not accept the group that was moving in the city was going to die. And the thing that really baffles me that I find ironic is the same group of people that are against our Hispanic brothers and sisters coming in, had grandparents that came over from the old country to Hazleton, at some point.

And when they came over, they were made fun of their language. They didn't speak the language. They dressed funny. Their music was weird. What about that food? Their kids are dirty. All that same stuff was-- their grandparents had to endure those same thoughts.