Let Teddy Win T-Shirts
In the end, it was no contest.
After a back and forth month in which both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson made strong runs at first place in the presidents race standings, back-to-back repeat champion Abraham Lincoln held off all challengers in the final race of the season, pulling away for a convincing victory and claiming the presidents race title for the third year in a row.
More importantly, the race marked the fifth straight season of futility for #26, Teddy Roosevelt, who failed to deliver in the final home game for Nationals president Stan Kasten, the aleged architect of the anti-Teddy conspiracy.
No sooner had Nationals mascot Screech declared Lincoln the winner, when he joined the presidents in holding up signs of appreciation for Kasten, who announced last week that he would be leaving the team at the end of the season.
During his five year tenure with the Nationals, Kasten has been both praised and criticized for his marketing of the team and the Nationals Park experience, including the now-famous 4th-inning presidents race. A Nationals Park farewell tribute was punctuated by a presentation of cupcakes to Kasten by Teddy Roosevelt.
The racing presidents will carry some compelling story lines into the off season. After three straight titles, is it fair now to declare this a presidents race dynasty for the Great Emancipator? With Kasten departing, will we see the team take a tougher stance on Abe’s cheating? Most importantly, with new management in place, will 2011 be the year the Nationals finally let Teddy win?
Video courtesy of YouTube member lfahome (whose video of Tuesday’s race was featured tonight on ESPN)
Filed under: Abe Lincoln, Presidents Race | Tagged: Abe Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln, Stan Kasten, Teddy Roosevelt | Leave a Comment »
With a big assist from Mr. Kool-Aid, Thomas Jefferson lucked into his fifth straight presidents race victory Tuesday night, setting up an epic final race showdown for the 2010 presidents race title on Fan Appreciation Night, Wednesday at Nationals Park.
Just one month ago, it appeared that George would finally end Lincoln’s two year stretch of presidents racing dominance; then Abe won 9 of 11 to soar into first place with a dominant lead in the standings heading into the final month of the season.
On Sunday at Nationals Park, that gift was dangled in front of them as it appeared outgoing team president Stan Kasten was finally going to let Teddy win. Roosevelt pulled away from the pack and appeared un-catchable heading into the home stretch. 
Many people have asked today about the feature that ran this morning on DC’s WTOP radio in which Jim Riggleman was interviewed about the plight of Teddy Roosevelt.
This homestand marks the finish to Fan Appreciation Month at Nationals Park, as the team has lined up a slew of promotions and giveaways for the Nationals Park faithful who head out to see the team one last time this season.
aboard red bicycles. 
When I respond that Nationals Park PA announcer Jerome Hruska really calls the game live and unscripted, some people find that hard to believe.
Nationals Park, to give Let Teddy Win readers an inside look at the calling of the GEICO presidents race.
Behind a soundproof door, Hruska reads a script introducing the presidents race video, but from that point forward, the script just reads “(RACE).”
Interestingly, if any performance-related trend can be tied to the opening of Nationals Park, it’s the unlikely dominance of Abraham Lincoln in the team’s 4th-inning presidents race. 
Friday was Hispanic Heritage Night at Nationals Park, with the team honoring the contributions of the hispanic community to baseball and society throughout the evening.
