Introducing the Teddy Roosevelt Loss-O-Meter

Here at the singularly obsessive Let Teddy Win blog, we get asked a lot about the presidents race, and with Teddy Roosevelt approaching 400 consecutive losses in the merciless Nationals ritual, there’s been an unusual amount of interest recently not just in the standings, but in the number of losses by Teddy.

In recent weeks, well-intentioned sources ranging from The Washington Post to Major League Baseball have incorrectly added up Teddy’s losses, thinking that Teddy had reached the 400 mark.

In fact they were relying on the historical Presidents Race Standings on this blog, but counting wins by Teddy’s opponents, rather than losses by Teddy.

The confusion stems from this: On occasion, including twice this year, the race has been declared a tie. In such cases, two presidents are granted a “W” in the standings, but of course, giving Teddy two “Ls” for one race would be cruel and unusual.

As there was clearly an information void, we had no choice but to fill it. Hence the all-new Teddy Roosevelt Loss-O-Meter, which will persist in the Let Teddy Win margin forever more. We will do our best to make sure it is updated within a day of every race.

We have high hopes that the Nats will Let Teddy Win one of this weekend’s races, but as you can see, barring that occasion, Teddy will actually have a shot at loss #400 on Independence Day.