The Washington Nationals entered Sunday night’s game vs. the Phillies on a roll. With the league’s best record and a chance to sweep the Phillies on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, it was a prime opportunity to finally let Teddy win before a national audience.
The ESPN crew, which hadn’t been back to Nationals Park since the stadium opened, certainly was ready for the moment, featuring the racing presidents in the Baseball Tonight pregame show, and at length again during the fifth and ninth innings.
ESPN play-by-play man Dan Shulman took note of the Let Teddy Win movement as well. “There are all kinds of blogs and websites devoted specifically to the fact that Teddy has never won a race here,” Shulman said on Sunday’s broadcast, getting it almost right.
“I don’t fully understand this because I wasn’t here,” Shulman added, “but Jayson Werth won a race last year, and Teddy Roosevelt has never won a race. I looked up the standings. I had some free time today.”
The presidents were dressed in their Sunday best for the nationally televised game, and Roosevelt, for his part, appeared ready to take on the challenge, going right after standings leader George Washington in retaliation for last night’s showboating.
But Teddy’s glasses came loose, and before he could get his bearings, Washington was on his feet again and sped past the field to take another victory.
Not realizing how much coverage they were getting, the presidents then pulled out signs at the finish line in an egregious attempt to get even more. The signs said “ESPN Sunday Night Baseball” one one side, and “ESPN This Is Sportscenter” on the other.
Clip from the ninth inning below.
More video to follow.
Post-race photos courtesy Cheryl Nichols/DistrictSportsPage
LET TEDDY WIN 