With playoff home field advantage wrapped up by the home town Nats, the only thing undecided going into Sunday’s regular season finale was question of who would win the 2014 presidents race championship.
So while fans at Nationals Park expected little on-field drama, anticipation was high about the final tie-breaking dogfight between four-time champion Abraham Lincoln and perennial loser Teddy Roosevelt.
What unfolded defied every fan’s expectations.
The final presidents race of the season wasn’t a dogfight at all, but rather a staged relay race featuring the racing presidents and the characters from the upcoming Dreamworks motion picture Penguins of Madagascar.
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abe Lincoln, and William Howard Taft lined up in tandem with penguins Private (pushed on a cart by George), Skipper, Rico, and Kowalski. Roosevelt did not participate.
Then, halfway through the race, the hero of San Juan Hill emerged from center field and darted past the relayers, passing Taft in the home stretch and running away uncontested with the presidents race title.
(Nats fans know that what the presidents race championship lacked in drama, Jordan Zimmerman provided as he tossed the first no hitter in team history. Congratulations to JZimm, and to September call-up Steven Souza, who sealed the no-no with a spectacular 9th inning catch.)
After over 600 losses, Teddy Roosevelt is now presidents race champion for the first time. The Nationals sport a record of 18-8 when Teddy wins this season (18-6 when Teddy wins in the fourth inning), a record which suggests that a few more Teddy victories in the playoffs would not be a bad idea.
Here’s your finish line video:
As always throughout the season, finish line video for LetTeddyWin.com is by the intrepid lfahome of the Gnome Garden.
Photos/Washington Nationals, lfahome
LET TEDDY WIN 