The Washington Nationals on Saturday introduced William Howard Taft as the team’s next presidential mascot for its famed Presidents’ Race.
As the Washington Post reported on Friday, the pick makes sense because Taft started the “tradition of ceremonial first-pitch tossing with a 1910 delivery before a shutout win by Walter Johnson at Griffith Stadium” and has also been “widely credited with having accidentally created the seventh-inning stretch.”
Nationals COO Andy Feffer said Teddy Roosevelt, who won his first race last year after the Nationals made the playoffs for the first time in team history, “handpicked the next president for the Presidents’ Race.” It took “seven seasons and 526 races” for Teddy to win his first race, which takes place in the 7th inning of every Nationals home game.
“There was a great amount of banter and discussion back and forth, but Teddy won out with his recommendation,” he said.
The Nationals announced Taft will be referred to as “Bill” and the “Big Chief” (Taft was also the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court) and his twitter handle will be @NatsBigChief27.
The other Nationals mascots are George Washington, Abe Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Tom Jefferson.
Photo credit: NatsInsider
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