Everywhere Stan Kasten goes, the Washington Nationals president always seems to get asked the same question: “When is Teddy Roosevelt gonna win one of the foot races?”
Nats fans know that during the fourth inning of every game, four 10-foot-tall mascots of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Roosevelt compete in a dash from the outfield, but America’s 26th president never seems to win.
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Kasten says he doesn’t have any control over it. “When is he gonna win? What am I, Nostradamus or something?”
Kasten said he’s asked about Teddy’s losing streak more than any other question, but thinks the infatuation obscures another fact: “Why doesn’t anybody pay attention to George? I mean, he had an incredible season last year and a great winning percentage in the foot races!”
We caught up with Kasten in Nationals Park’s impressive President’s Club during Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kasten said he’s been a busy bee since the beginning of the season and hasn’t missed a home game … until this past weekend, when he attended his daughter’s graduation. As a result of spending so much time in a baseball stadium — with all those peanuts and Cracker Jack — Kasten admitted that “I haven’t had as many vegetables as I should have.”
