The Nationals began playing in Washington D.C. in 2005. It wasn't until 2012 that the team posted a winning record.

But even while the team was struggling, there was a bright spot during every home game: the fourth inning Presidents Race.

"The presidents are these big-headed mascots — the four presidents from Mount Rushmore," explains Ryan Swanson, an associate professor of history at the University of New Mexico.

"Theodore Roosevelt — the big headed Theodore Roosevelt mascot — just lost every time," Swanson says. "Once Roosevelt losing kind of became the story, it did become a rule for a long time that they don't let Teddy win."

"Can you describe some of the things the Nationals have done to keep Teddy from winning? Because they've gone to some pretty extreme lengths, right?" I ask.

"Oh, yeah. I mean, all kinds of crazy things," Swanson says. "Early in the season one year, the Easter Bunny jumped out of the stands and tackled Roosevelt. They've had Roosevelt sabotage himself in all number of ways: tripping, running the wrong direction, getting cut off. You know, Washington and Lincoln and Jefferson have all taken their turns kind of knocking 'TR' over. And so in Washington, D.C., this became a thing."

And, for a historian like Ryan Swanson, this “thing” — it had some real poetry to it.

Because, as it turns out, if you had to pick a president to fall on his face in a baseball stadium in D.C. again and again and again, Teddy Roosevelt was the perfect choice.

"I looked at it as a really nice piece of kind of historical karma, and I thought perhaps they were making kind of a nod to history," Swanson says. "But I never heard any, you know, kind of support for the idea that they were really interested in getting their history right."

A good coincidence, maybe?

"I think so," Swanson says.

'A Golden Ticket ... Like Willy Wonka'

It all started at the turn of the 20th century, during Roosevelt’s first term as president.

"1901, 1902 — it's noted that he's gone to several college football games, and he's invited boxing and wrestling champions to the White House," Swanson says.

Roosevelt even had a tennis court installed on the White House lawn.

"It's actually where the Oval Office is today," Swanson says. "We're talking — Roosevelt's desk is a mere five, six, seven feet away from this tennis court, just on the other side of the wall."

Roosevelt, more than any other president before or since, was obsessed with sports. But even though the Washington Senators played less than two miles away, Roosevelt had never made the trip.

"The Strenuous Life" by Ryan Swanson

"By the time 1903, 1904 roll around, baseball's had its first World Series," Swanson says. "You start to see kind of some questions raised in the press about when the president is going to go to a game."

Baseball-friendly journalists started writing articles specifically aimed at convincing the president that he should go.

"The Supreme Court justices go and senators go and congressmen go. What about you, Mr. President?" Swanson recalls.

When that didn’t work, they started comparing baseball to Roosevelt’s Square Deal.

"You know, 'What's more fair than a batter facing a pitcher?' " Swanson says. "You know, 'It doesn't matter your circumstances in life. It's a real fair transaction.' And this continues, you know, 1901, '02, '03, '04. But then Roosevelt wins reelection. And baseball really kind of ups the ante at that point."

It was 1905. Ban Johnson was the president of the American League.

"He gets a meeting with President Roosevelt," Swanson say. "And this is not that unusual. Roosevelt was, you know, pretty open door, especially compared to the White House today. He was interested in hearing from leaders of different sorts. And so Ban Johnson comes to the White House. He has a meeting with Roosevelt. And he explains to the president why the national pastime is something that the president should be a part of."

And this is where baseball gets the first hint that the president’s absence from baseball games might not have been an accident.

"Roosevelt does mention that baseball's always been a struggle for him personally. And he mentions he was not good at baseball as a kid," Swanson says. "And, really, what this boils down to, I think, is Roosevelt has really poor eyesight. He gets glasses in his early teen years, and that certainly helps. But Roosevelt can't see very well. And of all sports — I mean, visual acuity is key to baseball, right?"

Still, the President of the American League and the President of the Free World have, by all accounts, a pleasant conversation. And as things are wrapping up…

"Ban Johnson presents President Roosevelt with a golden ticket," Swanson says. "You know, it kind of sounds like Willy Wonka, right? I mean, it's very intricate. It's got golden lace kind of embossed — very fancy, very ornate, very serious. You know, baseball's very serious about itself through much of its history. So they give it to Roosevelt. And basically, what Ban Johnson says is that this ticket allows him entry into the Senators' ballpark or any other American League ballpark. 'Come anytime you want. Bring any number of friends. You know, bring the congressmen or senators,' or something like that.