Baseball has a long if not glorious history in the nation’s capital, with presidents from William Howard Taft to Barack Obama taking the mound to throw the first pitch on opening day. The original Washington Senators played from 1901 to 1960 before moving to Minneapolis to become the Minnesota Twins. A second Senators franchise played from 1961 to 1971 before moving to Dallas-Fort Worth to become the Texas Rangers.
On April 16, the Program in Washington cheered on the Washington Nationals, who started a new chapter in the city’s baseball history in 2005 and moved into their new ballpark in 2008. The group saw the Nationals continue their hot start with phenom Steven Strasburg pitching the team to a 6-2 victory over the Houston Astros. Despite loud cheering, especially from the director, to “let Teddy win,” Teddy Roosevelt lost his 449th straight contest of the racing presidents.
