WASHINGTON 鈥� The race for the White House is in full swing, though in this case, it鈥檚 happening on the baseball diamond.
On Sunday morning, tryouts were held to find the next George, Abe, Tom, Teddy and Bill 鈥� those who Washington Nationals fans have come to know as the Racing Presidents. The tryouts were held at the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in Southeast D.C.
Tom Davis, director of entertainment for the Washington Nationals, says a new crop of presidents is picked each year. He said he couldn鈥檛 鈥渃onfirm or deny鈥� whether any of the current Racing Presidents鈥� would be staying on.
鈥淚f they鈥檙e good, they got to keep earning it like everybody else,鈥� Davis says. 鈥淓veryone who is here has a shot to be on the team.鈥�
Fifty one people were invited to the Racing Presidents tryouts, with 45 people showing up. Davis says only the best of best will be hired.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking forward to picking a few good men and women,鈥� he says.
Those who are trying out are sworn to secrecy. They were only able to provide their first names.
Most of the people trying out were men, but there were a few like Crystal, a resident from Frederick, Maryland.
鈥淚鈥檓 crazy enough to do this, so if figured why not,鈥� she says.
Her biggest concern was falling. The Racing Presidents costumes are incredibly heavy 鈥� the heads weigh 40 to 50 pounds.
鈥淚 think I鈥檒l be ok as long as I don鈥檛 fall,鈥� she says as she laughs.
Besides the contestants doing well in a 40-yard dash, two races from center field to first base and performing a freestyle dance, Davis says they are also looking for people who want to have a good time.
鈥淲e鈥檒l spend a lot of time together, so I want people who are excited about doing this day in and day out,鈥� he says.
Rick, a resident of Montclair, Virginia, says when he told his family he was going to tryout, 鈥淭hey were shocked to say the least.鈥�
Rick, who recently retired after 28 years of military service, says the Racing Presidents are goodwill ambassadors and said that he wanted to be a part of that. 鈥淛ust because you can鈥檛 help but look at the presidents without breaking into a smile.
Rick asked his grandkids and friends to help teach him a dance for the dance part of the tryout, but he wasn鈥檛 sure about his skills. 鈥淭hey told me that I was hopeless, not to even try to practice,鈥� he says.
So he was very relieved when he saw the other contestants doing the freestyle dance.聽鈥淚t lasts 10-seconds and nobody knows what they鈥檙e doing,鈥� he says.
But, as it turns out, it might have been the costume鈥檚 heavy head did that did Rick in during one of his races.
鈥淚 was in last place coming around the curve,” Rick says. “Abe was just in hand’s reach, and so I leaned forward to pass him. And instead of passing him, I laid down in front of him.”
