In life, William Howard Taft served as Secretary of War, the nation’s 27th president and, chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Now, the Ohioan about to stake another claim to fame: Baseball mascot.

This baseball season, a 12-foot likeness of the Cincinnati native will regularly race four other former presidents — George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt — around the outfield of the Washington Nationals baseball diamond, part of a home game tradition for the D.C. team.

If history bears out, images of the portly, walrus-mustachioed former president will be made into souvenir stuffed animals. He might even get a bobblehead.

Taft already has a nickname — Bill — and a Twitter feed: @NatsBigChief27. His mascot is less rotund than you’d imagine — among the lore surrounding the 27th president was that at one point during his presidency, he became stuck in a White House bathtub because of his heft.

But why him? Unlike Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson or Washington, he’s not considered one of the more iconic presidents. He served one term, and spent much of that term following the policies of Teddy Roosevelt, who groomed him for the presidency.

Taft didn’t even particularly want to be president, historians say; he wanted to serve on the Supreme Court. As chief justice, he successfully fought for the construction of the current Supreme Court building, arguing that the high court had maxed out its space in the U.S. Capitol.

“He’s not in the pantheon” of great presidents, said Kevin Boyle, a history professor at Ohio State University. “My guess is they’re looking for someone to finish behind Teddy Roosevelt.”

The Nats, in a press release announcing Taft’s selection, said Taft was hand-picked by Teddy Roosevelt.

Which could set up a case of history repeating itself: Teddy Roosevelt hand-selected Taft to run for president after Roosevelt finished his second term in office. Within a few years, Roosevelt turned on Taft so dramatically that he ultimately launched a third-party challenge to the man he’d tapped to be his successor.

At one point during that race, Roosevelt was shot in the chest, but still delivered a scheduled speech; he loathed his opponent that much.

In the end, Democrat Woodrow Wilson won. Taft and Roosevelt reconciled shortly before Roosevelt’s death.

“He did run against Teddy Roosevelt in 1912, so there’s kind of, ‘he ran against him politically and now he gets to do it on the field,’” said Boyle. “I’m getting sense that the Nationals know their presidential history.”

Said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio: “That will be a fun thing to watch on the field — whether Big Bill boxes out scrappy little Teddy.”

It must be pointed out that Teddy Roosevelt — or at least the mascot version of him — lost every race until late last season. The Nationals may be setting up a rivalry, where Teddy’s hand-picked successor ultimately provokes Teddy’s ire.

Which leads to this question: Does this mean a mascot version of Woodrow Wilson will ultimately be introduced to settle the dispute?

Taft’s great-grandson, former Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, speculates that the elder Taft was picked because he was a huge fan of America’s favorite pastime.

“He used to like to go to the games,” Taft said, saying that President Taft threw out the Taft stand, stood out of respect. The tradition became known as the seventh first pitch at a Washington baseball game in 1910 to Washington Senators ace Walter Johnson.

There’s a story about him — probably apocryphal, the younger Taft said — standing up in the middle of one baseball game to stretch his legs. The other Senators fans, watching inning stretch.

Bob Taft found out that his great-grandfather had been selected after a friend forwarded him a story on it. “I was as surprised as the next person to hear the news,” he said.

He wonders if Taft will do well against the other presidents — President Taft weighed around 300 pounds — but said he feels good about his great-grandfather’s prospects.

“He was pretty light on his feet,” the younger Taft said. “He was a good dancer even though he was heavy, so he might be okay in the races.”

Watch video of the announcement of Taft joining the Racing Presidents here.