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The SCOTUS Whiz Kids? The Supreme Court Lineup Has its Eyes on the Ball, Baseball That Is - Matching the SCOTUS Justices with their Positions

By Andis Kaulins

Adam Liptak at the New York Times Sidebar notes in This Bench Belongs in a Dugout that the United States Supreme Court has a lineup that is packed with baseball fans, and will be even more so if Elena Kagan is confirmed to the Court, but perhaps this is not surprising, for as Liptak notes:

"There have been more references to baseball in federal and state judicial opinions over the last century or so than to any other sport, though golf is a surprisingly close second."

Here is how LawPundit would position the current Supreme Court Justices and Elena Kagan, "the Justice in waiting" on the baseball field (together with links to baseball players that could be seen as "distantly" related, either by name, fame, inclination, position or, perhaps, not at all):

• On the mound, pitching - Chief Justice John Glover Roberts, Jr. With that middle name, Roberts is obviously a great fielding pitcher and he has a namesake in Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts who led the "Whiz Kids" to the pennant in 1950. Can the same be said for SCOTUS in 2010? Bilski still awaits us.
• Behind the plate, catching - Justice Antonin Gregory Scalia. He might be compared with Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra who was famed for quips like "It ain't over 'til its over" to which Scalia might retort "If it's original, it's original".
  
  THE INFIELD
• At 1st base - Justice Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. who might be compared to José Alberto Pujols Alcántara, i.e. Albert Pujols, the "most feared" right-handed batter in baseball. Alito has been viewed as a "hard right" conservative on the Supreme Court. According to the Wikipedia, players at first base do not require the range of other players but obtain the most assists, also being covered defensively at 1st base by the pitcher, in this case, the Chief Justice.
• At 2nd base - Justice Stephen Gerald Breyer is the intellectual pragmatist on the Supreme Court. Similarly, the 2nd baseman in baseball has to be very smart to be a good player. BaseballSkillAids.com writes: "Playing second base on a baseball team requires the player to be quick, sure handed and very smart about the game of baseball and the different situations that develop during the course of a game." Famous second basemen were Jackie Robinson and Rogers Hornsby.
• At 3rd base - Justice Clarence Thomas. As written at Supreme Court Watch at the pbs.org Online NewsHour by Maureen Hoch: "While on the high court, Thomas has been a solid member of the far right wing bloc" and this is the furthest right infield position, seen from his perspective. Fewer hall of famers come from 3rd base than any other position. As Coach Baseball writes: "The tendency at third base will be for the player to want to stand directly beside the bag." Famous 3rd basemen were Mike Schmidt and Brooks Robinson.
• At Shortstop - Coach Baseball writes: "Shortstop is the most active position of the infield so it is a key defensive position.". As written at the Wikipedia, "Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the ball slightly, so more balls go to the shortstop than any other position." Here we place the currently retiring Justice John Paul Stevens, who has up to now led the left wing of the Court against all the right-handed hitters. Justice Stevens was 12 years old in the year 1932 and was a spectator at the Wrigley Field baseball game in which Babe Ruth called his famous home run shot. Stevens will be replaced by "Justice in waiting" Elena Kagan, who was already called "Shorty" as a U.S. Supreme Court clerk by Justice Thurgood Marshall. She will have to continue in leading the liberal wing where Stevens leaves off. Famous shortstops were Cal Ripken, Jr., Ernie Banks and Honus Wagner.
  
  THE OUTFIELD
• In Left Field - Justice Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg. Left fielders tend to have the weakest arms in the outfield because they do not need to throw as far to keep runners from advancing a base. However, they also have to field more balls from right-handed hitters than other outfield positions.Ted Williams was a famous left fielder.
• In Center Field - Justice Anthony McLeod Kennedy is the "swing Justice" between the left-leaning and the right-leaning factions on the Supreme Court and just as a center fielder in baseball, Kennedy must cover the greatest distance in the course of his play. Talent at this position can lead to greatness. Famous players such as Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Willy Mays, Duke Snider and Tris Speaker were center fielders.
• In Right Field - Justice Sonia Maria Sotomayor, as the Wikipedia writes: "In 1995, she issued a preliminary injunction against Major League Baseball which ended the 1994 baseball strike,"  thus already insuring Justice Sotomayor's place in baseball's unofficial Hall of Fame. As the Wikipedia writes: "Of all outfield positions, the right fielder often has the strongest arm, because they are the farthest from third base." In the Little Leagues the right fielder is viewed as a position for weaker players because the hitters are mostly right-handed and pull the ball into left field. In the major leagues, that assessment changes, and some of the greatest baseball players of all time played right field, including Babe Ruth,  Henry "Hank" Aaron and Roger Maris.  A position for the home run hitters.

Play ball!

Full post as published by LawPundit on June 02, 2010 (boomark / email).