Philosophy
Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies hit 200 home runs faster than anyone in history. His 200th came in a game against the Florida Marlins and was caught by a 12 year old girl in the stands who was accompanied only by her 15 year old brother. Being a home run of personal historical significance, Howard wanted the ball and the Marlins' security people escorted the young girl to the Phillies locker room where they said they would give her cotton candy and an autographed ball for the one she caught. She agreed. When the parents heard the story, they filed a lawsuit to get the ball back and the Phillies agreed to keep the case out of court.
The lawyer has been receiving nasty messages in the local newspaper's website. The argument is that he and the parents are contributing to the degradation of the game by making it all about money. This was a ball that should have gone to Howard because it is the physical manifestation of this great achievement and the sentimental value ought to be put before selfish monetary impulses. The other line is that the girl agreed to the switch and that she was compensated by getting to meet this great ball player and receiving something of value in return.
The argument on the other side is that the Phillies took candy from a baby. They knew the home run ball was worth thousands of dollars on the open market and they tricked a child into giving it up for something worth at most $100. Indeed, Howard may do what may other sports figures do and sell it himself. the idea that this is something of only sentimental value is false when you see the number of World Series rings that get sold.
Further, this is a child and children cannot enter into legally binding contracts. Even if we ignore the legal side and look at the moral angle, you approach the parents who have a sense of what is happening, not a minor who is easily intimidated by adults in positions of authority. It was a form of bullying or deception.
So, are the parents and lawyer in the wrong here for making this about money instead of accomplishment? Have they reduced the game to something where the humanity is removed? Should the meaning of the moment transcend material considerations? Is the home run ball like a work of art that belongs to the artist? We are entitled to the fruits of our labor, isn't this the fruit of his? Did the Phillies act wrongly or did they act in a way that made everyone happy until the parents stoked the fire?
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Philosophy
Of Balls and Laws
Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies hit 200 home runs faster than anyone in history. His 200th came in a game against the Florida Marlins and was caught by a 12 year old girl in the stands who was accompanied only by her 15 year old brother. Being a home run of personal historical significance, Howard wanted the ball and the Marlins' security people escorted the young girl to the Phillies locker room where they said they would give her cotton candy and an autographed ball for the one she caught. She agreed. When the parents heard the story, they filed a lawsuit to get the ball back and the Phillies agreed to keep the case out of court.
The lawyer has been receiving nasty messages in the local newspaper's website. The argument is that he and the parents are contributing to the degradation of the game by making it all about money. This was a ball that should have gone to Howard because it is the physical manifestation of this great achievement and the sentimental value ought to be put before selfish monetary impulses. The other line is that the girl agreed to the switch and that she was compensated by getting to meet this great ball player and receiving something of value in return.
The argument on the other side is that the Phillies took candy from a baby. They knew the home run ball was worth thousands of dollars on the open market and they tricked a child into giving it up for something worth at most $100. Indeed, Howard may do what may other sports figures do and sell it himself. the idea that this is something of only sentimental value is false when you see the number of World Series rings that get sold.
Further, this is a child and children cannot enter into legally binding contracts. Even if we ignore the legal side and look at the moral angle, you approach the parents who have a sense of what is happening, not a minor who is easily intimidated by adults in positions of authority. It was a form of bullying or deception.
So, are the parents and lawyer in the wrong here for making this about money instead of accomplishment? Have they reduced the game to something where the humanity is removed? Should the meaning of the moment transcend material considerations? Is the home run ball like a work of art that belongs to the artist? We are entitled to the fruits of our labor, isn't this the fruit of his? Did the Phillies act wrongly or did they act in a way that made everyone happy until the parents stoked the fire?
- Learning Useless Rules
This weekend, the shorter of the short people had his first baseball tournament in which the infield fly rule was part of the game. If there are base runners on first and second base with less than two outs and the ball is popped to the infield, the batter...
- Procedural Justice And Fan Interference
One notion of justice is what philosophers call "procedural justice," that is, justice is playing according to the rules. On this view, process is the key to a just result. Everyone agrees to to the rules beforehand and it is the objective application...
- What's The Difference
Had a little league tournament over the weekend and looking at the kids and the parents, it left me with this one. What is the difference between a jock, an athlete, and a ball player?...
- Fushigi Ball...contact Juggling
Fushigi Ball...provides the appearance of defying gravity and closely involves the skills of contact juggling. The new toy is now being heavily marketed on television and in print. The object is made of a clear poly-resin and comes in two sizes: Three...
- Victorian Popular Astronomer: Sir Robert Stawell Ball
Sir Robert Stawell Ball 1840-1913 Sir Robert Ball SIR ROBERT STAWELL BALL Free, online books: A Popular Guide to the Heavens A Treatise on Spherical Astronomy Astronomy Elements of Astronomy Experimental Mechanics: A course of Lectures Delivered...