Philosophy
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 of those rules that thereby defines a just act.
In a game the other night between the Phillies and Marlins, we found a case study that lets us examine intuitions about this approach. With a runner on second base, Philadelphia's Hunter Pence hit a long drive to right field. The Marlin's right fielder went to make a play on the ball and it bounced away allowing Pence to get to second base. The right fielder and bullpen pitchers all claimed it was fan interference. The Marlin's manager came out to protest and the umpires used video replay to review the play. The video showed clear fan interference and Pence was called out and Ryan Howard, the base runner was returned to second base.
It WAS clearly fan interference -- the Philly fans in Florida do reach over onto the field of play and make contact with the glove of the outfielder and the ball. The ball would most likely have been caught in a spectacular play. BUT the rules say that instant replay is only to be consulted in cases where the issue is whether a hit should rightly be considered a home run. If that is the case, then questions of fan interference would be on the table. But this was a double, not a home run, so the rule would not apply and the video evidence would not have been called for. BUT it did allow for the correct call to be made.
So, was the calling out of Pence a just decision or not?
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The Old Man took me and LilBro to ball games as kids and now I take my short people, but as many games as I've gone to, one thing I've never done is come away with a ball. There are four ways a fan gets a game ball -- catch a foul ball or home...
- The Almost Perfect Game And Social Construction
In the 80s and 90s, the heyday of post-modernism, the argument was not infrequently made that much if not everything was socially constructed. Facts were not of the world, but of human creation. It is true that a red light means stop, not because there...
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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...
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- Rules And Games
Games have rules. Given any particular game, it is obvious that if some set of its rules are changed, that game will cease to exist, giving rise to a new game. For example, if the rules of chess change to allow unmoved pawns to move three spaces, queens...
Philosophy
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 of those rules that thereby defines a just act.
In a game the other night between the Phillies and Marlins, we found a case study that lets us examine intuitions about this approach. With a runner on second base, Philadelphia's Hunter Pence hit a long drive to right field. The Marlin's right fielder went to make a play on the ball and it bounced away allowing Pence to get to second base. The right fielder and bullpen pitchers all claimed it was fan interference. The Marlin's manager came out to protest and the umpires used video replay to review the play. The video showed clear fan interference and Pence was called out and Ryan Howard, the base runner was returned to second base.
It WAS clearly fan interference -- the Philly fans in Florida do reach over onto the field of play and make contact with the glove of the outfielder and the ball. The ball would most likely have been caught in a spectacular play. BUT the rules say that instant replay is only to be consulted in cases where the issue is whether a hit should rightly be considered a home run. If that is the case, then questions of fan interference would be on the table. But this was a double, not a home run, so the rule would not apply and the video evidence would not have been called for. BUT it did allow for the correct call to be made.
So, was the calling out of Pence a just decision or not?
- The Value Of A Ball
The Old Man took me and LilBro to ball games as kids and now I take my short people, but as many games as I've gone to, one thing I've never done is come away with a ball. There are four ways a fan gets a game ball -- catch a foul ball or home...
- The Almost Perfect Game And Social Construction
In the 80s and 90s, the heyday of post-modernism, the argument was not infrequently made that much if not everything was socially constructed. Facts were not of the world, but of human creation. It is true that a red light means stop, not because there...
- 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...
- Just Because You Are Innocent Doesn't Mean You Have The Right Under Due Process To Demonstrate Your Innocence
In a case decided 5-4 by the Supreme Court last Thursday, it was decided that you do not have the right to DNA test state's evidence against you, even when that evidence could demonstrate your innocence. Chief Justice Roberts writes for the majority,...
- Rules And Games
Games have rules. Given any particular game, it is obvious that if some set of its rules are changed, that game will cease to exist, giving rise to a new game. For example, if the rules of chess change to allow unmoved pawns to move three spaces, queens...