New Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is throwing out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium on Saturday. It’s part of the Yankees’ observation of Hispanic Heritage Month; on Friday, the president of Panama will throw out the first pitch. (Ricardo Martinelli is an owner of a major Panamanian supermarket chain, is a multi-millionaire, and spent a fortune to get himself elected. He’s like Panama’s Mayor Bloomberg, but taller and less likely to slap a cigarette out of your hand.) Sotomayor’s a logical choice; the Bronx native is a Yankees fan, after all.
Anytime a political figure makes a cameo appearance on a baseball field, the question arises: Will they be booed? The answer usually is oh, without question, though one would think Justice Sotomayor would be spared such indignities, if just because it’s Hispanic Heritage Month and, come on, she’s a judge — who boos judges?
What will be amusing will be watching and reading sports-media folk — who are running around working like crazy on the road six months out of the year and probably didn’t notice there was even an election last year until the World Series ended — try to figure out how to come up with “clever” ways to describe Sotomayor’s appearance in punny, winking tones. Expect exchanges like:
“She is a wise Latina to decide to throw to Posada.”
“Clearly, a white man, with his life experiences, would have chosen differently.”
“Ho, ho!”
Or:
“Looks like she’s standing on the left side of the mound. Ho ho!”
“John, I think she’s in the middle.”
“Shut up, Suzyn. I’ve thought about killing you so many times.”
Fun!