Sonia Sotomayor

Sonia Sotomayor

• Schools Princeton University, Yale University

• Born June 25, 1954 in New York, NY USA

Biographical Information

Sonia Sotomayor was a US District Court Judge in New York in 1995 when she issued the ruling that ended the 1994 strike. At the time, the owners wanted to use replacement players to start the 1995 season, but the MLBPA objected and sought an injunction to prevent this, which she granted on March 31st. With their plan thwarted, the owners realized they had little choice but to accept the players' offer to return to work unconditionally, which they did the next day.

In 2009, President Barack Obama nominated her to a vacancy in the United States Supreme Court. She was the first Latin-American nominee to the Court. She was easily approved by the Senate. Former player David Cone, who had been a leading member of the MLBPA during the strike, testified on her behalf before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing.

She is known to be a serious baseball fan. On September 26, 2009, she threw out the first pitch at a New York Yankees game. On August 31st, 2017 she attended a game at New Yankee Stadium, appropriately seated in the "Judge's Chambers" section of the right field bleachers, a section dedicated to slugger Aaron Judge's fan club in which fans dress in judicial robes.