Justice Alito Talks Phillies Baseball, Supreme Court Decision On Gay Marriage

By Ian Bush

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- With a busy Supreme Court term in the books, Samuel Alito now has time to enjoy a ballgame. The justice is talking about being a long-time Phillies fan -- and also about his opposition to the landmark ruling on gay marriage.

Those were the days, at Connie Mack Stadium...

"My family used to go to doubleheaders on Sunday," Alito says. "I think the ticket cost $1.25, and for $1.25, we could see two games."

For Justice Alito, growing up near Trenton in the 1950's meant a choice between the Yankees and the Phillies.

"I chose the team that was losing instead of the team that was always winning," Alito says. "I think it's had a big influence on my personality."

As for the current state of the Phillies, Alito tells conservative commentator Bill Kristol in his 'Conversations' series...

"It's like treason to leave even when times are not good and they are not," he says. "And they certainly are not too good right now."

Alito landed on the losing side of the decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which made gay marriage legal across the country. He says he dissented in part because he thinks it opens the definition of 'liberty' in the 14th Amendment to an ocean of interpretation, and Alito believes it raises questions of the 'legitimacy' of an objective high court:

"Where do we get the authority to impose what we think about same-sex marriage, or what we think about minimum-wage laws, or what we think about free college tuition or anything else on the rest of the country? The more the Court does this sort of thing," Alito says, "the more the process of nomination and confirmation will become like an election. It will become like a political process."