March 12--Chewing tobacco has long been a part of baseball. So were the reserve clause that once prohibited free agency and the one-time agreement to keep players of color out of the majors, and no one mourns them, either.
Where chewing tobacco is different is that Chicago's City Council is looking to get involved.
Major League Baseball and the players union seem headed inexorably toward getting it out of the game, with or without politicians nudging them along.
It's a wonder the mounting list of health risks and the cancer deaths of all-time great ballplayers, such as Tony Gwynn, haven't got them there already. Besides, it's ultimately better for business that MLB not be associated with smokeless tobacco, a truly disgusting habit.
With the current collective bargaining agreement set to end after this season, it again will be up for discussion.
In politics, this is known as a window of opportunity and Chicago's pols follow those in San Francisco, Boston and Los Angeles in opening it.
Following unanimous approval by the Finance Committee, Chicago's City Council is set to vote Wednesday on a proposal from Ald. Edward Burke, 14th, and Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson, 11th, to ban the use of smokeless tobacco at baseball games and other sporting events here.
They say they do this for the children.
As it is, MLB players, managers and coaches are not allowed to have tobacco tins, cans or pouches in their pockets on the field or anywhere else in plain sight. Having a wad in one's craw during TV interviews is also forbidden.
"When kids see their baseball heroes using spit tobacco on the field or in the dugout, they're more likely to pick up the habit themselves," tweeted U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who urged on the aldermen Friday.
Anyone who has seen a T-ball player who couldn't judge a fly ball on a dare insist on wearing eye black on a cloudy day because it looks like war paint knows the pros wield at least some influence.
But waning participation among youth in recent years suggest it's tough enough to get kids today to emulate their baseball heroes by actually playing baseball. It's a subset of a subset to get to those who opt for that big wad of chew, spitting and drooling and occasionally gagging.
Youngsters enamored of big league ball and looking to get something utterly unnecessary to complete their look are more likely to go with a batting glove or fancy sneakers. For one thing, they happen to be legal for a minor to buy, which smokeless tobacco is not.
Pro ballplayers do plenty of things you don't want kids to necessarily do, starting with batters not wearing masks and full body armor when a pitcher might go inside with a 100 mph heater.
Interesting that, of all the ballpark products kids might be tempted to try, it's smokeless tobacco that's singled out.
