Chewing tobacco has long been associated with baseball. What’s known as dip has been used by managers and players for years, despite the serious harmful side effects. One baseball town has had enough, as the LA Times reports the city of San Francisco has prohibited the use of smokeless tobacco in all sporting venues – which in turn makes the Giants the first team in the MLB to have a ban in place.
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee signed an ordinance today which will stop everyone, players and fans included, from using the product. The ban isn’t immediate and is set to take effect Jan. 1st.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy is on board with the decision, telling the Giants website:
“It’s a step in the right direction
“I think it can be a good thing. It’s going to be hard to enforce. It’s a tough habit to break.”
Madison Bumgarner echoed Bochy’s comments, agreeing it will be tough for players to stop.
“Hopefully it will be a positive thing for us players. It’s not an easy thing to stop doing, but I support the city.”
As the LA Times notes, minor league baseball banned the use of chewing tobacco over two decades ago, so it seems this is the first move in doing the same at the pro level, which is seemingly a step in the right direction. While you could argue dipping in pro baseball has become a part of the game, the potential negative health effects don’t outweigh the cost of using it.
It wasn’t too long ago that now deceased Tony Gwynn speculated his own cancer could have been caused by years of chewing dip.
If San Francisco players have trouble quitting, I suggest they read former St. Louis Cardinals catcher Joe Garagiola story, who’s long been an advocate against chewing tobacco after seeing one of his former coaches die of oral cancer.
How will players react? It’s going to be fascinating to see how this story develops. Chewing tobacco is addicting and I imagine isn’t an easy habit to kick. Time will tell if other cities/teams follow San Francisco’s lead, who knows, maybe this is the start of the death of chew in baseball.
