Thursday, March 17, 2016

Chicago Cubs skipper, players disagree with city's ban of chewing tobacco at ballparks

There was a time that chewing tobacco was as much a part of baseball as Louisville Slugger, Rawlings and Gatorade. Not anymore. This summer, Chicago will become the fourth American city to ban smokeless chewing tobacco at sports venues -- including Major League Baseball ballparks Wrigley Field and U.S. Cellular Field. That means not only can't fans use the substance, but players and managers can't, either. And it's a law that has some members of the Chicago Cubs less than thrilled. Chicago follows Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston in implementing the ban at sporting venues. The entire state of California will follow in 2017, and New York will vote on a similar measure Tuesday, ESPN reported. "I'm into personal freedoms," Cubs manager Joe Maddon, a former tobacco chewer, said Wednesday. Maddon, who was named the National League's Manager of the Year last season, said it doesn't make sense to him that fans and players can be barred from using a legal substance...more

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