{"id":394,"date":"2011-02-20T01:44:08","date_gmt":"2011-02-20T08:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theloungeisback.wordpress.com\/?p=394"},"modified":"2011-02-20T01:44:08","modified_gmt":"2011-02-20T08:44:08","slug":"u-s-senators-getting-involved-in-trying-to-ban-chewing-tobacco-in-mlb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=394","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Senators getting involved in trying to ban chewing tobacco in MLB"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nWell, this usually not a good thing when the U.S. Senate butts (hah, pun on a tobacco site) into something, but maybe this isn’t a bad thing, either.<\/p>\n

Dick Durbin of Illinois and Frank Lautenburg of New Jersey both wrote Major League Baseball<\/a> this week urging the league and the players’ union to work together to ban chewing tobacco in baseball. I wrote a few weeks ago about the effort to ban the use of chewing tobacco in MLB stadiums. Before you all start screaming, “Fascist” one me, it’s already banned in Minor League Baseball and has been for several years now. Last I checked, the Earth is still revolving around the Sun.<\/p>\n

They point out that use of chewing tobacco has increased among high school boys by 36 percent since 2003:<\/p>\n

The senators wrote:<\/p>\n

“The use of smokeless tobacco by baseball players undermines the positive image of the sport and sends a dangerous message to young fans, who may be influenced by the players they look up to as role models.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Hey, MLBers, kids really do copy more than just your batting stances. Seriously.<\/p>\n

As recently as 1988, 39 percent of MLB players chewed tobacco (that number has to be lower now). There is some talk that a ban on chew in stadiums will be part of baseball’s next collective bargaining agreement.<\/p>\n

Probably, I would’ve smirked at this a few years ago, a couple of U.S. Senators butting into a baseball issue, but then I remember everyone scoffed at Congress for holding hearings on steroids in baseball, and while it seemed like pretty pathetic empty theater at the time, those hearings actually ended up drawing a hell of a lot of attention toward steroids in baseball.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well, this usually not a good thing when the U.S. Senate butts (hah, pun on a tobacco site) into something, but maybe this isn’t a bad thing, either. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Frank Lautenburg of New Jersey both wrote Major League Baseball this week urging the league and the players’ union to work together … Continue reading U.S. Senators getting involved in trying to ban chewing tobacco in MLB<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":395,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9,14,69,74],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-baseball","category-chewing-tobacco","category-tobacco-2","category-u-s-senate"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/old-time-baseball-chewers.jpg?fit=598%2C480&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4hpEa-6m","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":761,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=761","url_meta":{"origin":394,"position":0},"title":"Baseball partially bans chewing tobacco","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"December 1, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"It isn't a full-fledged ban, but baseball is taking action on chewing tobacco. Anti-tobacco advocates -- and several Congressmen and U.S. Senators -- have been pushing for months to have chew banned by Major League Baseball. It would mean no chew on the field, or during games. Before you laugh,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Anti-tobacco campaign"","block_context":{"text":"Anti-tobacco campaign","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=7"},"img":{"alt_text":"baseball","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/baseball.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3476,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3476","url_meta":{"origin":394,"position":1},"title":"Boston bans chewing tobacco in Fenway Park — MLB Players’ Association, your move","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"September 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Boston has joined San Francisco in banning chewing tobacco in all ballparks, including Major League Ballparks like Fenway. The move is, I believe, part of a push to force the Major League Baseball Players' Association to accept a league-wide ban on chewing tobacco. Chewing tobacco is already banned by the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Boston Red Sox"","block_context":{"text":"Boston Red Sox","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=706"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/3599784525_8951cb70ec_b.jpg?fit=1024%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/3599784525_8951cb70ec_b.jpg?fit=1024%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/3599784525_8951cb70ec_b.jpg?fit=1024%2C676&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/3599784525_8951cb70ec_b.jpg?fit=1024%2C676&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2399,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=2399","url_meta":{"origin":394,"position":2},"title":"Boston Herald columnist calls for banning chewing tobacco in baseball","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"August 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Boston Herald columnist Michael Silverman wrote a powerful column this week that it's time for Major League Baseball to ban chewing tobacco. This is hitting home in Boston right now because former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, who helped the Sox win two World Series, recently revealed that he is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Chew in baseball"","block_context":{"text":"Chew in baseball","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=263"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/schilling777887.r.jpg?fit=460%2C385&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4168,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=4168","url_meta":{"origin":394,"position":3},"title":"Chewing tobacco banned at Safeco Field","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"April 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Seattle joined a list of cities around the country that has banned chewing tobacco at Major League baseball games. Other cities that have banned chewing tobacco at games are Chicago, New York, Boston, Toronto, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Additionally, California state law prohibits chewing tobacco use at games in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Chew in baseball"","block_context":{"text":"Chew in baseball","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=263"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/64668ce4-33c4-11e8-9316-bc6406bfcffc-780x520.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/64668ce4-33c4-11e8-9316-bc6406bfcffc-780x520.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/64668ce4-33c4-11e8-9316-bc6406bfcffc-780x520.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/64668ce4-33c4-11e8-9316-bc6406bfcffc-780x520.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3231,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3231","url_meta":{"origin":394,"position":4},"title":"Madison Bumgarner, Bruce Bochy both support ban on chewing tobacco at AT&T Park","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"May 13, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Surprised me a bit that these two would step into this issue, but I thought it was great. The city of San Francisco banned chewing tobacco recently at all sporting venues (It won't actually take effect until Jan. 1, 2016), including at the Giants' stadium, AT&T Park. This means that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Chew in baseball"","block_context":{"text":"Chew in baseball","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=263"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Bumgarner-Bochy.jpg?fit=1200%2C454&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Bumgarner-Bochy.jpg?fit=1200%2C454&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Bumgarner-Bochy.jpg?fit=1200%2C454&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Bumgarner-Bochy.jpg?fit=1200%2C454&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Bumgarner-Bochy.jpg?fit=1200%2C454&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3983,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3983","url_meta":{"origin":394,"position":5},"title":"MLB, union agree to phase in ban on chewing tobacco","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"December 2, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"As expected, Major League Baseball and the Player's Association agreed to a ban on chewing tobacco in baseball, though it's a bit of a wishy-washy ban because it only applies to incoming players. Basically, they're going to phase it in. This means expect to see chew around on the baseball\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Chew in baseball"","block_context":{"text":"Chew in baseball","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=263"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/GetFile.aspx_.jpg?fit=600%2C462&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/GetFile.aspx_.jpg?fit=600%2C462&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/GetFile.aspx_.jpg?fit=600%2C462&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}