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SPORTS A19
                                                                                                                                Tuesday 1 March 2016

   Big Dippers                  pass laws. We expect that         minor leagues. There is no      In this Sept. 20, 2013, file photo, Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty
                                our players will comply with      ban on dipping in the ma-       Baker sits in the dugout before a baseball game against the
  Continued from page 17        those laws.”                      jors, and the issue is certain  Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh.
                                Said new Dodgers manag-           to be discussed in upcom-
Washington Nationals man-       er Dave Roberts: “I support       ing labor talks between                                                                             Associated Press
ager Dusty Baker was a big      it.”“Like it or not, players are  MLB and the union on the
dipper for a long time. He’s    role models, and we have          contract that expires Dec.      In their letter, MLB and the  Steinberg, director of the
cut back over the years,        a platform as coaches and         1.                              union said it would pro-      Rutgers University tobacco
but still might pop in a pinch  players. So if that’s the law,    Going back more than a          vide “nicotine replace-       dependence program,
when games get tight.           then we definitely support        century, even before Bull       ment therapy products to      had previously been hired
“It’s a bad influence for the   it,” he said.                     Durham tobacco signs            those players who wish to     as a consultant to help
kids. Big time. I’ll say that.  Similar legislation has been      were plastered all over         use them as substitutes. A    players develop a treat-
But also they’re adults, too,   proposed in New York City,        outfield walls, baseball was    shipment of various prod-     ment plan, if they wanted.
at the same time,” Baker        and both the Mets and             filled with pictures of play-   ucts including lozenges,      Toronto Blue Jays manager
said.                           Yankees say they back             ers with a chaw in their        gum, and patches will be      John Gibbons applauded
“We’ll see,” he said. “My       such a ban at their parks.        cheek.                          sent to each club free of     the effort to cut down on
daughter used to put water      In Toronto, a city legislator     Buchholz did take a break,      charge in spring training,    chaw. He quit a couple
in my can and put it back       said Monday that he plans         for a while.                    and throughout the 2016       years ago after Hall of Fam-
in my truck. Or my son, he      to pursue a ban that would        “I stopped in the offseason     season.”                      er Tony Gwynn - a career-
has lip check - ‘Get it out,    cover the Blue Jays’ sta-         and baseball, it goes along     The letter included a re-     long dipper - died at 54 of
Dad!’”                          dium.                             with the territory for me,”     minder that Dr. Michael       salivary gland cancer.q
Local laws will prohibit the    The letter being distributed      he said. “It’s not a good
use of all tobacco products     to players on 40-man ros-         habit.”
at Fenway Park, Dodger          ters and teams this spring        Over the years, in collec-
Stadium and AT&T Park           says: “Please note that           tive bargaining, MLB and
this year, meaning players,     these are city ordinances         the union have tried to low-
team personnel, umpires         and not rules established         er that profile.
and fans. The letter advises    by Major League Baseball.         Players, managers and
the same ban will take ef-      However, the commission-          coaches now can’t stick
fect at every California        er’s office will be monitor-      tobacco tins, cans or
ballpark in December.           ing players and club per-         pouches in their pockets
“Major league players are       sonnel for compliance with        when they’re on the field
citizens,” Commissioner         the regulations.”                 or in plain sight of fans. No
Rob Manfred said last week      Smokeless tobacco isn’t           wads stuck in the mouth
in Arizona. “Municipalities     permitted throughout the          during TV interviews, either.
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