MLB Debate: Should Major League Baseball Ban Smokeless Tobacco?

I am a creature of habit. As a student at Texas A&M University, I’ve developed a regular pattern when it comes to returning back to my apartment from afternoon classes.

I go to the shelf above my bed, reach for that circular can of Copenhagen Black, and put in a great big dip. I grab a cup to spit in and sit in front of my television to enjoy ESPN’s afternoon line up.

What makes this habit worthy of writing about? Today on Outside the Lines, there was a discussion about Joe Torre and company possibly banning the use of smokeless tobacco and alcohol in Major League Baseball. You could see why this grabbed my interest as I put down my “spitter” and turned my attention to the report.

Should smokeless tobacco be banned from Major League Baseball? Excluding the recent Red Sox scandal, alcohol use has been kept rather quiet. However, it doesn't take long to spot someone with a pinch of Copenhagen in their lip on the diamond.

There are reasons why smokeless tobacco should be banned, as well as reasons why the issue should be left alone. Here are my reasons for why tobacco should be banned:

1. Kids are watching.

Don't you think it makes an impact when a kid sees his favorite athlete spit out a great big brown glob while at the plate? These kids will want to imitate their heroes in more ways than just a batting stance. Some of my high school baseball teammates and I started dipping as freshman—where do you think we all got the idea from?

2. It’s unhealthy.

Go to any smokeless tobacco facts website and you’ll read about all of the dangerous things inside that tiny little can: It will constrict your blood vessels,  there are large amounts of nicotine inside and it’s a fast lane to mouth cancer, most famously in the MLB, San Diego Padres star Tony Gwynn

3. Players can wait.

There are plenty of jobs that don’t allow tobacco use while working. Even if MLB continues to allow it inside the clubhouse, they should ban usage of it during the three hours or so it takes for a game to be played.

There are always two sides to every argument, and here are three reasons why the use of smokeless tobacco should continue to be allowed:

1. It’s a personal choice.

It’s their body, it’s their life, it’s their choice. If an athlete wants to dip, more power to them. Games take on average about three hours to play, and they play 162 of them a year—how the players want to pass time is up to them.

2. It’s part of the game.

For as long as there has been baseball, there has been smokeless tobacco right alongside of it. Most clubhouses have giant refrigerators dedicated to nothing but different brands of dip. It’s readily available to the players just as new batting gloves and eye black are. Besides, walking to the batter's box with a fat lip, spitting between pitches may be as American as apple pie.

3. Banning dip would never go through.

Addiction. It’s not something players do because it looks cool, it’s something they do because they feel like they have to in order to function. If the ban was actually attempted, it would drive many players into an uproar, and MLB higher-ups would most likely scrap the idea.

My opinion: I am okay with smokeless tobacco use in Major League Baseball, but that could be because I know how difficult it is to quit or to avoid doing it in times I have grown accustomed to. It’s hard to tell a 15-year veteran they can’t dip during games, just as it would be hard to tell an average American worker they could no longer have their midday smoke break. Kids should watch baseball to learn how to turn a double play, not how to spit while stealing a base.

What are your thoughts?