California state Rep. Tony Thurmond yesterday, citing the death of Baseball HOFer Tony Gwynn as inspiration, "introduced a bill that would prohibit all tobacco use at any California baseball venue, from youth and college diamonds to Petco Park," according to Chris Nichols of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. The "first-in-the-nation bill would apply to players, fans or anyone else at a ballpark, whether they are on the field, in the dugout or inside a locker room." It "would apply to home team players and those visiting from out-of-state." It "takes specific aim at chewing tobacco." Cigarettes "are already widely banned." Smokeless tobacco "has been banned" in MiLB since '93. Padres P and MLBPA alternative rep Ian Kennedy said that some players "would resist an across-the-board ban." He said, "It does take away some rights of ours." Thurmond said that his staff "has reached out to the Gwynn family, seeking support for the bill, called The Tobacco-Free Baseball Act." The family "has not agreed to publicly back the bill as yet." A similar prohibition on smokeless tobacco "was set to be unveiled" yesterday by the S.F. Board of Supervisors, though it would apply only to that city (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 2/25).
PLAYERS' REAX: MLBPA Dir of Communications Greg Bouris said that the union "doesn’t yet have a position on the bill but discourages the use of smokeless tobacco products by its members." He noted that the subject "is a collective bargaining issue." Bouris said, "Player education continues to be an emphasis of ours" (L.A. TIMES, 2/25). In San Jose, David Early in a front-page piece notes players at Spring Training in Arizona "had a range of reactions" to the bill. Giants C Andrew Susac: "I'll have to quit. It would be a good thing for me." Thurmond's Chief of Staff Opio Dupree said that potential penalties "have not been determined" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 2/25). A's bench coach Mike Aldrete: "If it can get me to stop, I'm all for it. Seriously. And on a grand scale, I think it makes perfect sense" (SFGATE.com, 2/24).
