Baseball toughens up on chew as sky darkens for big dippers

Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz spit some chew into a bottle at his locker, then dipped into the latest notice from baseball. Big leaguers are now getting a written reminder that smokeless tobacco is banned at stadiums in Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles. One-page letters are being put in clubhouse stalls throughout spring training, where there is no prohibition. The notes come jointly from Major League Baseball and the players' union. So, will Buchholz quit? "That'll probably happen," he said. "If you get reprimanded for something, there comes a time where you're tired of paying fines for something you don't have to do or doesn't make you any better." "You've got to obey the rules or there's consequences to it. We'll probably learn more about that when we get up North," he said at camp in Fort Myers, Florida. Washington Nationals manager Dusty Baker was a big dipper for a long time. He's cut back over the years, but still might pop in a pinch when games get tight. "It's a bad influence for the kids. Big time. I'll say that. But also they're adults, too, at the same time," Baker said. "We'll see," he said. "My daughter used to put water in my can and put it back in my truck. Or my son, he has lip check — 'Get it out, Dad!'" Local laws will prohibit the use of all tobacco products at Fenway Park, Dodger Stadium and AT&T Park this year, meaning players, team personnel, umpires and fans. The letter advises the same ban will take effect at every California ballpark in December. "Major league players are citizens," Commissioner Rob Manfred said last week in Arizona. "Municipalities pass laws. We expect that our players will comply with those laws." "Like it or not, players are role models, and we have a platform as coaches and players. So if that's the law, then we definitely support it," he said. Similar legislation has been proposed in New York City, and both the Mets and Yankees say they back such a ban at their parks. In Toronto, a city legislator said Monday that he plans to pursue a ban that would cover the Blue Jays' stadium.