Players have agreed not to carry tobacco packages and tins in their back pockets when fans are permitted in the ballpark, or use tobacco during pregame or postgame interviews, and at team functions.
But the restrictions fall short of the call by some advocates, including members of Congress, who argued that a ban on chewing tobacco and dip during games was needed to protect impressionable kids watching on TV.
“Our members understand that this is a dangerous product; there are serious risks associated with using it,” union head Michael Weiner told The Associated Press. “Our players felt strongly that those were appropriate measures to take but that banning its use on the field was not appropriate under the circumstances.”
Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, one of the groups that led the anti-tobacco push, said that while he would have preferred a ban at games and on camera, the restrictions represent real progress.
“The new Major League Baseball contract takes an historic first step toward getting smokeless tobacco out of the ballgame, and makes significant progress toward protecting the health of big-league players and millions of young fans who look up to them,” he said in a statement.
MATT KEMP MAKES BOLD PREDICTION
Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp came tantalizingly close in 2011 to winning a Triple Crown and joining baseball’s rare 40-40 club before falling short on both. On Tuesday, Kemp fell short in his pursuit of the National League Most Valuable Player award, finishing second to Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun.
So, after learning he wasn’t the MVP and a year after predicting he would go 40-40 in 2011– he finished just short of that goal by hitting 39 homers and stealing 40 bases – Kemp, armed with a new, eight-year, $160 million contract extension he signed last week, made an even bolder prediction for 2012.
“I’m going to go 50-50 next year,” he said on a conference call with Los Angeles-area media members. “I’m telling you, y’all created a monster. I’m about to get back in the weight room super tough so I can be as strong as I was last year. … Forty-forty is tough, so 50-50 will be even tougher, but anything can happen. … I’m going to try for 50-50, which has never been done.”
INDIANS RE-SIGN GRADY SIZEMORE
The Cleveland Indians have agreed to terms with former All-Star outfielder Grady Sizemore on a one-year, incentive-based contract. The Indians declined a $9 million option for 2012 last month on the graduate of Everett’s Cascade High, who has undergone five surgeries the past two years.
Sizemore’s base salary in 2012 will be $5 million and he can make another $4 million based on plate appearances.
SHORT HOPS
A number of teams offered salary arbitration to individual players: Brewers’ first baseman Prince Fielder; Padres’ All-Star closer Heath Bell and right-hander Aaron Harang; Rangers’ C.J. Wilson, guaranteeing them two extra draft picks next year if the free agent left-hander signs with another team; White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle; Athletics outfielders Josh Willingham and David DeJesus. … The Twins have reached a $3 million, one-year deal with former Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit. The 30-year-old Doumit hit .303 with eight homers and 30 RBI in 77 games for Pittsburgh last season.
