California Gov. Jerry Brown took a major step in the movement against smokeless tobacco in Major League Baseball last weekend, signing a bill that bans its use in each of the state's ballparks.
The San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants—five of MLB's 30 teams—play in California. According to John Rogers of the Associated Press, the ban will be in place before the 2016 season. That said, even the lawmakers responsible for the bill acknowledge there will be problems with enforcement.
"The question we've been asked is are we going to have police officers walking around checking lips, and no, that's not the case," Opio Dupree, chief of staff to Assemblyman Tony Thurmond, told Rogers.