Terry Foster: I've Never Seen A Woman Chew Tobacco, Until Now

By Terry Foster
The Family Deal

A white cup stood on a high top table at Willsons Pub, a place near my home where I go to meet friends and make fun of the wait staff.

It wasn't an ordinary white cup. It was a spit cup filled with brown juice and leaves. And the person chewing the tobacco was no ordinary person. She was a woman.

I've seen women run companies, run for president, climb into rocket ships and fight MMA. In my seven decades on this planet I've never seen a woman chew tobacco. And we may never see it again in big cities. I will explain later.

I jokingly asked for an autograph because I believed her to be the albino pigeon in the room. She admits that she is often the center of attention when she pulls out her chew and packs it neatly between her cheek and gums.

The woman's said her former high school boyfriend chewed. This woman spent her every waking hour telling him how disgusting his habit was. She tried to get him to stop. He told her to try it. She did once and loved it.

"I just got such a high," she said.

I've never chewed and never plan to. It looks to nasty to me. I do not smoke cigarettes and I smoke two cigars a year. I guess you would call me a square.

Sometimes she does chew during adult recreation softball games. However, she might not be able to at a Major League Baseball game.

San Francisco, Boston and Los Angeles banned smokeless tobacco at MLB parks and "other sports venues" this season. About a third could have bans by next season. First time offenders face $250 fines, which is pocket change for a MLB player but a stiff fine for the average fan.

Baseball is considering enforcing the ban under the "Just Cause provision." But a spokesperson for the Players Union told ESPN that the league would have a fight on its hand if it attempted to do so.

"I love it but I know it's a terrible habit and I don't want somebody to see it and think, 'Oh, man that's cool, I want to be like him doing that," Cleveland Indians Manager Terry Francona told ESPN's Outside the Lines.

It is a disgusting unhealthy habit that has been part of baseball for decades. But it is probably time to enforce the laws. So we not only won't see women chewing in dugouts. We won't even see men doing it.

(Foster can be reached at Terry.Foster@cbsradio.com. Twitter: TerryFoster971.)