By Chris Iott (Grand Rapids Press/AP/heck this even made the Dallas Morning News)
DETROIT – Smoke 'em if you got 'em?
Not anymore.
Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland said Friday night he will abide by the statewide smoking ban that goes into effect 6 a.m. Saturday. The new law bans smoking in various public places, including Comerica Park.
“I'm a law-abiding citizen, so it's just the way it is,” Leyland said. “We're not supposed to smoke here, and I won't do it. I'll try to find someplace outside somewhere, I guess, but I think you're not supposed to smoke at all in the park.”
Leyland finds some aspects of the law odd and used the Camacho Cigar Bar inside Tiger Club at Comerica Park as an example.
“It's legal to smoke a cigar up there, but you can't smoke a cigarette in a cigar bar,” he said. “I'm not into making the laws and everything. I'm into abiding by them. I'll just have to do what I can, and I'll be fine.
“I've got till 6 a.m. It might be two cartons. I don't know.”
Someone pointed out a big cigar he had sitting on his desk and asked him whether he planned to light that up before the ban takes effect.
“Cigars are legal in that cigar bar,” he said, “but it's hard to go down there in the sixth inning.”
Personal note - I'm no smoker, (I'll admit, living in West Virginia and Texas, I used to "dip" now and then in the old days) but does anybody else find it ironic that the law bans smoking, but allows players to chew and spit juice everywhere? Hey Mr. Peek, you've been on MLB fields: doesn't this stain synthetic turfs? What about in the clubhouse? Who's job is it to empty the spitoons?
Many of the new anti-smoking laws don't make sense and are enacted out of emotions. Smoking a cigar in a cigar bar but not allowing someone to smoke other tobacco products is illogical. I smoke cigars and an somewhat anti-cigarettes, but if you are allowing tobacco to be smoked it should all include all the different tobacco products. I wonder how they would treat smoking a pipe in Detroit?
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