Don't You Just Hate It When This Happens?

[MikeStrybel]

I asked one our state rules interpreters for the 'pouch of gum' line. He said that when the rule first was introduced, there was no wriggle room. If you saw a pouch in a pocket and it held shredded stuff that goes in one's mouth, dump him. Since then, the stance has allowed logic to dictate procedure. Pink bubble gum is not a tobacco like substance. It may be shredded into long pieces but that does not make it illegal. The container is not the issue either. Seeds come in pouches too and the thought of dumping a kid solely because he has a pouch in his pocket bothers me. I believe that HS rule 3-1p says nothing about a pouch or tin but does focus on the product inside. Bubble gum is candy, at least that's what my dentist says.

I was assigned 3U for an NJCAA Regional almost two decades ago. The catcher for the home team was a stud who used Bandits (don't know if they make them any more). At the start of the second inning, the opposing coach comes out and asks the PU to check the catcher. At the time, the rule only applied to post season play. The PU had never encountered it before and we actually had to go get the NCAA book from my trunk to verify that the rule would be enforced during tournament play that year. It was ugly then but I'm glad to see that players and coaches are smarter. My old partner with the tongue cancer would tell them the same.

I am editing my original post - the above was original - due to a PM I received. To that member, no, you are incorrect. I feel no need to use your screen name here and cause a firestorm of PMs again. You were mistaken and the link below will illustrate why.

http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/NCAANewsArch...-+5-26-03.html

Near the bottom, you will see that the original directive from the NCAA discusses the need to employ logic in applying this rule. Of note are the following sentences:

For example: An umpire sees a player with a tobacco tin in his back pocket. What is the course of action?

The committee decided that use of tobacco and the appearance of tobacco is the same thing. In that case, the student-athlete would be ejected from the contest, provided the can was, in fact, tobacco (some bubble-gum companies have products that strongly resemble tobacco cans).

Tobacco is actually outlawed in NCAA by-laws but was rarely enforced in regular season baseball until 2003. The Rules Committee was so adamant about enforcing this rule that they penalized the possession of tobacco the same way as using it. Further, they cite that bubble gum is not the issue.

In MLB, Brett Butler almost lost his life to oral cancer. He chewed since his HS days and the stories he tells are pretty gross. In an ESPN interview I once saw, he told of how his lower gums were worn away to the point where he could see the roots of his teeth. He had to have a cadaver graft of tissue to close it up after his chemo. You'd think that he'd agree that tobacco should be banned from MLB like it is in MiLB. Nope, he says it is personal choice and against any king of penalty for using it. Wow.