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Carlos Gonzalez back in lineup after illness from swallowing smokeless tobacco
Just a pinch between your cheek and gum, the saying goes about chewing tobacco. But it's not a party until the saying becomes "Over the lips and past the gums, look out stomach, here it comes."
Chewing smokeless tobacco is a nasty and addictive habit that can cause myriad health problems, and many Major League Baseball players partake. It's also not good for you to swallow your dip, but that's what happened to Gonzalez, contributing to an illness that forced him to sit Wednesday night against the Miami Marlins in the third game of the season.
Gonzalez was back in the lineup Thursday, going 1 for 5 with two strikeouts and a stolen base in the Marlins 8-5 victory. All better, CarGo? Manager Walt Weiss (who used to chew when he was a player and still might) said Gonzalez was via MLB.com:
"I talked to him last night after the game and he assured me he was fine and was going to be all right, so it's a nice name to write in a lineup," Weiss said. "He might've swallowed some dip or something. He landed hard, knocked the wind out of himself, swallowed some dip, dehydration, all those things were factors."
Sure. "Got winded. Was dehydrated. Landed hard. Oh, and maybe he swallowed his chaw," as if that wasn't the main factor here. Nice try, skip, but we heard the part about the tobacco.
Swallowing dip happens from time to time in the majors, like with Mike Napoli, who took a big gulp of tobacco during a playoff game in 2011 and stayed in.
The lesson here: It seems like all major leaguers dip, and won't stop, despite the cancer risk and occasional gut-wrench of swallowing the stuff. Kids, go your own way.
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David Brown edits Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rdbrown@yahoo-inc.com and follow him on Twitter!
