Story highlights City bans chewing tobacco at sports venues

Ordinance applies to Major League Baseball teams

Giants manager says "it can be a good thing"

(CNN) Chewing tobacco has long been a tradition in baseball, but that tradition could be on its way out in one big-league city.

San Francisco on Friday banned smokeless tobacco at all sports venues, including AT&T Park, home of the city's Major League Baseball team, the Giants.

It makes the city the first in the nation with such a restriction.

The bill is intended to "send a simple and strong message -- tobacco use in sports will no longer harm our youth, or our health," said Mark Farrell of the Board of Supervisors, who sponsored the bill.

The ban could leave baseball players searching their pockets for a pack of gum.

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