Stop Spitting And Scratching

Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP,MACE

To: Bud Selig

Commissioner of Baseball

Dear Mr. Selig;

World Series is an exciting time. It is important to promote the national pastime. Kids play baseball all over the world.

I have been particularly interested in the post season games this season because my home team, the Texas Rangers is in the World Series. They have been playing magnificent baseball.

I have been both a Yankees and Rangers fan ever since the Rangers came to Texas. In fact, my brother and I went to the first Ranger game in Arlington Stadium.

I have been a student of baseball strategy for many years. Baseball is a fantastic game.

Ron Washington manager of the Texas Rangers has been a master manager on many levels. The Texas Rangers have looked tentative and awful in the first two games.

Baseball players are role models to kids all over the world. A baseball player’s behavior on the playing field should be exemplary.

Baseball players have been poor role models as far as spitting and scratching their crotch. I have never become immune to these tasteless rituals.

Spitting or expectoration is the act of forcibly ejecting saliva or other substances from the mouth. It is currently considered rude and a social taboo in many parts of the world including the West, while in some such as China it is considered more acceptable. It is possible to transmit infectious diseases in this way.

Spitting upon another person, especially onto the face, is a universal sign of anger, hatred, or contempt

Various diseases and infections can be spread by respiratory droplets, including tuberculosis, influenza, and the common cold.

1859 many viewed the spitting on the floor or street as vulgar, especially in mixed company. Spittoons became far less common after the influenza epidemic of 1918.

Scratching the crotch can be prevented by providing the players with comfortable underwear and antiperspirant.

Italy Makes Crotch-Scratching a Crime

Scratching your genitals in public in Italy can land you in trouble if you’re caught. According to a report on the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Italy’s highest appeals court has defined the ‘act’ as "contrary to public decorum and decency."

As Commissioner of Baseball, you should penalize players for spitting and crotch scratching in order to maintain the decency of the game and to decrease this poor habit that might influence children and adults alike.

The opinions expressed in the blog “Repairing The Healthcare System” are, mine and mine alone.