Should MLB ban alcohol in the clubhouse?

[Ghosts of 1990]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/morosi-baseball-should-ban-booze-012810

Good read here. Surprised to hear we're one of the few franchises that allows alcohol consumption by the players in the clubhouse after home games.

I personally am a throwback and remember images of the Mick swilling a few cold ones before he left the park. These guys are being paid like adults, even if they're young adults. Let them make adult decisions.

[Red in Atl]

Hell yes.

[BigPoppa]

I'm sort of surprised the Angels still allow it after the Nick Adenhart death and the MADD/Angels collaboration.

[gedred69]

As someone old enough to remember the BRM days, all those guys had a case of their favorite beer at their lockers for after the game, for themselves and press or whoever would stop by for some tidbits. After those glory days Seaver, when he was here, was known to pound the first few after a start. (Maybe that's why he went into the Wine Business).:beerme:

[Kingspoint]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/morosi-baseball-should-ban-booze-012810

Good read here. Surprised to hear we're one of the few franchises that allows alcohol consumption by the players in the clubhouse after home games.

I personally am a throwback and remember images of the Mick swilling a few cold ones before he left the park. These guys are being paid like adults, even if they're young adults. Let them make adult decisions.

No kidding. Keep the Gestapo away.

[mlh1981]

As long as they aren't transporting themselves out of the stadium, then I have no problem with it. Alot of these guys, after night games, usually hit up bars/clubs/other establishments anyway, so there is drinking involved. Just be responsible and don't be driving yourself.

[fugowitribe]

I personally think the more time these guys spend around each other is contributional to the team chemistry. So if that means drinking a few after a long game in the middle of July to blow off a little steam, then so be it. I think if they ban it, it makes some guys bolt from the game to get to the bars and leave their teamates behind.

[Kingspoint]

I personally think the more time these guys spend around each other is contributional to the team chemistry. So if that means drinking a few after a long game in the middle of July to blow off a little steam, then so be it. I think if they ban it, it makes some guys bolt from the game to get to the bars and leave their teamates behind.

Absolutely.

[Ghosts of 1990]

I personally think the more time these guys spend around each other is contributional to the team chemistry. So if that means drinking a few after a long game in the middle of July to blow off a little steam, then so be it. I think if they ban it, it makes some guys bolt from the game to get to the bars and leave their teamates behind.

Nice post.

[Mr Larkin]

Not everyone drinks. Some will leave anyway. I don't think alcohol in the locker room can be positive.

[Red in Atl]

Hell yes.

I meant to say...

Hell No!

Read it wrong. These are big boys. They can handle it.

[Red in Atl]

I personally think the more time these guys spend around each other is contributional to the team chemistry. So if that means drinking a few after a long game in the middle of July to blow off a little steam, then so be it. I think if they ban it, it makes some guys bolt from the game to get to the bars and leave their teamates behind.

Totally Agree.

My first job was in Boston, working in the Filene's Department Store Advertising Department. I "won" a party at a Sports Bar down the street from work one day in one of those promotions they do to get people in the bar on off nights. I think it was free apps and some drink specials. So I invited the entire Department to come.

I was surprised when almost everyone showed up. And it was a very, very diverse crowd. But by the end of the evening, everyone had a nice buzz going and there was a big crowd around the Basketball game with everyone participating. Peeling them back is the fun.

It was amazing to see how much better we all got along the rest of that summer and on. I left about 6 months later, but I did the same thing with my new company in Atlanta.

Sometimes the only way to connect with people you work with is to have a few cold ones and let your guard down. I'm a believer.

And it's also not important that everyone drinks. There were some there who didn't, but that didn't mean they couldn't enjoy the fun. The idea is getting out of your normal roles, and realizing that we all have many layers to ourselves.

[fugowitribe]

Not everyone drinks. Some will leave anyway. I don't think alcohol in the locker room can be positive.

I'm not saying get hammered and drive home, or make this a regular Brew-Ha-Ha. All I am saying is that it can be used as a good thing from time to time. Everyday these guys work together, day in and day out they put their jobs first and try to help one another win ballgames. If they decide to have a drink together, then that is a good thing. Team chemistry is often lost in today's society of $30 million dollar contracts. A cold one allows a young guy like Jay Bruce to sit down and shoot the breeze with a guy like Aaron Harang, without having to leave the confines of their work. I don't want it to seem like I support a drunk fest of a locker room, but I do want to see a locker room full of guys who know each other inside and out. That is a contribution to what we all want to see, and that is a winner in Cincinnati.

[Mr Larkin]

I'm not saying get hammered and drive home, or make this a regular Brew-Ha-Ha. All I am saying is that it can be used as a good thing from time to time. Everyday these guys work together, day in and day out they put their jobs first and try to help one another win ballgames. If they decide to have a drink together, then that is a good thing. Team chemistry is often lost in today's society of $30 million dollar contracts. A cold one allows a young guy like Jay Bruce to sit down and shoot the breeze with a guy like Aaron Harang, without having to leave the confines of their work. I don't want it to seem like I support a drunk fest of a locker room, but I do want to see a locker room full of guys who know each other inside and out. That is a contribution to what we all want to see, and that is a winner in Cincinnati.

I think this can be done without alcohol and if it is going to be sharing a drink it could be outside the clubhouse.

[bounty37h]

^that encourages going to a bar where there are a ton more outside influences that can lead to trouble-girls, guys jealous over girls, guys who want to test themselves against pro athletes, etc. Not to mention a bar/club is centered around drinking, in your face more, which could lead to drinking more then one or few with the fella's and getting smashed.

[fugowitribe]

I think this can be done without alcohol and if it is going to be sharing a drink it could be outside the clubhouse.

How about they gamble in the locker room? Maybe they should drink and then go Gilbert Arenas and show off their guns......Come on, give me a break. It is not an illegal action, so why make a fuss about it?

[Kingspoint]

Not everyone drinks. Some will leave anyway. I don't think alcohol in the locker room can be positive.


Stop trying to treat adults like 8-year olds.

[Mr Larkin]

Stop trying to treat adults like 8-year olds.

So, the teams who have banned alcohol in the clubhouses are treating their players like children? Are the teams who have made this decision losing because of bad team chemistry? No, the Cards won a World Series without alcohol in the locker room. It is not essential and I think that it would be best if the players exercised their adult drinking options outside of the confines of the place they work. As the article points out - how many places can you actually drink on the job?

[Boston Red]

how many places can you actually drink on the job?

I can drink in my office on Friday afternoons when the workweek is essentially done (or winding down).

[fugowitribe]

So, the teams who have banned alcohol in the clubhouses are treating their players like children? Are the teams who have made this decision losing because of bad team chemistry? No, the Cards won a World Series without alcohol in the locker room. It is not essential and I think that it would be best if the players exercised their adult drinking options outside of the confines of the place they work. As the article points out - how many places can you actually drink on the job?

1. They are not "on the job" the job is Left Field or At home plate.

2. Most places where alcohol is sold allow the people who work for them to have a drink after they are off the clock.

3. We never called the alcohol "essential" to the locker room, we just said that it isn't necessary or agreed to ban it.

[Mr Larkin]

I don't drink. Never have and never will. I would be uncomfortable in a clubhouse with drunk teammates. It would make me feel uncomfortable - much like all my class reunions - or as I like to call them "let's see who can get the most smashed" reunions. I would appreciate that the team was considerate enough to encourage alcohol consumption outside the locker room.
This is coming from my perspective and that is the bottom line. Is it legal? As long as they are over 21. Is it accepted? By most of society and virtually everyone on this board. Is it needed or essential? No.

[Mr Larkin]

I should probably clarify - not just drunk teammates, but drinking teammates would make me uncomfortable. I know somebody will jump on that wagon. They don't have to be sloshed - I normally do not go and sit among people drinking alcohol - period.

[Boston Red]

I should probably clarify - not just drunk teammates, but drinking teammates would make me uncomfortable. I know somebody will jump on that wagon. They don't have to be sloshed - I normally do not go and sit among people drinking alcohol - period.

If you don't eat meat, does that mean meat should be eliminated from the pregame meal because it makes you uncomfortable?

If you are an atheist, is praying banned from the clubhouse because it makes you uncomfortable?

[bounty37h]

So, the teams who have banned alcohol in the clubhouses are treating their players like children? Are the teams who have made this decision losing because of bad team chemistry? No, the Cards won a World Series without alcohol in the locker room. It is not essential and I think that it would be best if the players exercised their adult drinking options outside of the confines of the place they work. As the article points out - how many places can you actually drink on the job?

Hpow many places do you get paid millions to play a kids game and still call it a job?

[improbus]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/morosi-baseball-should-ban-booze-012810

Good read here. Surprised to hear we're one of the few franchises that allows alcohol consumption by the players in the clubhouse after home games.

I personally am a throwback and remember images of the Mick swilling a few cold ones before he left the park. These guys are being paid like adults, even if they're young adults. Let them make adult decisions.

I'm not sure that I'd praise the Mick's drinking habits. Also, didn't Freel get his DUI right across the river from the stadium?

[Mr Larkin]

If you don't eat meat, does that mean meat should be eliminated from the pregame meal because it makes you uncomfortable?

If you are an atheist, is praying banned from the clubhouse because it makes you uncomfortable?

Funny comparisons, but totally off base. Meat eating, at least for me, is not a spiritual thing. Now I know some vegetarians who make it a psudo-religion for themselves, but it is not a spiritual matter.

As for prayer, if I stood in the middle of the locker room and insisted that everyone join me as I loudly and outwardly prayed - yeah, that could be offensive. However, for Christian players, and I have been told that we have had several stron Christian players on our team and likely still do, they will choose to make prayer something that is between themselves and God. They will not do anything that would be offensive to the other players.

I hate going to games and getting beer spilled on me by a bunch of drunks and that happened to me at the old stadium in Cincy. I had to drive 6 hours home with the horrible smell of alcohol on me. I would hate to think that players who choose not to participate in that would have to worry about the same thing in the locker room.

[bounty37h]

I don't drink. Never have and never will. I would be uncomfortable in a clubhouse with drunk teammates. It would make me feel uncomfortable - much like all my class reunions - or as I like to call them "let's see who can get the most smashed" reunions. I would appreciate that the team was considerate enough to encourage alcohol consumption outside the locker room.
This is coming from my perspective and that is the bottom line. Is it legal? As long as they are over 21. Is it accepted? By most of society and virtually everyone on this board. Is it needed or essential? No.

I think I would demand you get traded to another team :) j/k :p:

[Caveman Techie]

Welcome to Amerika the land of the "not uncomfortables", if an action makes you uncomfortable just add it to the list, we'll ban it eventually.

[Kingspoint]

So, the teams who have banned alcohol in the clubhouses are treating their players like children? Are the teams who have made this decision losing because of bad team chemistry? No, the Cards won a World Series without alcohol in the locker room. It is not essential and I think that it would be best if the players exercised their adult drinking options outside of the confines of the place they work. As the article points out - how many places can you actually drink on the job?

Yes, they are treating them like children, and there are lot's of places you can drink on the job, either after work or at lunch time. Don't need some holier-than-thou person(s) telling responsible people how to conduct their lives just because they can't handle their own.

[Kingspoint]

Funny comparisons, but totally off base. Meat eating, at least for me, is not a spiritual thing. Now I know some vegetarians who make it a psudo-religion for themselves, but it is not a spiritual matter.

As for prayer, if I stood in the middle of the locker room and insisted that everyone join me as I loudly and outwardly prayed - yeah, that could be offensive. However, for Christian players, and I have been told that we have had several stron Christian players on our team and likely still do, they will choose to make prayer something that is between themselves and God. They will not do anything that would be offensive to the other players.

I hate going to games and getting beer spilled on me by a bunch of drunks and that happened to me at the old stadium in Cincy. I had to drive 6 hours home with the horrible smell of alcohol on me. I would hate to think that players who choose not to participate in that would have to worry about the same thing in the locker room.


Grab a shovel. Dig a hole. Crawl into it. You don't have to worry about being around alcohol any more. You complain because some people choose to drink more than usual at a high school reunion? What planet are you from? That's what happens. Don't go next time if it bothers you. Could you think possibly that you made them uncomfortable because you might have been acting too straight-laced. Maybe people who don't drink should have been banned from your reunion. It's just as implausible. Loosen up.

If there's ever problems, it's not the alcohol, it's the maturity level of the people involved.

The REDS have "family" sections if you want to avoid alcohol.

We better just fence off New Orleans while we're at it. Too much drinking goes on there. We better also close all businesses after 5:00 because there's too much of a chance that someone could be driving around after having had a drink.

Better ban all parking lots from restaurants and sporting events because someone might have a drink and get into a car.

Better ban all parks as someone might have a drink at a park and the smell might drift over towards someone who isn't drinking.

[Kingspoint]

So, the teams who have banned alcohol in the clubhouses are treating their players like children? Are the teams who have made this decision losing because of bad team chemistry? No, the Cards won a World Series without alcohol in the locker room. It is not essential and I think that it would be best if the players exercised their adult drinking options outside of the confines of the place they work. As the article points out - how many places can you actually drink on the job?

I don't expect a tea-totaler to understand, so don't worry about it. That's like being an alcoholic. Both are on the extreme sides of things with 80% of the population in the middle.

And, the Cards had to ban it because one of their players killed himself while drinking. They went extreme (typical nonsense) because of one stupid individual.

[Mr Larkin]

I don't expect a tea-totaler to understand, so don't worry about it. That's like being an alcoholic. Both are on the extreme sides of things with 80% of the population in the middle.

And, the Cards had to ban it because one of their players killed himself while drinking. They went extreme (typical nonsense) because of one stupid individual.

But was the alcohol necessary for locker room chemistry - obviously not.