Source: Major League Baseball (mlb.com) Author: Mychael Urban Users remain, but rules, more awareness have made impact Baseball has taken a variety of steps to cleanse itself of the stain -- literal, cultural and medical -- of tobacco use, and there's plenty of empirical evidence showing that usage, while far from completely eradicated, has decreased over the past decade or so. "A lot of things started happening and people quit," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, who went cold turkey on chewing tobacco 14 years ago at the request of his daughters. "It's definitely not as prevalent today as it once was. You don't see the big wad and guys spitting all over the place. "It's one of those things -- awareness. I think making people aware of the dangers has really changed it." Yet there is plenty of anecdotal evidence showing that there remain a number of players, coaches, managers and other club personnel who still sneak a smoke, a dip, a wad or a plug. And in what some see as another sign of progress, they are indeed sneaking. The suggestion, it appears, is that those who can't quite kick the habit have reached an unspoken compromise in the name of protecting future generations. Conceding that tobacco use is "down but not out," as one of several players told MLB.com, practitioners of our national pastime who continue to partake are hoping that an old adage proves helpful: Out of sight, out of mind. "I'd love to stand up in [...]