Something about Major League Baseball has been bothering me for a while now.  It's something you've probably seen a hundred times while watching a game, but never really thought twice about, because it's so common.  When a guy comes off the field after scoring from second or hitting a home run, or just playing the field, often the first thing he does is grab a paper cup, pour some water from a nearby cooler, and drink.  How many times have you seen a guy take a swig, dump the rest of the water he didn't want, and then drop the cup on the ground?  How many times do you think this happens during a game?  Watch for shots of your team's dugout toward the end of the game, and try to estimate how many of these cups litter the ground, and just how much water was wasted every time a guy threw it on the ground.

It may seem innocuous, but these cups are adding up rapidly.  I don't think it's asking too much for a baseball team to consider the ramifications its actions are having on the environment.  There are teams that are taking steps toward making their stadiums more environmentally friendly, so why not have MLB enact some sort of policy regarding the use of paper cups in the dugout?  Is it so silly to think about having guys use their own personalized water bottles (preferably stainless steel, due to the rumors of chemicals coming out of plastic bottles) in the dugout?  What would be the harm there?  Put your name on the bottle, and drink from it when you need to.  No paper refuse, no water dumped on the ground for no reason.  I'm sure there are clubhouse attendants everywhere who would clamor for the chance to fill the bottle, so the players wouldn't even have to go to that trouble themselves.  MLB is a corporation, and since many corporations are starting to take responsibility for their carbon footprints, this seems like it would be a step in the right direction toward that goal.

And, on the subject of the environment, I have another bone to pick, this one specifically with Dodger Stadium.  Frank McCourt wants us to believe that Dodger Stadium will "Think Blue and Act Green," and that, according to the press release about the future of Dodger Stadium, it "will become as environmentally responsible a baseball stadium as there is in America."  Remember when the bloggers got to talk to McCourt during a game?  One of the things McCourt was most passionate about was the environmental impact of the stadium, particularly with regard to the amount of water the new urinals on field level would save every season.  So maybe McCourt could spearhead a campaign to get individual water bottles in the dugouts, right?

But there is something else McCourt could work on right in his own stadium.  Right now, any number of things you can purchase at Dodger Stadium are recyclable.  Plastic water bottles, plastic water cups, aluminum beer bottles. Heck, even the trays used to carry all the goodies are recyclable paper.  So why don't we see any recycling bins around Dodger Stadium?  

I think the containers for virtually everything I eat or drink at Dodger Stadium can be recycled in this county, so what's the holdup?  In my building, the county provides the bins for free.  Something tells me some sort of deal can be worked out to get them cheap at Dodger Stadium, too.  And even if I'm supposed to believe that the trash is sorted later for recyclables (I don't believe that, but I'll entertain the notion), wouldn't Dodger Stadium look more progressive and in tune with the current environmental standards if they allowed people to place their recyclable items in something other than a trash receptacle?  

Or, if you want to think of your bottom line, Mr. McCourt, do you not realize what color the recycling bins are in Los Angeles County?  Think of the cross-promotional ideas!  What better way to "Think Blue and Act Green" than to provide people with a physical manifestation of that slogan?  Look, I just took a picture of my own bin and did all the work for you.  No thanks necessary (well, this could make you look really good, so if you wanted to thank me for that with 2009 season tickets, I wouldn't be opposed. I'd take first few rows of the left field pavilion.  I'm not picky).  It's not the world's greatest Photoshop work, but I'm sure your people can make it look good.

For the record, I'm not getting on my other team, the Red Sox, for this issue because, for one thing, I don't live in Boston and I can't see their efforts in person.  But, Fenway Park also just earned an EPA "Environmental Merit Award" for "a program that is already showing significant results in putting environmental considerations at the forefront of logistical decisions about how the organization presents events at the ballpark."

In fact, "the Red Sox have enlisted local university students to make up 'Green Teams' who will be present at every game at Fenway to roam the stands and to facilitate fans' 'recycling on the go' of their plastic cups and bottles."  

If McCourt truly wants to "Act Green," it would seem that he needs to look no further than his native city, and what it is doing in its ballpark.

The patch the Red Sox wore on Earth Day.