Due to new Michigan legislation that bans smoking in public, Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland will need to refrain from smoking in the dugout at Comerica Park.

From ESPN.com:

The law took effect at 6 a.m. ET and applies to nearly all public workplaces in the state.

“I’m a law-abiding citizen, so it’s just the way it is,” Leyland said Friday, according to The Grand Rapids Press. “We’re not supposed to smoke here, and I won’t do it. I’ll try to find someplace outside somewhere, I guess, but I think you’re not supposed to smoke at all in the park.”

Camacho Cigar Bar inside the stadium’s Tiger Club will be among cigar bars and tobacco specialty shops that are exempt.

I wonder if Leyland’s complacency has to do with his team sitting only a game and a half back from the lead in the AL Central. The Tigers are off to an unexpectedly solid start, with Austin Jackson, Johnny Damon, Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera all swinging the bat with confidence. Hopefully the lack of release provided by Leyland’s smoking habit won’t affect his managerial decisions. Remember, stranger things have caused slumps in the sport.

Photo from fOTOGLIF