A Mission Valley man is the first person to successfully undergo a heart and liver transplant in San Diego.

“When I first walked in here, I was just falling apart,” Frank “Sonny” Taitano said Thursday from his bed at UC San Diego Medical Center.

Taitano, 58, is one of just a handful of people who can say they survived such an operation.

Fewer than 10 of these surgeries are performed each year in the U.S.

First diagnosed with congestive heart failure and an enlarged heart 11 years ago, Taitano underwent a number of treatments but nothing seemed to work.

Simple things like walking from his car to his apartment suddenly became a challenge.

“He's got to fight and I kept telling him, ‘Just keeping fighting,’” said his wife Linda. “We still have a lot to do in life.”

Alan Hemming, M.D. handled the liver transplant and he said there were several times when Taitano's condition deteriorated prior to the surgery.

“There were at least three times where we thought he was going to die,” Hemming said.

The surgery on November 4 lasted about 10 hours and at one point up to 70 people from UC San Diego Health were in the operating room.

A team Taitano now considers part of his family.

"California is unfortunately one of the worst states in the country to need a liver transplant in," Hemming said.

About 1 in 5 people on the waiting list will die, he said.

"The only way we can improve that is to have more people donate," Hemming said. "Donations save lives."

Taitano chokes up when he thinks about the people who donated the organs that gave him a second chance at life.

He still has family in his native Guam. and h's looking forward to spending time with his wife, six children and 13 grandchildren.

He hopes to leave the hospital before the Christmas holiday.

Organs from one donor can save or help as many as 50 people. To register click here.

Expecting Escondido mothers now have a new location to go when it comes time to give birth. 

Thursday, a new birth center opened at Palomar Medical Center Escondido, located at 2185 Citracado Parkway in Escondido. The center begins accepting expecting mothers this week. 

Mothers will have 33 private labor, delivery and post-partum rooms, each with its own dedicated family areas. 

This new center will replace the birth center at Palomar Medical Center Downtown Escondido, which operated for decades before the downtown location closed. 

The shift of birthing services from the Downtown Escondido location, located at 555 East Valley Parkway in Escondido, to the new Escondido location on Citracado Parkway was expected to be completed by the end of 2016. Thursday, the California Department of Public Health gave the new location approval to open. 

The downtown center's previous Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and pediatric services will continue to be temporarily shifted to Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego. The unit is expected to open at the new health center in early 2017. 

Palomar Health plans to open a dedicated women's and children's unit at the new medical center in the future. 

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tom Carper are pressing the government to explain how Donald Trump's federal lease to operate a luxury hotel near the White House can go forward despite what they call the "unmanageable conflicts of interest" presented by the president becoming his own landlord — as well as a provision that bans government officials from the deal.

The two Democrats sent a letter Thursday to the General Services Administration, which in 2013 awarded a lease to the Trump organization to redevelop and run a hotel in the Old Post Office Pavilion on Pennsylvania Avenue, NBC News reported.

Trump committed $200 million to transform the historic building into a hotel, and in return received the exclusive rights to run the hotel and keep the profits for a period of at least 60 years.

While Trump has said he will hand off control of his real estate empire to his children, he has not said whether he will transfer ownership.

The San Diego Padres have announced stops for their annual community caravan, coming to communities across the County this winter.

The caravan will make 19 stops around the County and in Mexico during the 10 Days of Giving to help spread holiday cheer.

The tour starts on Dec. 7, where Padres alumni, Pad Squad and Swinging Friar will help military parents pick out gifts for their children as part of the Armed Services YMCA San Diego's Military Families Holiday Toy Program.

On Sunday, Dec. 10, the Padres will cross the border and go to Centro de Rehabilitacion Infantil Teleton's (Center for Infant Rehabilitation Telethon) annual telethon in Mexico. Padres players, along with its Spanish television and radio broadcasters Eduardo Ortega and Carlos Hernandez, will tour the facility and distribute presents.

Proceeds from the telethon will go toward infant rehabilitation centers across Mexico.

Days later on Dec. 14, in a first for the Padres, the caravan will venture to Liberty Station for the Rady Children's Hospital's Fantasy on Ice skating rink. There, Rady patients and their families will be treated to a VIP experience that includes a private meet-and-greet with players and coaches.

Throughout the caravan, the Padres and SDG&E will be presenting several donations to local organizations including the Barrio Logan College Institute, Downtown San Diego Partnership’s Clean & Safe Program and the San Diego Public Library as part of the organizations' Going to Bat for San Diego initiative.

The San Diego Food Bank has teamed up with San Diego MTS to collect donations for the 9th Annual Stuff the Bus food drive at local grocery stores across the county.

More than 700 local Girl Scouts will be at Vons and Albertons' locations collecting canned and dry foods, the San Diego MTS said.

The food drive will take place from 9 a.m. until noon on Dec. 3.

Shoppers will also have the option of buying pre-packaged "Hunger Bags" for $7 at Vons' stores.

Most needed items include cereal, canned soup, vegetables and fruit, powdered milk, pasta and infant formula.

For a full list of locations, click here.

San Diego County homeowners are in the driver’s seat as many are regaining equity that they lost 10 years ago when the recession slashed housing prices by 40-50 percent, one expert told NBC 7.

Earlier this week, the median home sale price in the county exceeded $500,000, the highest since November 2005. The prices for homes cause some to shake their head in despair.

“I don’t know how our kids are going to be able to make it,” said Bonita resident Ted Scales.

Tracy Real said it’s much more expensive than her old hometown in Wisconsin.

“We could own the whole block in comparison for what I could purchase a house for here,” Real said.

But mortgage Broker Sam Calvano said the news of the increase in housing prices is welcome to one group of residents – those homeowners who watched their properties drop in value in the 2006-2007 recession.

“They have waited out this recession and they watched their values drop 40, 50 percent and now they’ve come back up to what they used to be and they have equity again,” Calvano said. “They can move out with all the equity they had years ago.”

“That’s their payoff for being patient,” he said.

Virgilio Miclat, Coldwell Banker Real Estate agent who focuses on communities in the South Bay said there has been more activity in the last few weeks but it’s mostly people speculating about getting into the market.

Could housing prices go up even higher? Both Miclat and Calvano have their doubts.

“Wages have stagnated,” Calvano said. “If wages don’t go up, people can’t afford to pay higher prices.”

He also said it’s unlikely to see properties jump up 20 percent in one year like they did before the recession given the changes in lending.

“Borrowers do not have the loan flexibility they had 10 years ago,” Calvano said.

The Super Bowl of Pop Warner is this Saturday in Florida with 64 teams from around the nation competing, but this year is marred by controversy over whether the team from Carson should be allowed to compete.

The Carson Ravens are a division one team who actually lost their regional competition. But the local coaches say after the winning Southern California teams decided not to go to Florida for the so-called Super Bowl, the Carson team was invited by the western regional leaders to play as a division two team.

The parents spent thousands on flights and hotel reservations, but just two days before they were due to travel, Carson got word from the National Pop Warner Organization that East Coast teams were complaining it wasn’t fair.

The Carson team was uninvited.

Now the parents want their money back.

"I think it was just a mistake but it’s easy to rectify. If they take a look and do the right thing they have two choices – either reimburse us or let the kids play,"Michael Hochberg, parent and coach, said.

An email the Carson coaches say came from the National Pop Warner Organization called the situation a mistake at the regional level.

Calls from the national and regional leaders but our calls have not been returned.

Most of the big players have already traveled to Florida, ready for the big game.

The parents have contacted a lawyer to see if there’s any way for them to get their travel money back.

They’ve been told there will be no reimbursement.

A gym in Oceanside was just about to open for business Thursday when an electrical fire sparked inside one of the rooms of the building, authorities confirmed.

The blaze began just before 5 a.m. at Fitness 19 located at 439 College Blvd. Crews with the Oceanside Fire Department rushed to the scene and when they arrived they discovered a fire had started in one area of the gym. Firefighters were able to contain the fire to that one room; it was quickly knocked down.

The gym had not yet opened for the day, so patrons were waiting outside when the fire started. No one was injured.

The business sustained water damage from its sprinkler system, officials said. Crews worked for several hours to clean up the gym, removing large amounts of water.

Fitness 19 remained closed as of 7:30 a.m., until further notice.

The widow of American gonzo journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson is working with a company to clone, grow and sell a strain from the writer's personal marijuana stash, CNBC reported.

"I am in the process of making the strains available to those who would like to enjoy the authentic Gonzo strains in legal states," Anita Thompson, who married Hunter in 2003, said in a Facebook post.

She told The Aspen Times that proceeds from the sales would go toward renovating Hunter's 42-acre Owl Farm property in Colorado and turning it into a private museum and writer's retreat.

The recreational use of pot has been legalized in some form in eight states and Washington, D.C. Hunter S. Thompson died in 2005 of what was ruled a self-inflicted gunshot wound at Owl Farm.

Three years following a man's murder, the San Diego Police Department's (SDPD) Homicide Unit continues to search for leads.

If a tip helps lead to an arrest in this unsolved homicide case, the person who submitted it may be rewarded with $1,000, according to San Diego County Crime Stoppers.

Ernest Gonzalez was shot and killed at about 11:27 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2013, in the 7100 block of El Cajon Boulevard, said Crime Stoppers officials.

Witnesses said Gonzalez had been working as a security guard at Chelato's Bar and Grill when two suspects walked over and opened fire, fatally shooting him.

The suspects were described as men wearing dark clothing, according to a report from Crime Stoppers. They were last seen fleeing the area, running eastbound from El Cajon Blvd to 72nd Street.

Anyone with relevant information is encouraged to call the SDPD Homicide Unit at 619-531-2294 or leave an anonymous tip for Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477. There's also an anonymous email and text message number on the Crime Stoppers website.

Relevant leads can make a tip submitter eligible for a cash reward up to $1,000.

Local military veterans plan to gather at the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota next week to show their support for those camped in protest of the four-state Dakota Access pipeline.

The San Diego-based veterans join thousands of veterans across the country heading to North Dakota.

Veterans Stand for Standing Rock says 2,000 veterans will gather Sunday in Fort Yates, which is on the reservation. The organization says they'll be bused to the protesters' main camp on Monday and spend most of Tuesday and Wednesday on the front lines.

On Thursday afternoon, veterans in San Diego were meeting at Balboa Park to collect donations for their trip.

The group has set up a page at GoFundMe.com to raise money for food, transportation and supplies. As of Wednesday afternoon, it had raised nearly $700,000 of its $1 million goal.

Locally, another GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money for the cause.

One local veteran said he's treating it like a deployment.

"You're going to get arrested. You could possibly get hit by a rubber bullet," said veteran Ivan Sam. "Tear gassed. Concussion grenade. The possibility of that is likely to happen."

North Dakota's governor said via a spokesperson Tuesday that an evacuation order he issued to those protesting the Dakota Access oil pipeline was "misconstrued" and that he has no intention of blocking food and supplies from those gathered at the encampment 50 miles south of Bismarck.

Gov. Jack Dalrymple issued Monday a "mandatory evacuation" for the camp "to safeguard against harsh winter conditions." But the order didn't specify any action to be taken against protesters who don't comply, and state Emergency Services spokeswoman Cecily Fong later said no action would be taken to enforce it.

Standing Rock Sioux tribal leader Dave Archambault called Dalrymple's order "a menacing action meant to cause fear, and is a blatant attempt by the state and local officials to usurp and circumvent federal authority."

Dalrymple's order was not the first attempt from officials to clear the camp of protesters: The Army Corps of Engineers issued a letter last week stating that all federal lands north of the Cannonball River will be closed to the public for "safety concerns" starting Dec. 5. That order includes the encampment called Oceti Sakowin, or Seven Council Fires camp.

A North Dakota sheriff on Monday dismissed the Dec. 5 deadline as a meaningless move aimed only at reducing the government's legal responsibility for hundreds of demonstrators.

The Corps "is basically kicking the can down the road, and all it is doing is taking the liability from the Corps and putting it on" the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier said.

The agency had cited North Dakota's oncoming winter and increasingly contentious clashes between protesters and police as reasons for the evacuation date.

But in a statement issued late Sunday, the Corps said it "has no plans for forcible removal." Anyone on land north of the river, including the main protest camp, after the deadline may be prosecuted for trespassing.

Before issuing his own order, Dalrymple had called the Corps' position "very puzzling."

"When you put out a pronouncement that people must leave your land by a certain date, I think you take on a responsibility to somehow bring that about," Dalrymple said. "Clearly the responsibility of clearing that land now lies primarily with the Corps."

The 1,172-mile pipeline is nearly complete except for a small section beneath a Missouri River reservoir near the encampment, which is about 50 miles south of Bismarck.

A San Diego man convicted of having sexually explicit photos of young children on his cellphone, many of them clients at a day care operated by his ex-wife, has been sentenced to decades in prison. 

Rancho Bernardo resident Abdullah Sediqi, 66, has pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including five counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 and two counts of invasion of privacy (recording under the clothing of another). 

He was originally pleaded not guilty to 13 charges. On Thursday, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison. 

At previous court appearances, graphic details of the crimes he's accused of were revealed.

"A third victim, he was laying on his bare chest in clearly what is his bedroom, and clearly at one point, he is kissing her," said Deputy District Attorney Claudia Grasso. "A fourth victim, again he has her posed with her little shirt over her head and the camera is focusing on her chest and abdomen."

The alleged victims are children currently or formerly enrolled at the Kid's Castle Day Care on Matinal Road, a Rancho Bernardo business owned and operated by Sediqi’s ex-wife, Katrien Sediqi. Police said Sediqi was living in the house where the day care is operated. The daycare has since been suspended. 

Sediqi is also accused of taking up-skirt photographs of women as they shopped at the Valley Thrift Store on East Valley Parkway in Escondido.

Police said Sediqi was first arrested on June 13, 2015 after a woman shopping at the Valley Thrift Store noticed the suspect crouched down closely behind her with his cellphone in hand.

The woman moved away from him and then saw Sediqi approach another woman shopping at the store. Sediqi then allegedly crouched down low to take a photograph under the woman’s clothing, police said.

The witness called police and officers arrived at the store to speak with the suspect.

Officers discovered Sediqi had used his phone to snap several photos underneath the clothing of unsuspecting women in the store, two of whom were minors. The up-skirt images were taken from at least two separate locations, police said.

Sediqi was arrested at the scene and booked in the Vista Detention Facility. He posted bail and was released.

As part of the investigation, police said Sediqi’s phone was forensically analyzed by an Escondido Police detective with the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The detective found that Sediqi’s phone contained more than 6,000 photographs, and while most were innocuous, they found more than up-skirt shots.

Many of the pictures were “very graphic and disturbing,” images of children, Escondido Police Chief Craig Carter said during a news conference Thursday morning. Some of the girls in the photos appeared to be as young as three to five years old -- many from Katrien's day care.

Further investigation revealed that many of the children in those disturbing photographs were kids that attend Kid’s Castle Day Care on Matinal Road, a Rancho Bernardo business owned and operated by Sediqi’s ex-wife, Katrien Sediqi. The day care also goes by the name of Sediqi Family Day Care.

The EPD said detectives served a search warrant on the Sediqi home and day care facility and seized all records of current clients of the business. More phones, computers and external hard drives were also taken from the home by investigators.

The police department said officers contacted the parents of every child who is a current client of Kid’s Castle Day Care and alerted them of Sediqi’s arrest.

A Carlsbad man was sentenced to more than five years behind bars for his involvement in laundering more than $15 million for international drug rings, including the Sinaloa Cartel.

Bradley John Martin, 55, pleaded guilty in May to having laundered money on several occasions including transporting $1,800,000 in cash for the “hawala” ring. He also admitted to operating an unlicensed remitting business.

A “hawala” ring is an alternate way of transferring money—only the value of the money is transferred but not the money, according to the indictment. Two brokers operate each “hawala” and move money across various countries with other money laundering rings, all without any legal bindings.

“Individuals lending assistance to drug traffickers in the form of laundering drug proceeds are arguably no better than the traffickers themselves. Martin’s sentence is a warning to others that might be tempted to collude with drug trafficking organizations,” said Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge John S. Comer.

According to a press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the international scheme spanned across Canada, India, Mexico and the United States. The money was sent to the Sinaloa Cartel, which used it to invest in drugs that were then sold in the U.S. and Canada.

The Sinaloa Cartel, formerly run by drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman" is an international drug trafficking and money laundering ring.

Martin was sentenced to five years and three months in federal prison and will be supervised for three years after his release.

Two dogs sought in the death of a horse in San Marcos have been caught and relinquished for euthanasia, San Diego Humane Society said Thursday.

The dogs were believed to be on the loose since the Saturday attack on Fulton Road in San Marcos.

Bill Barclay grabbed a shovel when he saw the dogs attacking his horse, Smokey. When Barclay went to get a gun, the dogs ran off.

Smokey’s injuries were so grave he had to be put down following the attack, Barclay said. 

Escondido Humane Society officials picked up the dogs and took them to a nearby emergency vet hospital. Through the micro-chips, the dogs were tracked to their owner who took them home.

“After being picked up from the hospital, due to some errors at the home, the dogs were allowed to escape once more,” San Diego Human Society’s Chief of Humane Law Enforcement, Steve MacKinnon said. 

An anonymous tip led law enforcement officers to the dogs being held by the owners at an other location.

"The owners relinquished both dogs to San Diego Humane Society last night for humane euthanasia," the agency said in a written statement.

Investigators will determine if the dogs are at fault and if they are found responsible, they will be put down. There is no timetable for that at this moment, officials say. 

Editor's Note: A previous version of this story stated the dogs were caught and euthanized. The dogs have been relinquished for euthanasia, officials said, and investigators will determine if they are at fault. If they are, they will be euthanized. 

A bicycle rider was taken to the hospital after he crashed and struck his head on the pavement Thursday morning in San Marcos.

San Diego County Sheriff’s (SDSO) deputies responded to reports of a person down in the roadway in the 2800 block of S. Santa Fe Road at around 8:30 a.m. and arrived to find a 66-year-old biker seriously injured.

San Marcos Fire Department paramedics transported the man to Palomar Hospital where he was treated for serious, non-life threatening injuries.

The rider was wearing a helmet during the crash, and witnesses at the scene confirmed that there were no other vehicles involved, the SDSO said.

The SDSO San Marcos Traffic Division is investigating the incident.

Donations are pouring in to replace stolen wheelchairs bound for disabled children and adults.

Someone stole a truck with 80 wheelchairs intended for disabled children and adults in Indonesia.

State Assemblyman Matt Dababneh rallied behind the nonprofit behind the effort, Global Mobility and delivered a $15,000 check to the company.

"This is an absolute blessing," said David Richard, the president and founder of Global Mobility, during a news conference. "A bad has turned into a good."

The wheelchairs that were stolen were going to be loaded into a shipping container heading for Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Dababneh said he saw the story on NBC4 and it broke his heart.

He tweeted about it and rallied local business leaders to raise the money.

"We want to make sure that that tragedy turns into greater hope for more disabled individuals," he said.

A suspect wanted for a bank robbery in Alpine was airlifted to the hospital for self-inflicted stab wounds after deputies surrounded him in a parking lot.

According to the San Diego Sheriff's Department (SDSO), the man, identified as 27-year old John Wiederkeher, allegedly robbed a US Bank branch located in the Albertsons Grocery Store on the 2900 block of Alpine Boulevard.

The robbery occurred at around 11:09 p.m. on Wednesday.

Wiederkeher handed a demand note to the teller and left with a unknown amount of cash from the bank. 

Deputies found Wiederkeher, identified through surveillance video, in a parking lot near the Viejas Casino on Thursday. When they approached him, Wiederkeher reached inside his pocket and pulled out a large knife. 

According to SDSO, deputies deployed a Taser to stop him after Wiederkeher began to self-inflict stab wounds to his chest.

He was airlifted to a local hospital for serious injuries. After his discharge, he will be booked into custody, SDSO said.

Wiederkeher has an extensive criminal record, the sheriff's department said.

Crews responded to a fire inside a two-story building in the Hillcrest neighborhood of San Diego on Thursday.

According to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD), the fire sparked at approximately 5:51 p.m. on the 400 block of University Avenue.

Crews were responding to reports of smoke in the hallway on the second floor of the building, which is residential. The fire was limited to a void space in the exterior wall of the building between the two floors, SDFD said.

The fire was electrical but the cause is unknown.

Red Cross was also called to assist 11 residents who lived on the second floor due to loss of electricity to the floor. Damages are estimated to be approximately $25,000.

San Diego Police were also called out for traffic control.

No other information was immediately available.

A yard equipment store in Riverside County fell victim to a smash-and-grab robbery that resulted in roughly $40,000 in property damages and stolen goods.

Stores in Escondido, San Marcos and Poway also became targets last week, the San Diego Sheriff's Department (SDSO) said.

In Poway, Western Mower and Engine has been broken into three times, the most recent incident following Thanksgiving Day, owner Marty Clung told NBC 7.

McClung says he moved the inventory from the front window of his store to the repair shop to avoid been targeted by thieves. But the two suspects discovered the tools in less than two hours after breaking through three layers of security, taking off with 15 chainsaws and hedge trimmers.

“One of the more expensive chainsaws they stole from me was a thousand dollars,” McClung said.

He added: “[They're] going to get rid of the equipment. It is in high demand and some of it can be high dollar."

McClung told NBC 7 that he's heard from his regional sale representative, 21 tool shops from San Diego to Santa Monica have suffered a similar fate.

“We're getting multiple shops broken into on the same day. That's very odd, we never had that before,” he said.

In Moreno valley, video surveillance from inside Empire Mowers shows the moment a truck slammed into the front of the building in reverse, blowing through its glass and steel security bars.

After busting through the store’s facade, a man and a woman headed straight for the high-end chain saws and trimmers and attempted to cut the security cable that locked them to the shelf. While the man worked on the security cable, the woman made the rounds, grabbing what appeared to be more chainsaws and other lawn and hedge trimming tools.

Once the man successfully cut the cable, he can be seen carrying several weed trimmers and pole saws toward the truck. He had so many in his arms at one point that he was forced to drop them as he passed through a narrow path in the wreckage.

The woman was right on his heels carrying an engine with an estimated $450 value she eventually dropped on the ground.

“It’s like they just didn’t care that they were destroying the equipment that they were stealing," the shop owner said.

The owner estimates that the tandem made out with around $10,000 worth of equipment. The tools and the damage to his store, he says, are covered by his insurance.

Although the thieves got to a good portion of valuable tools, the owner says that their smash and grab tactic may have prevented them from making it out with even more.

“I think what saved us even more is when those bars came down, it pinned all the large machines against the corner and they weren’t able to pull them out,” he said.

According to the owner, outside surveillance cameras show the thieves leaving a trail of products on the ground as they drove way and then reversing to pick up the mess.

McClung says he suffered $55,000 in losses and will be spending $7,000 for new lights, security camera and steel bar barricades for his shop.

That visible circle in the back pockets of big leaguers — typically a sure sign of smokeless tobacco — might be far less common next season.

Players new to the majors won't be able to dip next year without risk of penalty, a provision under baseball's tentative five-year labor agreement reached late Wednesday.

"I think the smokeless tobacco ban is both logical and I am thankful," Los Angeles Angels reliever Huston Street said in an email to The Associated Press on Thursday night. "I understand choice, but choosing to die sooner is not one I support."

It is possible more than the 12 current major league cities with laws either in place or headed that way will have tobacco bans by the start of the 2017 season. That's what many health experts and advocates in the prevention efforts are hoping for, at least, though they certainly would have preferred a tobacco ban across the board for baseball to set an example for youth and the sport's future.

"The new collective bargaining agreement reached last night by Major League Baseball owners and players takes a major step forward in removing tobacco from the game by prohibiting all new MLB players from using smokeless tobacco, like chew, dip and snuff," said Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "Combined with the fact that 12 major league cities already have prohibitions on tobacco use at their baseball parks by all players and team personnel, baseball is now on a clear path to become tobacco-free in the very near future.

"While we had hoped for a complete prohibition on smokeless tobacco in baseball in the new agreement, this is a major step forward and represents the first time the players and owners have a made a clear commitment to fully eliminating smokeless tobacco use in baseball," he said.

Right-hander Cal Quantrill , a first-round draft pick by the Padres this year taken No. 8 overall out of Stanford, isn't sure what the ban will mean for prospects working their way toward the top. The son of former big league pitcher Paul Quantrill, Cal Quantrill doesn't chew.

"It's hard to say if there is less dipping, but I would say people definitely are more aware of the consequences," said Quantrill, who pitched between the rookie level and A-ball in 2016.

With cancer concerns at the forefront since Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn's June 2014 death at age 54 from salivary gland cancer complications following years of dipping, the dangers of long-term tobacco use have become a national issue for the national pastime. Gwynn's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit earlier this year against the tobacco industry.

"Sounds like a good start," Giants head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner said of the ban. "Those players should be used to it as that is already in place in the minor leagues."

Five years ago, San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy used a hypnotist to quit chewing tobacco. A close friend and old teammate of Gwynn's, he has dipped off and on since, facing a constant battle of trying to end the decades-old habit dating to his playing days.

White Sox ace Chris Sale quit chewing after Gwynn died .

"I would think that there would be a lot less in the near future," Giants Gold Glove shortstop Brandon Crawford said in an email.

For the last five seasons, big league players were prohibited from carrying tobacco products, including tins and packages, onto the field when fans were in the ballpark. But in the clubhouses, indoor batting cages and other out-of-sight spots, the tell-tale signs were there.

"This reported agreement between Major League Baseball and its Players Association is a victory for the health of new professional players and young players all around the nation who look up to them as role models," said Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., ranking member of the House committee on Energy and Commerce. "The devastating health effects of chewing tobacco are well known, and any opportunity to limit its use at the professional level is a welcome development."

In the visiting clubhouse at San Francisco's AT&T Park, there will be no smokeless tobacco. That's part of the reason clubhouse manager Abe Sylvestri and his staff now has candy jars on two shelves with a dozen or so options — providing an alternative for players who typically chew, and just a quick sugar jolt for anyone else who might need it.

"We won't be supplying it at all," Sylvestri said, "not worth it."

Tim Flannery, former Giants third base coach and a ex-teammate and close friend of Gwynn, appreciates the step and offered an old-school idea.

"I think it's time. In the minor leagues for years it's been banned," Flannery said. "If a guy really needs a fix he can sneak up the tunnel like the cigarette days."