Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton complained in June that he was having difficulty seeing the ball during day games because of his light-colored eyes. At the time of his complaint, he was hitting .122 in day games (6-for-49) with 17 strikeouts and a measly .429 OPS. By comparison, he was batting .374 in night games with a 1.076 OPS.
An optometrist supported Hamilton’s gripe that having blue eyes can cause glare issues during day games, so the slugger decided to try out some contact lenses. The results have been spectacular.
According to the stats displayed by TBS, and relayed to us by contributor Alan Hull, Josh Hamilton is batting .423 (11-for-26) since switching to contacts for day games. Those stats include a bases-clearing triple on Sunday against the Red Sox to drive in three runs.
Hamilton’s overall numbers have improved; he’s now batting .300 on the season and his slugging percentage is up to .523. If he continues to hit well over the rest of the season, he should finish in line with his career .309 batting average and .907 OPS. And if the Rangers end up with a few day games during the ALDS, they shouldn’t be at much of a disadvantage with their cleanup hitter finding success thanks to the lenses.
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