sorpstar
Wayne, NJ
62, joined Oct. 2009
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DAVID WALDSTEIN
Published: June 24, 2011
ARLINGTON, Tex. — In a 1956 recording, Chuck Berry sang: “Round the third, he was headed for home. It was a brown-eyed handsome man.”
Josh Hamilton has blue eyes and a career batting average that is almost 100 points lower in the day than at night.
Based on recent medical information relayed to the Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton, Berry may have been onto something more than just a catchy phrase. Did that brown-eyed handsome man in the song have an advantage over blue-eyed colleagues, an edge that got him on base in the first place, at least in day games?
Hamilton and Jason Bay, the Mets’ left fielder, would probably concur.
Hamilton was recently informed by the Rangers’ medical staff that because of his blue eyes, he has more difficulty filtering out glare than players with darker irises, and that could explain the disparity in his offensive production from day games to night games.
As one of the few blue-eyed members of the Mets, Bay can identify with Hamilton.
“I don’t know the exact correlation,” Bay said, “but I do know that if you have blue eyes you are more susceptible to brightness or whatever. I know that, and I do have very blue eyes.”
Most hitters have more difficulty seeing the ball during the day, but for Hamilton the numbers are radically different.
Over his career, he has hit almost 100 points lower during the day (.334 at night and .240 during the day). This season the disparity is even more pronounced. He went into Friday’s game against the Mets batting .376 in night games and .122 during the day.
Bay has hit .279 during night games and .268 during the day over his career, only a marginal difference. Bay said he was constantly squinting during the day, even on overcast days with a drizzle.
But after modifying his eyewear this year, he is hitting much better during day games (.286 compared with .206 at night). Before Friday night’s game between the Mets and the Rangers, Bay reached into his locker and pulled out a 24-inch black case containing an array of sleek sunglasses. There were light ones for cloudy days, medium ones for lightly overcast days, and dark ones for, as he put it, staring straight into the sun.
“I take my sunglasses very seriously,” he said.
There were also slots for two other pairs specifically designed for any kind of day that might fit in among the others.
“This is the first year I’ve worn sunglasses in every day game,” Bay said. “I was kind of worried about wearing them in years past because the only guys using sunglasses at the plate were perceived as the cool guys, the hot dogs, and I was desperately trying to avoid that. That was the reason that kept me away from it. But then I’ve seen more and more guys doing it.”
Some players don’t like to wear sunglasses at the plate because the nose piece can obstruct the vision of the back eye.
Hamilton was given red-tinted contacts that are supposed to cut down on glare, and he may use them in Saturday’s afternoon game against the Mets. Bay, too, wore orange-tinted lenses for a while, but he said they made his eyes so orange that it would unnerve his teammates.
“They would have such a strong reaction,” Bay said. “They’d see me and say, ‘Whoa!’ Plus, they irritated my eyes. So I decided to just go with the sunglasses.”
Justin Turner has a shock of orange hair, but his eyes vary in color — sometimes brown, sometimes beige or even green.
He said there was no set pattern for when they change color, but they do. Turner’s statistics reflect the major league trend, with his batting average under the lights superior to his average under the sun (.259 to .206).
But he also said that in the minor leagues, he always hit better during day games, for a simple reason.
“The lighting in minor league parks stinks,” he said.
But even some of the brown-eyed Mets, like Carlos Beltran, said the sun was a constant issue.
“I always feel I have to concentrate harder during the day to track the ball,” he said. “This is the first I’ve heard that it has to do with the color of the eyes. I mean, it’s tough for everyone. But I guess the doctors do the studies and you have to believe what they say.”
Beltran doesn’t wear sunglasses at the plate because he says they make things too dark.
“But if I don’t have them, it’s too bright,” he said. “So it’s tough, especially in places like Atlanta. It always seemed when we played a day game in Atlanta, we had to face John Smoltz. Now, that really makes it tough to hit.”
facts
Mickey Mantle had blue eyes and played many day games Josh in his time...Josh you were drafted playing HS baseball # 1 and you played day games I would think while right now the yankees are 22- 4 in day games this year (leading Brewers right now 4-0 today) and don't have one player i know of on the team that has blue eyes this year...so i'll give you Josh that latter stat...lol...any opinions baseball lovers, men and women  ...
BTW Josh Hamilton was given red-tinted contacts that are supposed to cut down on glare...maybe he'd be a guest on HBO's Vampire series too...lol...red tint--are they kidding me...
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funnytoo
National City, MI
70, joined Jun. 2009
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ah the mets did loose to the tabbies today, after winning 2 straight night games...
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sorpstar
Wayne, NJ
62, joined Oct. 2009
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ah the mets did loose to the tabbies today, after winning 2 straight night games...
wonder which team time was rooting for...but verlander was pitching...
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ylekiot
Minden, NV
59, joined Sep. 2007
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I don't think the color of a hitters eyes has anything to do with the ability to see the ball. On another note, I don't understand how a batter can stand in the box wearing sunglasses. When I was playing, I tried it a few times and had real difficulty picking up the ball out of the pitchers hand and pitch recognition trying to ascertain the rotation and spin on a given pitch. I don't know how these guys do it.
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chrisbrz
Wilmette, IL
41, joined May. 2011
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I'm one of the blueyed devils lol. I always enjoyed playin the night ballgames more but playin in a northern climate the sun wasn't as big as a issue for us as a say guys down south or southwest. Where I've really noticed the bigger difference is in night skiing. The glare on the slope is much more difficult to pick up the terrain. For that reason night skiing is much favored to me. Lol its true, I know nonskiers would be skeptic, but you can see the slopes at night best.
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mudd_76
Martinez, CA
39, joined Feb. 2009
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Maybe it is and maybe it isn't... but those red contacts could distract some pitchers.
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