Lasik Surgery A Popular Option Among The Baseball Players
Denard Span is a baseball player and a Twins outfielder. Five seasons after he was a first-round draft pick out of Tampa Catholic High, his career had reached a roadblock at Triple A that even he couldn't explain. Once a superb contact hitter, his strikeout totals ballooned. He would walk back to the dugout in a state of confusion.
Only when he visited the doctor he found out that he was nearsighted and had an astigmatism in his right eye. But he was a candidate for lasik, a corrective laser surgery that has become increasingly popular among players in a game that relies so much on hand-eye coordination. Doctors have found that Span had a 20/40 vision in his right eye. Because he hits left-handed, his right eye leads, meaning he was picking up the spin of the ball a split second late.
His LASIK surgery was performed by Antonio Prado, who operated on Hall of Famer Wade Boggs in the offseason before he got his 3,000th hit as a Ray in 1999.
Lasik is optimal for baseball players. Contact lenses can shift as a hitter turns his head toward the mound, forcing him to open his stance to see the ball better. And sand, dirt and wind can make contacts troublesome.
It is worthwhile to mention that Span is not the only case. Prior to that Mark Hendrickson, a former Rays left-hander now with the Marlins, had the surgery during this past off-season. His eyesight was so bad, he was legally blind in his right eye and had 20/50 vision in his left, he couldn't see his catcher's signals. Before the surgery, Hendrickson was 4-for-62 (.065) at the plate. In 2008, he's 9-for-32 (.281) and even has been used as a pinch-hitter.
Source:tampabay.com
Filed under Eye Surgery, Lasik Eye Surgery
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July 16th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I didnt know Mark Hendrickson got it. He has had a good year this year. It doesnt make sense why a baseball player wouldnt want to get lasik. Especially hitters. Seeing the ball earlier and better has to help.