Major League Baseball

Contacts not helping Rangers' Hamilton

Published Jun. 27, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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Reigning AL MVP Josh Hamilton may have to relinquish his experiment with contact lenses to help him see the ball better during day games.

Hamilton wore the tinted lenses during batting practice and outfield drills last week before the Texas Rangers' game against the New York Mets.

''Yeah, I could tell a difference,'' Hamilton said after being outside more than an hour with the lenses. ''I can see everything normal. It just takes the brightness off everything.''

The lenses, intended to reduce brightness instead of magnifying things, made the slugger's blue eyes appear to be red.

But Hamilton's experiment with shaded contact lenses lasted all of three failed at-bats Saturday.

Hamilton struck out swinging on all three at-bats, against left-hander Jon Niese. Hamilton removed the lenses for his final at-bat during the Rangers' 14-5 loss to the New York Mets but again struck out swinging, against right-hander Bobby Parnell.

Hamilton said the lenses countered the brightness but altered his depth perception so that he could not time pitches, especially fastballs. He swung and missed on five of the seven fastballs Niese used. Niese's fastball is considered ordinary.

"Something like that is not supposed to happen, it's going to happen," Hamilton said of the decreased depth perception. "I'm that guy. It's weird."

Hamilton said he is likely to try a model of the sunglasses that he used last season rather than try the contact lenses again.

Hamilton is hitting only .122 (6 for 49) with no homers and 17 strikeouts in 14 day games this season. Before Friday night's game, he had hit .374 (41 for 109) with six homers and 14 strikeouts in 25 night games.

"I'd be hitting .600 if I could figure out how to hit in day games," Hamilton said. "It's frustrating, knowing that I can help the team in a big way, and I'm up there looking lost."

When talking about that large discrepancy between his numbers, Hamilton said he had a tougher time seeing the ball during day games because of his blue eyes.

'I'm trying any means possible,'' Hamilton said. ''I actually care and I want to be better (in the day).''

Hamilton said he asked team trainers to help him come up with something to help with his vision during the day. They had the contacts for him when he got to the ballpark Friday after a day off.

Hamilton led the majors last season with a .359 batting average, when he hit .286 with six homers in 36 day games. In his career, he has hit .242 in 135 day games and .333 in 372 night games.

The Associated Press and The Dallas Morning News contributed to this report.

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