ATLANTA — Max Muncy has a brand new look.
And, he hopes, barely higher sight.
On Friday night time at Truist Park, Muncy took the sector for the Dodgers’ collection opener in opposition to the Atlanta Braves carrying clear prescription eyeglasses. He subtly did the identical throughout the Dodgers’ final sport of the latest homestand on Wednesday afternoon, utilizing sun shades with prescription lenses when he hit his first house run of the season.
It’s not that Muncy has dangerous eyesight. His imaginative and prescient, he stated, is definitely a wonderful 20/12.
Nevertheless, Muncy did be taught he has astigmatism in his proper eye, making him barely left-eye dominant. On condition that he’s a left-handed hitter — positioning him together with his proper eye ahead within the batter’s field — he thus determined the glasses had been value a strive.
“If there’s anything that can help out a little bit,” Muncy stated, “I’ll try it.”
Primarily based on his outcomes from Wednesday, the advantages might need already been felt.
After enduring a career-long 28-game house run drought to start out the season, Muncy went deep in his first at-bat Wednesday, launching a low-and-away sinker to straightaway heart subject.
He struck out in his subsequent journey to the plate, then flied out to left within the fifth inning. After that, nonetheless, he tripled and drew a stroll, giving him his best efficiency of what had been a gradual begin to the season.
Granted, Muncy’s efficiency had began to tick up earlier than he began utilizing his new glasses.
Because of some current swing changes, he entered Wednesday with three hits in his earlier two video games (he’d recorded simply 4 within the 11 earlier than that) and as many walks as strikeouts in his prior 13 contests total (10 every).
Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy wore sun shades with prescription lenses throughout Wednesday’s sport in opposition to the Marlins, and hit his first house run of the season.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Instances)
“The swing feels like it’s getting closer and closer,” stated Muncy, who entered Friday with a .194 batting common on the season. “I still have to clean some things up. Have to be better in certain situations. It’s a work in progress. But … it’s just getting the ball to go forward.”
Nonetheless, in current days, Muncy determined it was time to interrupt out the glasses, too.
The 34-year-old third baseman had been testing his glasses in pregame batting apply and infield drills for the reason that begin of final week’s homestand. He’d initially been hesitant to take them into sport motion, noting a “fish-bowl” impact he felt whereas carrying them, however stated he has since adjusted through the use of them even when he’s away from the sector.
Muncy isn’t the primary Dodger participant to start using glasses midseason.
Final yr, Kiké Hernández did the identical factor after discovering astigmatism (a situation brought on by imperfections within the curvature of the attention that may influence imaginative and prescient) in his personal proper eye.
Like Muncy, Hernández described an adjustment interval when his glasses arrived midseason.
“It took me like a week or two to really feel like my depth perception felt normal,” Hernández recalled.
In contrast to Muncy, Hernández started carrying them in video games as quickly as they arrived.
“You can’t be afraid to fail,” he quipped.
Fail, Hernández didn’t. Earlier than final yr’s All-Star break, Hernández was batting .191 with simply 5 house runs in 71 video games, carrying glasses for less than the ultimate collection of the opening half. After the break, as soon as his eyesight adjusted to his new lenses, Hernández completed the yr batting .274 with seven house runs in his closing 55 video games. He then proceeded to have a monster postseason (.294 common, two house runs, six RBIs) throughout the Dodgers’ run to a World Collection title.
This yr, the glasses have remained a fixture. And despite the fact that he batted simply .188 in March and April, he did tally 5 house runs and 13 RBIs.
The most important profit Hernández seen from his glasses: A capability to see the precise spin on the baseball, and extra simply establish every pitch sort.
“Before the glasses, I was trying to see the shape of each pitch,” Hernández stated, which compelled him to attend a split-second to see if the ball would dive or slide away from its beginning location.
“Once I got the glasses,” he added, “I could actually see the spin.”
