(Image source: ABC)

BY ALEX BELCHER

ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY

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Are blue eyes more sensitive to light -- than brown eyes?  It’s the newest in a long line of excuses for slumping sluggers.
The Texas Rangers’ Josh Hamilton’s daytime batting average is roughly a third of his night time average.   ABC reports.

“Hamilton struck out back at the first inning…”
“Call it the curse of the baby blues.  American League’s most valuable player, Josh Hamilton has been absolutely wretched during day games.  He hits 200 points worse than at night.  Why?  The prognosis from Dr. Elton John…blue eyes.  Hamilton sure does and researchers found blue or light colored eyes are worse if filtering glare.”

It’s not just Dr. John making the claim.
New research seems to back up a slumping slugger’s daytime nightmare.
Here’s Hamilton in his own words.


“I’m tired of going up there squinting and seeing a white ball and the sunshine is right off the plate, you know, beaming up in your face…guy’s with blue eyes have a tough time.”


ESPN SportsCenter believes Hamilton may have a point.


“This does not shock me because our pal, Buck Showalter  and I did a show on Baseball tonight a couple years ago and he was talking about the things you look for when you draft a player and he said you never ever ever draft an 18-year-old with a full beard because that means he is fully developed and never ever ever draft anyone that has blue eyes…because you can’t see as well when you have blue eyes.”


Really?
This is science?
A blogger for Just South of North -- laughs at this reasoning, saying:

“Josh Hamilton says his blue eyes cause him to have a horrible batting average during the day. Something tells me he's either full of crap or a vampire.”

But doctors are rushing to back up the claim.  Dr. Calvin G. Eshbaugh tells MSNBC—

“The deal is, if someone has less pigment in their iris, they could potentially be more sensitive to sunlight,” although not every blue-eyed person would be equally affected… There are other factors involved in light sensitivity besides eye color, he says, such as the density of rods and cones — the light receptors — in your retina.”

One blogger questions Hamilton.  Asking why the greatest players of all time never had these problems.  He says, “Mickey Mantle and George Brett both had blue eyes, and both performed slightly better during the day. While optometrists have sided with Hamilton and said that it is true, I am a skeptic and not a believer, for the Mickey Mantle and George Brett reasons. More players have to have problems with it before I take it as a legitimate reason for struggling.

Now we know the problem, but are there solutions?  Hamilton will try contact lenses in the daytime. He says he has never worn contacts before but could tell a difference right away.
 

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