Eye on the Ball: Glasses Sparked Player to Late Career Surge

If LASIK had been around when Eddie Joost played baseball, the soft-hitting but defensively polished infielder—who died April 12 at the age of 94—might be enshrined in Cooperstown.

Joost began his professional baseball career with the Cincinnati Reds in 1936. A slick fielder, Joost split time between second base, shortstop and third base while carrying a batting average that frequently dipped below the Mendoza line and never mustering more than six home runs and 41 RBI in a season.

Although he was the everyday shortstop for the World Series-winning Reds in 1940, his defensive prowess compensated less and less for his poor performance at the plate. By 1944, Joost was out of baseball and working in a meat-packing plant.

After a brief shot with the Boston Braves in 1945, Joost spent the 1946 season toiling in the minor leagues. Then, in 1947, approaching 31 years old, Joost got a second chance.

The Philadelphia Athletics—now the Oakland A’s—were in desperate need of a shortstop and picked up Joost. His woes at the plate continued, but Joost finally acknowledged their cause: astigmatism.

At the time, there was pervasive prejudice against players wearing glasses. In 1947, only one player—St. Louis Browns third baseman Bob Dillinger—wore glasses on the field.

Knowing his window of opportunity was closing fast and tired of seeing “two balls coming at me,” as he once described his vision problem, Joost got glasses. His turnaround was eye opening.

In 1948, Joost hit .250 with 16 home runs and 55 RBI. The following year, he hit .263 with 23 home runs and 81 RBI. In his early 30s, when most players begin to decline, Joost surged.

He decreased his strikeouts from a high of 110 in 1947 to 68 in 1950, more than doubled the average number of walks from his stint with the Reds, significantly raised his on-base percentage, and became a two-time American League All-Star. From 1948 until 1952—his final full season—Joost averaged 19 home runs and 120 walks per season; he still holds the record for most walks by a shortstop with 149, set in 1949.

One can only speculate about the arc Joost’s career might have taken had he chosen to treat his vision problem sooner. Regardless, Joost attributed his late success to his eyewear. Well, the glasses and a tip from Ted Williams, who seemingly never had a problem seeing the ball.

“He told me I got out in front too much,” Joost told Baseball Digest in 2002. “He was right.”

To learn more about astigmatism and LASIK treatment options, please contact a qualified ophthalmologist near you.