Mark Hendrickson didn't see well while pitching

[SeriesFinale]

Interesting story; I wonder how this will translate on the field.

[Crew2323]

All I can say is wow...that is truly remarkable. The fact that he couldn't see well a 90+ mph object coming toward him while batting, or perhaps couldn't see well the catcher's mit, or a line drive coming back up the box is a scary thought. That he didn't get seriously hurt is a miracle. The only thing I'm wondering is "What took him so long?" It will be interesting to see what kind of year he has next year.

[bacon06]

Hendrickson should have gotten a pair of black framed glasses with a skull in the middle and he could have been the modern day Rick Vaughn.

[TooLiveBrew]

I agree that it's spooky to think what could have happened... especially to Hendrickson the batter. What if he'd have been the guy Wiser pluked in the head - would he have been able to get his face away from the ball in time? Sheesh. Good for him, though (and I guess hitters too - safety-wise) in getting a fix. Between the spacious ballpark in Miami & his vision being corrected, I think it's safe to expect a decent-to-good year from Mark.

[ttsather]

http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/cle/images/ticketing/promosked/promosked_majorleagueposter.gif

 

Umpire: You're out of here rookie.

Rick Vaughn: I'm out?

Umpire: Yes you are!

Rick Vaughn: Hey, c'mon. That's an accident!

 

 

/Obligatory

//Apologies

[rluzinski]

Average eyesight in one eye = "practically blind"? Not saying he didn't have bad eyesight but the hread title is just a tad misleading. I figured the guy was making his way on the mound with a cane... or was Daredevil.

[DrWood]

Average eyesight in one eye = "practically blind"? Not saying he didn't have bad eyesight but the hread title is just a tad misleading. I figured the guy was making his way on the mound with a cane... or was Daredevil.

20-200 is pretty bad. they didn't say what his eyesight in the other eye was, only that it was "mediocre".

 

[rluzinski]

I took mediocre to mean 20-20, by definition. It obviously wasn't that bad, whatever it was. I can't imagine a guy being able to hit with one eye or fielding very well, since both require depth perception. Pitching really doesn't, however.

[Thurston Fluff]

He knew he had bad eyesight since he was a kid. His career path is major league baseball and his reason for not getting glasses is he didn't want to? Dude is Jeff Juden type of smart.

[Jim Goulart]

Shame on his organizations -- don't they all test for vision every spring training?

 

Millions of dollars spent on salaries, they don't bring in an optometrist every spring? Somebody please forward this to Doug Melvin, just in case the Brewers don't already do this.

[SeriesFinale]

Anyone with vision worse than 20-200, which is exactly what Hendrickson had in one eye, is considered legally blind. I think "practically blind" could apply as a stretch. Even though he's obviously not Ray Charles, it's still pretty impressive for a basball player, even a 5.01 ERA pitcher.

[rluzinski]

I think "practically blind" could apply as a stretch.

 

Had you said, "practically blind in one eye", it wouldn't have been a stretch at all. It also wouldn't have been nearly as dramatic. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[bullox]

Hooked on semantics?

[pitchleague]

man, I've got 20-20 in one eye but 20-alot in the other and I played baseball. I didn't feel blind at all. I wasn't very good at the plate either. Guess this explains a bit though. It wasn't talent. It was eyesight.

 

Who can I sue so I can get listed in SI's Sign of the Apocolypse?

[Brian the Automator]

You'd figure somewhere along the line you'd eventually go see an eye doctor for a checkup.

 

Anyways, I remember being in 2nd grade and having a miserable time seeing the blackboard. It's funny how you just think that's how everything in life is, difficult to see. Then you put on glasses for the first time, and it's astounding.

[chowyo123]

Didn't Peavy used to play without corrective lenses? I've read a few times about him playing legally blind.

[Katuluu]

Anyone with vision worse than 20-200, which is exactly what Hendrickson had in one eye, is considered legally blind.

This is incorrect. Vision in your strongest eye must be worse then 20/200, even while aided by glasses, to be considered legally blind. Thus Hendrickson is no where near legally blind.

[SeriesFinale]

There, edited for the pedants among us

[ELCABALLO45]

Correct me if im wrong.. But.. Didnt Jason Kendall also have surgery on his eyes after last season.

[Team Canada]

To continue arguing about semantics http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif, I wouldn't say 20/20 is "mediocre" or "average", it's the baseline to which everything is corrected. It's not like people have dramatically better sight than that like they do dramatically worse. An average (of uncorrected vision) would definitely be way lower than 20/20.

[TooLiveBrew]

Correct me if im wrong.. But.. Didnt Jason Kendall also have surgery on his eyes after last season.

Correct, however I didn't get the impression that Jason's eyesight was quite as bad as Hendrickson's.

 

Btw, I think we all deserve a collective pat on the back for not making the obligatory Ben Hendrickson joke here! Huzzah!

[SeriesFinale]

Ben Hendrickson isn't legally awful, merely "awful."