Josh Hamilton: Is Blue Eyes' Excuse Legitimate for Daytime Struggles?

Much has been made lately of Josh Hamilton attributing his daytime hitting struggles to his blue eyes. This is all they talk about on sports radio in the Dallas-Fort Worth area—after the Cowboys of course. But is this a legitimate excuse?

First, let's get it out on the table: Hamilton is awful in day games and he knows it. Over his career he has a batting average of .238 during the day, which is a far cry from his .333 average in night games. In 2011 it is even worse with a .113 and .357 day-night split, respectively. There's got to be a reason for the struggles.

But blue eyes?

This argument has two sides—science and statistics.

As a person afflicted with blue eyes I can say that it is indeed hard to see during the day. However, I'm not educated enough to make a comparison between blue and brown-eyed vision.

Luckily someone can.

A Dallas-area optometrist said in an interview with ESPNDallas.com that he agrees that Hamilton's blue eyes are causing him problems.

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"Because of the lack of pigment in lighter color eyes, like blue or green eyes as opposed to brown, you get a lot more unwanted light and that can create glare problems."

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Looks like I found out why my baseball career never took off.

In the interview the optometrist suggested that Hamilton find a pair of sunglasses that he is comfortable with, which seemed to work for him last year when he hit a career-best .286 during the day.

Texas Rangers owner Nolan Ryan does not seem to agree with Hamilton, though.

On the Galloway and Company radio show, Ryan said, "The only thing I thought about that is, I guess there weren't any blue-eyed players prior to lights."

Ryan does bring up a good point. If Hamilton is really being affected by his blue eyes then it should also affect most other players—especially those that mainly played during the day.

Fangraphs did a study between 25 players, both current and retired, with blue eyes. Their results show that 13 players had a higher OPS during the evening, and that the batting average between these players during the day was a respectable .282. Basically, there's not much of a difference.

As far as Ryan's comment, Ty Cobb had blue eyes before lights were instituted and he seemed to do alright for himself. Mickey Mantle and George Brett also had blue eyes and they're in Cooperstown as well.

So, back to our original question: Is the "blue eyes" excuse legitimate for Hamilton? Yes and no.

Science shows that people with blue eyes have a harder time seeing during the day. There's no disputing that; it's proven. But many of the best players in the game found some way to overcome this problem throughout the years.

It's not like Hamilton isn't trying to improve. He has experimented with red-tinted contact lenses but that led to an 0-for-4 day against the Mets with four strikeouts.  

It's all a matter of coping and perseverance for Hamilton and not many players in the game are known more for their ability to overcome.

Stats provided by baseball-reference.com.