It puzzles me that no one has done a thorough research project on the issue of the effects of Lasik surgery on hitters, and add me to the list of people who haven’t done that. All I have done is a little study updating previously published research. It’s very incomplete, based on my old study and what I could find on Google in 20 minutes of searching.
I identified 26 major league hitters who had Lasik surgery. I’ve excluded Cristian Guzman and Jason Kendall, who had the surgery before this season. I am sure that there are many more than 26 players who have had the procedure… I just can’t find them all. It appears that nobody has systematically studied this issue since I did my initial study in 2004. Maybe I’m missing something, but I can’t find a single study other than my own.
Anyway, the 26 hitters, in the Before year, were, on average 29 years old. They hit .275 in 458 plate appearances, .353 on-base percentage, .441 slugging. Their Isolated Power was .166 and their Isolated Discipline (OBP minus AVG) was .078.
In the After year, the batting averages and on-base percentages were eerily similar - .276 and .354. However, the average slugging percentage shot up to .475, a jump of .034 in Isolated Power. This was in 443 plate appearances, a bit of a decline from the previous year.
For whatever reason, Lasik seems to affect power far more than it does batting average or plate discipline. Obviously this is a very, very rough study, but it’s apparently the best thing anyone’s yet done (at least in the public forum
This chart summarizes the performance of these 26 hitters in the year before they had their eyeballs sanded:
Player
|
Year
|
Age
|
PA
|
AB
|
Hits
|
Avg
|
OBA
|
Slg
|
I Power
|
Bob Hamelin
|
1996
|
28
|
299
|
239
|
61
|
.255
|
.391
|
.435
|
.180
|
Greg Vaughn
|
1997
|
31
|
422
|
361
|
78
|
.216
|
.322
|
.393
|
.177
|
Bernard Gilkey
|
1998
|
31
|
419
|
365
|
85
|
.233
|
.320
|
.315
|
.082
|
Wally Joyner
|
1998
|
36
|
494
|
439
|
131
|
.298
|
.370
|
.453
|
.155
|
Mike Lansing
|
1998
|
30
|
638
|
584
|
161
|
.276
|
.325
|
.411
|
.135
|
Al Martin
|
1998
|
30
|
479
|
440
|
105
|
.239
|
.296
|
.364
|
.125
|
Bobby Hughes
|
1998
|
27
|
237
|
218
|
50
|
.229
|
.284
|
.404
|
.175
|
Wade Boggs
|
1998
|
40
|
483
|
435
|
122
|
.280
|
.348
|
.400
|
.120
|
Jose Cruz Jr.
|
1999
|
25
|
414
|
349
|
84
|
.241
|
.358
|
.433
|
.192
|
Bernie Williams
|
1999
|
30
|
697
|
591
|
202
|
.342
|
.435
|
.536
|
.194
|
Todd Dunwoody
|
1999
|
24
|
200
|
186
|
41
|
.220
|
.270
|
.317
|
.097
|
Jeff Bagwell
|
1999
|
31
|
729
|
562
|
171
|
.304
|
.454
|
.591
|
.287
|
Trot Nixon
|
1999
|
25
|
447
|
381
|
103
|
.270
|
.357
|
.472
|
.202
|
Frank Catalanotto
|
2001
|
27
|
512
|
463
|
153
|
.330
|
.391
|
.490
|
.160
|
Chris Truby
|
2001
|
27
|
152
|
136
|
28
|
.206
|
.276
|
.441
|
.235
|
Larry Walker
|
2002
|
35
|
553
|
477
|
161
|
.338
|
.421
|
.602
|
.264
|
Frank Catalanotto
|
2002
|
28
|
250
|
212
|
57
|
.269
|
.364
|
.443
|
.174
|
Rocco Baldelli
|
2003
|
21
|
684
|
637
|
184
|
.289
|
.326
|
.416
|
.127
|
Troy Glaus
|
2003
|
26
|
367
|
319
|
79
|
.248
|
.343
|
.464
|
.216
|
Jeff Cirillo
|
2003
|
33
|
293
|
258
|
53
|
.205
|
.284
|
.271
|
.066
|
Rich Aurilia
|
2003
|
31
|
545
|
505
|
140
|
.277
|
.325
|
.410
|
.133
|
David Dellucci
|
2004
|
30
|
387
|
331
|
80
|
.242
|
.342
|
.441
|
.199
|
Jay Gibbons
|
2004
|
27
|
380
|
346
|
85
|
.246
|
.303
|
.379
|
.133
|
Michael Young
|
2004
|
27
|
739
|
690
|
216
|
.313
|
.353
|
.483
|
.170
|
Jhonny Peralta
|
2006
|
24
|
632
|
569
|
146
|
.257
|
.323
|
.385
|
.128
|
|
|
29
|
458
|
404
|
111
|
.275
|
.353
|
.441
|
.166
|
And this chart summarizes their performance in the seasons AFTER the surgery:
Player
|
Year
|
Age
|
PA
|
AB
|
H
|
Avg
|
OBA
|
Slug
|
I Power
|
Bob Hamelin
|
1997
|
29
|
369
|
318
|
86
|
.270
|
.366
|
.487
|
.217
|
Greg Vaughn
|
1998
|
32
|
661
|
573
|
156
|
.272
|
.363
|
.597
|
.325
|
Bernard Gilkey
|
1999
|
32
|
241
|
204
|
60
|
.294
|
.379
|
.500
|
.206
|
Wally Joyner
|
1999
|
37
|
386
|
323
|
80
|
.248
|
.363
|
.350
|
.102
|
Mike Lansing
|
1999
|
31
|
155
|
145
|
45
|
.310
|
.344
|
.455
|
.145
|
Al Martin
|
1999
|
31
|
593
|
541
|
150
|
.277
|
.337
|
.506
|
.229
|
Bobby Hughes
|
1999
|
28
|
106
|
101
|
26
|
.257
|
.292
|
.366
|
.109
|
Wade Boggs
|
1999
|
41
|
334
|
292
|
88
|
.301
|
.377
|
.377
|
.076
|
Jose Cruz Jr.
|
2000
|
26
|
681
|
603
|
146
|
.242
|
.323
|
.466
|
.224
|
Bernie Williams
|
2000
|
31
|
616
|
537
|
165
|
.307
|
.391
|
.566
|
.259
|
Todd Dunwoody
|
2000
|
25
|
195
|
178
|
37
|
.208
|
.238
|
.275
|
.067
|
Jeff Bagwell
|
2000
|
32
|
719
|
590
|
183
|
.310
|
.424
|
.615
|
.305
|
Trot Nixon
|
2000
|
26
|
502
|
427
|
118
|
.276
|
.368
|
.461
|
.185
|
Frank Catalanotto
|
2002
|
28
|
250
|
212
|
57
|
.269
|
.364
|
.443
|
.174
|
Chris Truby
|
2002
|
28
|
404
|
382
|
82
|
.215
|
.238
|
.314
|
.099
|
Larry Walker
|
2003
|
36
|
564
|
454
|
129
|
.284
|
.422
|
.476
|
.192
|
Frank Catalanotto
|
2003
|
29
|
535
|
489
|
146
|
.299
|
.351
|
.472
|
.173
|
Rocco Baldelli
|
2004
|
22
|
565
|
518
|
145
|
.280
|
.326
|
.436
|
.156
|
Troy Glaus
|
2004
|
27
|
242
|
207
|
52
|
.251
|
.355
|
.575
|
.324
|
Jeff Cirillo
|
2004
|
34
|
81
|
75
|
16
|
.213
|
.259
|
.293
|
.080
|
Rich Aurilia
|
2004
|
32
|
450
|
399
|
98
|
.246
|
.314
|
.353
|
.107
|
David Dellucci
|
2005
|
31
|
518
|
435
|
109
|
.251
|
.367
|
.513
|
.262
|
Jay Gibbons
|
2005
|
28
|
518
|
488
|
135
|
.277
|
.317
|
.516
|
.239
|
Michael Young
|
2005
|
28
|
732
|
668
|
221
|
.331
|
.385
|
.513
|
.182
|
Jhonny Peralta
|
2007
|
25
|
647
|
574
|
155
|
.270
|
.341
|
.430
|
.160
|
|
|
30
|
443
|
389
|
107
|
.276
|
.344
|
.454
|
.184
|