One of the latest of these was published last year in the American Journal of Ophthalmology. In this study, the eyes of 387 major and minor league professional baseball players from the Los Angeles Dodgers organization were examined. These exams included evaluations of visual acuity or clearness, contrast sensitivity, and depth perception. The vast majority of the players scored in the superior range in all three areas. These results are not surprising, of course.
Baseball playing success depends on vision more than most other sports.
It's been calculated, for example, that it takes only about 400 milliseconds for a pitched ball to cross home plate, and when the ball is still 25 feet from the batter, he must decide whether or not to swing at the pitch. Or consider the outfielder. He must be able to judge the course of a batted fly ball as it is buffeted by wind and passes over a moving background of sky and spectators.