Tommy Pham has endured a less-than-ideal start to his tenure with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Pham, 37, is striking out at a 29.7% rate, is slashing a pedestrian .216/.293/.272 and didn’t hit his first home run until Monday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers.
How could he be so bad?
It’s actually quite simple, as the veteran outfielder gave an explanation and pointed toward keratoconus, a condition in which the cornea thins and bulges like a cone and creates blurry vision, according to TribLive’s Justin Guerriero. In short, he can’t really see.
“I don’t think it’s really mechanical,” Pham said, per Guerriero. “I think it was all visual for me. My prescription’s been off. I’ve been adjusting on the fly. … I’m telling you guys, it’s all visual. My contact situation’s been real complicated. So, we’re heading in a right direction, finally.”
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Pham has slowly turned things around this week, belting a few doubles on Sunday,
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Featured image via Rick Osentoski/Imagn Images