Francisco Lindor added a new piece of equipment Friday night in hopes of turning around his season.
After wearing contacts throughout his career, Lindor wore prescription glasses for the first time in Friday night’s loss to the Giants at Citi Field.
The reason for the switch, the shortstop said, was that his contacts “have felt off all year.”
Lindor attributed the issue to his eyes drying up when it’s windy and he thought he was seeing better on days when he wore non-prescription tinted glasses over the contacts.
“So I figured I would be better with the [prescription] glasses,’’ Lindor said. “We’ll see if it helps.”
The early results were promising, as Lindor doubled and hit two balls over 100 MPH.
“I hit the ball well, but it’s different,” Lindor said. “The first time, you have to get used to a new feeling, a different kind of depth perception. You can get thrown off and I’m still adjusting. Hopefully it’s better and I’ll just play with the glasses.”
But Lindor said the eyewear is not the reason for his rough first two months of the season.
“That’s not an excuse,’’ Lindor said. “I feel like I’m in the same boat I was last year: I just haven’t had a hot start with the bat most years.”
Lindor entered Friday with an OPS of just .634.
Last June 4, Lindor’s OPS dropped to .688 before he rebounded with an OPS of .881 the rest of the season.
Over the course of his career, Lindor, 30, has hit better in the second half of the season.
He’s counting on a similar turnaround this season.
“I wish I could start better, but I haven’t done it,’’ Lindor said. “It’s been tough. Every year, I think it’s gonna be different, but then it’s an uphill battle again.”
He has hit into a bit of bad luck, according to some metrics, but the results show Lindor has been a below-average player by any standard, let alone one in the early stages of a $341 million contract.
“Hopefully this works,’’ Lindor said of the new specs. “We’ll see how it goes.”