Top 10 professional baseball players with glasses

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Players who have weak eyesight may be intimated by the fact that they have to wear glasses on the field. However, ever since the earliest days of baseball, notable baseball players have sported spectacles during baseball games. Here is a list of top 10 professional baseball players with glasses. So next time if you have to wear glasses on the field, make it a part of your style.

Will White

William Henry White was the first professional baseball player who wore glasses on the baseball field. He was more popularly known as Henry Whoop-La White. White was born in 1854 and died in 1911. He had a long career as a pitcher, mostly playing as part of the Cincinnati Reds or the
Cincinnati Red Stockings. During the course of his long career, he also made many records some of which stand even to this day. Despite wearing glasses, White was known as an excellent pitcher. Since he was the first notable baseball player to use glasses on the field, he was a subject of
many newspaper articles and reports. His contemporaries agreed that although White was near-sighted, he was such a good pitcher that he could land a baseball anywhere on the plate without any problem at all.

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Specs Toporcer

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George Toporcer was another professional baseball player who wore glasses on the baseball field. Toporcer was born in 1899 and died in 1989. He played as a professional Major League Baseball player from 1921 to 1928. Throughout his brief career, he remained a part of the St. Louis Cardinals team. One of the most remarkable things about Toporcer’s career was that he was the first baseball player who wore glasses while playing as a position player. This is what earned him the nickname of ‘Specs Toporcer.’ As a player, Toporcer batted left-handed while he threw right-handed. His batting average through his baseball career was .279 and he achieved 9 home runs over the course of his career.

Chick Hafey

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Charles James Hafey, more popularly known as Chick Hafey, was a professional baseball player. He was born in 1903 in Berkeley, California. He enjoyed a long career as a Major League Baseball player. During the course of his career, Chick Hafey first played for St Louis Cardinals from 1924 to 1931. He later played for Cincinnati Reds from 1932 to 1937.

Hafey famously wore glasses when on the baseball field due to his poor vision. He started wearing glasses in 1926 and wore them through the rest of his career. As a baseball player, Hafey distinguished himself in many ways. He played in two World Series championships, scored the first hit in an All-Star game and finally, received admittance into the Baseball Hall of Fame. As a player, he achieved a batting average of .317 and 164 home runs over the course of his career.

Reggie Jackson

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Reginald Martinez Reggie Jackson is a former professional baseball player. Reggie Jackson is one of the two spectacle-wearing baseball players who were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Jackson had a long and fruitful career spanning over a whopping 21 seasons.

During the course of his career, Jackson played for a number of teams. These included New York Yankees, California Angels and Kansas City among others. Jackson scored a total of 563 home runs during the course of his career. He also won the Most Valuable Player award in 1973. He was known as an accomplished clutch hitter during his career and frequently helped his team win the game. Jackson is currently an advisor to New York Yankees.

Clint Courtney

Clint Courtney was a professional baseball player who was born in Louisiana in 1927. Courtney was famously the first notable professional baseball catcher who wore glasses on the field. He started his career with New York Yankees in 1951. Later, he played as part of a number of others teams. These included St Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Athletics among others.

During the course of his career, Courtney maintained a batting average of .268. He was known as a fierce catcher and taught himself to use both his hands effectively, although he was naturally a left-hander. Courtney was also embroiled in a number of brawls on the field, some of which led to official fines. His career lasted for 11 seasons during which he recorded 3556 putouts as a catcher and scored 38 home runs as a batter.

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Chris Sabo

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Chris Sabo is a former professional baseball player who was born in 1962. He began his Major League Baseball career in 1988 with the Cincinnati Reds. Initially, he was simply brought in as a third baseman replacement. Using the opportunity, Sabo performed excellently and he became widely known as a determined and high-performing player during the 1988 season.

Sabo famously wore wraparound eyeglasses during the game. He played from 1988 until 1996. He played as a part of Chicago White Sox, St Louis Cardinals and Baltimore Orioles as well. By 1996, Sabo had suffered a number on injuries and his performance had dwindled. He maintained a batting average of .268 during his career and scored 116 home runs.

Tom Henke

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Tom Henke is a former professional baseball player in the American Major League Baseball. He was born in Missouri in 1957. From an early age, Henke had a great skill as a pitcher. In 1982, he launched his Major League career with the Texas Rangers. He later went on to play for St Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays as well.

Henke was famous for wearing spectacles during baseball games. He was a feared pitcher who pitched hard and was known as a very effective closer. Over the course of his Major League career, Henke scored 861 strikeouts and 311 saves. He was chosen for the All-Star team more than once during his career and his teammates gave him the nickname ‘The Terminator’ because of his extraordinary success as a closer. Due to his role in securing many Toronto Blue Jays wins during his career, Henke was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011.

Pete Mikkelsen

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Pete Mikkelsen was a professional baseball player most notable for his role as a relief pitcher. Mikkelsen was born in New York in 1939 and began his Major League Baseball career in 1964. He started off as a part of the New York Yankees team where he played the role of a relief pitcher and a closer. Later, he played as a part of a number of other teams. From 1966 to 1967, he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates; he played for the Chicago Cubs from 1967 to 1968; his 1968 season was as a part of St Louis Cardinals. He then played for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1969 to 1972.

During the course of his career, Mikkelsen posted a 45-50 record. He was able to manage 436 strikeouts and 49 saves. Mikkelsen famously sported spectacles on the field, making him one of the famous baseball players who wore glasses.

Eric Sogard

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Eric Sogard is a professional American baseball player. Sogar was born in Arizona in 1986. While studying at the Arizona State University, Sogard joined the college baseball team. As part of the team, he set numerous records. As a result of his performance, he received a number of athletic scholarships from the university.

Sogard began his Major League Baseball career with the Oakland Athletics in 2010. He remained a part of the Athletics team until 2015. In 2015, Sogard joined Milwaukee Brewers and remains a part of the team to this day.

As a baseball player, Sogard has performed well in the role of a second baseman over the course of his career. Sogard famously wears spectacles during baseball games during to an impaired vision. During the course of his career, Sogard has scored a total of 10 home runs and sustained a batting average of .245.

Joseph William Kelly

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Joseph William Kelly, also known as Joe Kelly, is a professional American baseball player. Kelly was born in California in 1988. Kelly started his professional career as a Major League Baseball player in 2012. He was initially signed up by St Louis Cardinals and remained a part of the team until 2014. In 2014, he was traded off the Boston Red Sox. Kelly is currently a part of the Red Sox team.

Kelly is famous for being one of the contemporary professional baseball players who use glasses. He has played in the role of both a pitcher and a starter. As a pitcher, Kelly is known for being able to deliver a high-speed fastball as well as a successful sinker.

Over the course of his career so far, Kelly has sustained a win-loss record of 37-22 with an earned runs average of 3.88. He has also been able to achieve 382 strikeouts. Apart from his prowess as a quality player and a successful baseball pitcher, Kelly is also known for being a fun guy, frequently indulging in brilliant dance moves during practice sessions.

Kelly’s fastball and sinker pitches are highly sought-after by his team. When delivering a fastball, Kelly is successful in reaching speeds as high as 104 miles per hour. His sinker, forming the perfect optical illusion in its mid-air movement to confuse the player, can reach speeds as high as 94 miles per hour.

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