Poor Freddie Freeman Is Going Blind

Modern medicine has turned so many nagging baseball injuries into relics. There's Tommy John surgery and cortisone shots and Toradol. But the crafty sons of bitches who devise the cures baseball has come to love haven't yet found a way around blindness.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman has worn contacts while playing since his teenage years, but he realized he needed more support earlier this month:

Freeman was diagnosed with corneal abrasions after playing in windy and dry conditions in a three-game series in Colorado on May 4-6. Freeman said his vision deteriorated from a prescription of 1.5 diopters in both eyes to 1.75 in his left and 2.0 in his right.

"Corneal abrasions." That sounds unpleasant. So does "burning sensation":

Freeman said the multiple sets of contacts he's tried are now causing a burning sensation. And he can't see very well wearing a hastily-made set of athletic glasses because they don't allow the proper peripheral vision to see pitches from his batting stance.

Gahhh. Freeman hasn't played since Friday, when he was oh-for-five with three strikeouts. His new goggles—he's ordered pairs from Oakley and Under Armour—are supposed to arrive tomorrow, at which point he'll play, if they work. If they don't? He'll continue his slow, burning descent into blindness.

Freeman to visit eye doctor again Tuesday [AJC]