Freddie Freeman said Friday his eyes were feeling a lot better, after taking Thursday’s off day to rest and treat the dryness that’s been ailing him since last weekend in New York.
Freeman said the steroid drops and gel he’s been using has helped to treat abrasions in the whites of his eyes and dryness that he first felt taking batting practice with the wind blowing in last Saturday in New York. Freeman was given a good report when evaluated again by Braves optometrist David Ross again Friday afternoon.
“When I woke this morning it didn’t feel like there was a crumpled up piece of paper in my eye, like it has been,” Freeman said. “Everything feels good today.”
Freeman’s dryness had worsened to the point where a contact lens broke off in his eye seven minutes before he took the field against the Marlins on Monday night.
“I couldn’t see out of my left eye the whole game,” said Freeman, who went 0-for-12 with six strikeouts while playing all three games in the Marlins series. “I knew I could see playing defense and I think I can help defensively.”
Freeman said he wanted to battle through for his teammates. He played Wednesday knowing he’d have Thursday’s off day coming. But by his final at-bat, his frustration peaked.
“I just kind of gave up in the middle of the at-bat,” Freeman said. “(I) just let him throw a heater right down the middle and just walked back to the dugout.”
He’s encouraged, though, that unlike when he had problems with dryness in his eyes in 2012, this time he and the Braves recognized it early and have been able to treat it sooner and with more success.
Freeman wears clear glasses to protect his eyes from wind and debris in the field, but only his contacts when he’s hitting. He said he might consider wearing glasses at the plate too if he can get a pair that don’t have a nose piece to block his peripheral vision.
“I’ve got to talk to Under Armor and see if they can make glasses with no nosepiece,” Freeman said. “Because how I hit, it puts a little black spot in my vision with the nosepiece. I just winged it and went without them. I didn’t want to compound with not being able to see, having some blur, plus a black spot. It’s just one of those things I’m going to have to deal with. I think we caught it early enough and I feel good today.”
Freeman, for one, is looking forward to some hot Atlanta summer days, with temperatures in the 90s and high humidity.
“It’s just one of those things I’m just going to have to battle in the first couple months of every season with the cold and the wind, going into these road places,” Freeman said. “If we can just manage it the rest of my career, I think we’ll be OK. Obviously we caught it earlier than what happened a couple years ago. This is a lot better than a few years ago.”
