Abstract
Purpose :
Many professional athletes undergo laser assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) during their careers, though no study has shown improved performance following the surgery. The objective of this study is to determine how LASIK impacts Major League Baseball (MLB) player batting performance.
Methods :
MLB players who underwent LASIK during their careers and had greater than 130 at-bats in the seasons before and after surgery were identified via public records. Seasonal changes in individual player batting performance were measured with batting average (BA), slugging percentage (SLG), on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS), and wins above replacement (WAR). Batting statistics were compared across seasons for individual players.
Results :
Thirty-seven unique MLB players with mid-career LASIK were identified. In the season prior to LASIK, players experienced an average change of -0.014 in BA (p = 0.024), -0.023 in SLG (p = 0.073), -0.032 in OPS (p = 0.089), and -1.09 in WAR (p = 0.004). In the season after LASIK, players experienced an average change of 0.009 in BA (p = 0.109), 0.017 in SLG (p = 0.221), 0.018 in OPS (p = 0.343), and 0.68 in WAR (p = 0.088). 66% percent of players experienced an increase in BA, 63% an increase in SLG, 55% an increase in OPS, and 55% an increase in WAR. Each of the batting statistics followed a similar trend across the four seasons, where the mean drops in the season prior to LASIK before rebounding back towards the baseline for the two seasons after LASIK.
Conclusions :
Our study demonstrated that professional baseball players have a significant drop in batting performance in the season prior to LASIK, likely motivating some to seek surgery. While performance improved on average after LASIK, the change was not statistically significant, and may be related to regression to the mean. Ophthalmologists and athletes should have an individualized informed discussion regarding the potential risks and benefits of refractive surgery and have tempered expectations for the magnitude of performance benefit from the procedure.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.