This story was excerpted from Thomas Harding's Rockies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PHOENIX -- Rockies outfielder Randal Grichuk showed up at Chase Field on Friday with a new piece of equipment that was not only fashionable but, he hopes, functional: prescription eyewear.

It’s almost a given that batters have keen eyesight. It’s not unheard of for scouts to knock a player down a peg or collegiate coaches to lessen their scholarship offers to players with less than 20/20 vision. Pitchers are more likely to wear glasses, but specs are rare enough in this eagle-eyed sport that there is a Wikipedia page dedicated to it.

And for those of us with imperfect vision, Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson and should-be HOFer Dick Allen -- the first bespectacled American League Most Valuable Player -- are beacons.

Still, pros must stay on top of their vision.

For Grichuk, who entered Friday's game batting .325 with four home runs, the glasses are a culmination of a lengthy search for answers to what he believed was a concerning decline in his vision.

“I got LASIK about 11 years ago,” said Grichuk, 30, who arrived in a trade with the Blue Jays during Spring Training. “About two years ago I went to the doctor in Toronto and said, ‘My vision is kind of fading. I need some contacts.’ And they were like, ‘No. Dry eyes. That’s all you got.’”

It is not unusual for one's vision to decline a decade or so after LASIK. According to information available, the refractive error can return and change one’s vision.

Grichuk's mind and ears accepted the professional’s opinion, but his eyes were screaming something else.

“This offseason, I remember telling my wife, ‘I can understand why older people have trouble driving at night, because my vision is different at night,’” Grichuk said.

But he didn’t think much of it because, well, with daily workouts and meals at home, he didn’t spend much time out at night.

Two games into Spring Training this year, however, Grichuk spoke up and was fitted for contact lenses that arrived as the regular season started. The problem with that was his depth perception would change randomly. He was done with contacts after two games.

Grichuk, who began his career with the Cardinals, called a doctor he was familiar with in St. Louis, who told him it was likely that the fit of the contacts wasn’t exact. So, he went to glasses.

Grichuk lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., during the winter. So, when the Rockies started a three-game series with the D-backs on Friday, Grichuk was wearing the glasses during batting practice.

And he had no trepidation.

“I grew up watching the third baseman for the Reds, Chris Sabo -- he wore goggles, so I’m trying the glasses,” said Grichuk, whose sports frames are above the eyes so there is no material blocking his lower vision. “I’m trying to get used to them for the game tonight.

“But when I take them off, I can tell. My vision is very different. I’m going to try to stick with them and see how it goes.”