Rangers Slugger Jake Burger Test-Driving Amber Contacts for Unique Purpose

ARLINGTON, Texas — When the Texas Rangers are in Seattle in a couple of weeks and Jake Burger’s eyes look amber, the TV set is fine. Those will be his eyes.

For the past couple of days at batting practice the Rangers first baseman has been testing out amber colored contacts. He doesn’t wear contacts day-to-day — Burger has 20/20 vision — but he’s looking for ways to pick up the baseball better at ballpark with less light at Globe Life Field.

“Houston’s dark,” Burger said. “Seattle, Milwaukee, inside the Trop [Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg], Arizona. The Trop, if the sun is out, is great.”

It’s not the easiest look to get used to. He chatted with Cincinnati’s Graham Ashcraft, who was taken aback when Burger wore them on Friday. His wife, Ashley, does not like them. He hasn’t Face Timed with his son, Brooks while wearing them because “I don’t want to freak him out.”

Jake Burger’s New Look Has a Purpose

Jake Burger is testing out amber contacts with the hope they will have a brightening effect and help him see the ball better in darker ballparks like Seattle and Houston. They also look a little frightening. pic.twitter.com/i7lVBKdNRE
— Laura Stickells (@LauraStickells) April 4, 2026

The amber-colored contacts are a prototype, Burger said. He tried amber tinted sports glasses but said he doesn’t like the nose piece while hitting them. He couldn’t remember the company that made the. One company, Altius, makes an amber-colored contact for baseball that it says “filters out blue light, sharpening the contrast between the white ball, its red seams and the surrounding environment.”

He’s using them in batting practice for now. If he gets comfortable with them, he hopes to use them in Seattle when the Rangers play the Mariners on April 17.

He said that Globe Life Field and his former home, loanDepot Park in Miami, are two of the best lit parks he hits in. His goal is simple — pick up the ball better in those parks where he has trouble.

The ballparks he mentioned featured wild statistical swings for him in 2025. In Houston at Daikin Park he batted .091. At Seattle’s T-Mobile Park he batted .273. At Chase Field in Phoenix, he batted .333 in two games. If there’s any common thread, it’s that he didn’t hit a home run in any of those parks. In fact, aside from the seven home runs he hit at Globe Life last season, the rest of his home runs were in outdoor parks.

He’s like more consistency. He would also like to get better at putting in the contacts. For someone that has never needed them, it’s a challenge.

“I didn’t realize how hard putting in contacts was,” Burger said. “The first day it took an hour. Second day it took like 50 minutes. I’m under 20 minutes now.”

Burger’s hot start has tapered a bit in the past few games, though he’s still slashing .333/.371/.576 with two home runs and six RBI. He’s one of the holdover players that has responded to the new focus on getting on-base and doing multiple things at the plate.

As it turns out, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker wore different types of lenses a player. He said he would use them in Milwaukee to help pick up the baseball better.

“It’s just another way to figure out shadows or domes with dark places,” Schumaker said. “I haven’t seen contact lenses like that, other than maybe Halloween.”

If this doesn’t work out, at least Burger has that holiday covered.