For the Philadelphia Phillies to make noise in the 2026 MLB postseason, they’re going to need Jesus Luzardo to pitch well — starting with their playoff opener on Tuesday against the Atlanta Braves.
And for Luzardo to pitch well, he’s going to have to see well. It sounds simple, but it’s true — and it’s a good thing Luzardo has glasses.
Very few pitchers in MLB wear glasses. Many certainly have contact lenses to improve their vision, but having the glasses frames on the mound themselves isn’t that common.
For Luzardo, it’s an every-start thing. That’s his look.
Many fans are big fans specifically of Luzardo’s glasses. For some, who may have grown up playing their own sports with glasses, it’s a cool thing to see someone on the biggest stage with that look.
And for those who know baseball and realize how superstitious its players are, you might also wonder whether that plays a role in Luzardo’s glasses.
Well, here’s the scoop.
Why Does Jesus Luzardo Wear Glasses?
As a kid, Luzardo wore rec specs — goggles — because he couldn’t always see the signs from his catcher. Obviously, it’s important for the pitcher to know what the catcher is calling.
Luzardo doesn’t wear the glasses or goggles anywhere else in his life, but he kept them on throughout his baseball journey.
Until 2021, that is, when Luzardo decided to pitch the season without his glasses on the mound. It didn’t go well.
“They used to be prescription,” Luzardo told MLB.com. “Then one day I left them at home in `22. We were in Atlanta. I said, ‘I have to go get glasses. I can’t pitch without glasses.’ So, I went to an Oakley store in Atlanta and bought a regular pair. I pitched well and ever since I was like, ‘I can’t switch them.’”
Jesus Luzardo Stats With and Without Glasses
The best we have to go on here is the fact that Luzardo said the 2021 season was the one in which he didn’t wear glasses, and in which he realized that wouldn’t work for him.
That year, without glasses, Luzardo had a 6.61 ERA.
That is by far the worst single-season ERA of Luzardo’s career.
He did have a 5.00 mark in 2024 with Miami, but then coming to the Phillies in 2025, he dropped it to 3.92.
And this season? Luzardo had a career-best 2.86 ERA in the regular season (when not accounting for the 12.0 innings he threw as a rookie).
The math on this is possible, too, with the caveat that we don’t know for sure that Luzardo has never gone glasses-less for starts outside of 2021.
But if we remove 2021 from his ledger, his career ERA is 3.59. It’s not just about the glasses, but Luzardo certainly feels like they help.
Inside the Lore of Jesus Luzardo’s Glasses for Phillies