Best Eye Black Designs for Baseball

Baseball players at all levels use eye black to not only help keep the sun out of their eyes, but to also add a little bit of style to their game. Thus, a lot of the eye black designs outlined in this post are based more on satisfying that “swagger” while others are simply the best for protection from the sun.

Think about it—whenever you give an artist a canvas and a tool, you never know what might be the outcome. Players certainly have their own senses of style on and off the field, and the same goes for eye black and their faces. So, go to any game from high school to the big leagues and you’ll see different variations of applying it, never really knowing where one’s creative mind might go!

In terms of history, the first known use of eye black was from, of course, one the most famous baseball names to ever grace the game, Babe Ruth, back in 1930. (Ruth famously just used grease under his eyes in his attempt to reduce the sun’s glare.) Other forms of the eye black back then were made from ashes of burned cork.

Today, however, eyeblack has evolved and can be made from beeswax, paraffin, and charcoal powder. Also available are anti-glare stickers that are easily applied and made out of fabric with a matte finish.

All that said, let’s jump into some of the best eye black designs for anyone wanting to add a bit of creativity and artistic flair to their athleticism.

The Classic Look

The first design for applying eye black is the classic “single swipe” on the thick end of the stick. While the classic look got its fame from football, it is also very prevalent in the game of baseball as well. The classic typically starts on just outside of the eye’s length, and goes to just outside the other side, forming a line across the entire eye (and then some).

Classic Small

This is just as it sounds—the classic look, just shorter/smaller. The smaller classic is about the length of the eyes, which is different from the classic as the classic is longer and stretches just beyond the eyes on both sides.

Thin/Thick Classic

This is more of a combo for designing the eyeblack. Some players like to apply it with just the tip, leaving a thin line under their eye like normal. Others will apply extremely thick, using the bigger end of the eyeblack stick, many times applying it multiple times to get a thick block.

The Tebow

The Tebow is a twist on the classic look with the single swipe, but with an added feature made famous by pro football (and baseball) player Tim Tebow. This look typically has the thick single swipe with a biblical verse written on as well, typically John 3:16. Again, this is more common in football, but since Tebow made his way into pro baseball, this style has become more popular.

Upside Down Triangles

This may be one of the most famous forms of eyeblack for baseball players. This entails large upside down triangles, the base running under the eyes to the tips down to be equal with your mouth. The triangles are then filled in with more eyeblack. This is a very common look among younger baseball players made famous by college teams.

You can see triangles here, but of course, with that much applied, it’s bound to get a bit messy throughout the game.

The Bryce Harper

Speaking of fame, one of the most famous baseball players of today – and hero of the playoffs so for as the Philadelphia Phillies strive to become baseball’s best team – has a style of eyeblack named after him. The Bryce Harper starts with the classic strip, then has one long skinny triangle down the far end, and another skinny triangle – shorter than the other one, in the middle.

The Fernando Tatis Jr.

Another infamous player today, Fernando Tatis for the San Diego Padres (one of California’s many baseball teams) has a style after him as well. This one starts with the classic strip, and then has another curved line that starts at the inside tip and runs on a curve down towards your mouth. The curve will follow the lines you have on your face when you are smiling or laughing.

Smear

The smear is more of a fluid stripe. It starts initially like the classic, then makes a drastic curve down culminating in a pointed end.

Stripes

Speaking of stripes, while extremely effective, can be considered overdone and are truly more for style than anything else. The user that applies it starts at the corner of their head and goes on a diagonal line across their face to the other end. They typically have multiple stripes that go along their face.

Types of Eye Black

No matter what design you tend to go with, there are a number of brands that would work for you. The following are the top five brands that you could pick, all available on Amazon via the affiliate links provided.

1. Franklin Sports Eye Black
2. Easton Pro Eye Black
3. All of Sport AOS Eye Black
4. Wilson Eye Stick Black Make