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Braves' catchers Tyler Flowers, Kurt Suzuki thriving in timeshare
ATLANTA -- Between them, Tyler Flowers and Kurt Suzuki have one All-Star appearance over a combined 20 seasons in the majors. But while Atlanta's catching duo may lack for glittering credentials, together they are providing surprising production.
Entering Friday's series opener against the Cardinals, Braves catchers have a major-league leading .425 on-base percentage, nearly 50 points ahead of the second-place Brewers.
"It's kind of what I hoped for and looked at in the spring," said manager Brian Snitker. "It's two guys that aren't everyday guys anymore, but I felt between the two of them we could get a lot out of that position."
When you take away the numbers from Anthony Recker -- who was 1 for 7 before he was sent down to Triple-A Gwinnett -- that league-best OBP jumps up to .444.
"I think it's just the way it's going right now," Suzuki said. "It's kind of hard to explain. Its just baseball."
It's driven by Flowers, who is slashing .396/.484/.434 with a 146 OPS+ in a timeshare in Atlanta that has revitalized his career at 31. During his last two seasons with the White Sox, in which he played in 127 and 112, the right-hander hit .240/.296/.378, but since joining the Braves, the nine-year vet sits at .290/.377/.422, and is currently at career highs across the board in sharing the job with Suzuki, who has made 11 starts to Flowers' 14.
Suzuki, in his 11th season, is hitting .222/.375/.306 with a home run and eight RBI.
"Freshness is part of the game, especially catching," Flowers said. "So there are times when you can rundown if you run out five, six days in a row. It's a lot to deal with, especially if you have some long games in there, some warm games. So ultimately I think it's best, not just for him and I individually, but for the team over the course of a long season where neither of us are getting crushed early on.
We can both stay fresh, take care of little things that we need to and be ready to go and contribute. We've been able to do that so far."
Including in the clutch and in pinch-hit roles on a short bench.
Flowers is hitting .385 with a .500 on-base percentage in 13 at-bats with runners in scoring position, and is hitting .387 with men on in general, and Suzuki boasts a .500 OBP of his own with RISP. The former has reached base in three of his six plate appearances off the bench, while the latter is has two hits in his four chances as a sub.
"I have no idea those numbers, and I don't want to know them either," Flowers said of his hitting with men on. "There's a balance you have to have. You can't go every other day or multiple days off, because then you kind of lose the speed of the game; everything speeds up on your.
"It's a balance and the other good thing in the National League is that a lot of times we're up for pinch-hit opportunities on the days we don't start. That's a way to make sure whoever it is (on the bench) can see some live pitching before their next start as well."
Follow Cory McCartney on Twitter @coryjmccartney and Facebook. His books, 'Tales from the Atlanta Braves Dugout: A Collection of the Greatest Braves Stories Ever Told,' and 'The Heisman Trophy: The Story of an American Icon and Its Winners.' are now available.
