The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Suzuki finding his groove at the plate
Veteran hitter discovers unusual pop with Braves.
Braves catcher Kurt Suzuki was taking swings in the batting cage earlier this season, and his coaches noticed something in his swing.
“Honestly, I was working in the cage one day, and I used to go with one hand during batting practice,” Suzuki said. “I couldn’t do it in the game, and so I don’t know. Maybe it was true, maybe it wasn’t. But I started working on two-hand fifinishes and kept doing it, tried to keep loose as I was doing it. Then all the signs kind of just took offffffffffff, and it’s something that Seitz (Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer) and (assistant hitting coach) Jose (Castro) mentioned to me.”
Braves players frequently praise Seitzer, but he’s arguably had the greatest effffffffffffect on Suzuki. An 11-year veteran and one-time All-Star (2014), Suzuki has discovered unprecedented pop in his fifirst season with the Braves.
“I used to do a one-handed finish in batting practice, and I wouldn’t do it in the game, and I’d tell myself mentally in the game to do it, to let go with one hand, and I couldn’t do it,” Suzuki said. “So (Seitzer) said, ‘Why don’t you just practice the way you hit in the game?’ So I went and hit and I probably hit about 150 balls that day. I just tried to be loose and fifinish with two hands until it became a habit. I can’t let go now, it’s hard for me to let go with one hand. So it’s instilled now.”
Already with 15 home runs, Suzuki’s next long ball will set a new career high. He’s become more valuable than the Braves could’ve imagined when they scooped him up late last January on a oneyear, $2.5 million deal.
Suzuki has outperformed his contract, and given the barren catching landscape throughout the big leagues, he’s not likely to be waiting deep into January to fifind a job again.
He may be offered the opportunity to be a primary catcher elsewhere, whereas with the Braves he could still share duties with Tyler Flowers, who has a cheap club option that’s likely to be accepted.
“I don’t know (if being a primary catcher will infl-ence a decision),” Suzuki said. “I kind of just take it day-by-day. I try not to look too far. We’ve still got a month left. So we’ll see how I feel after that. But I feel good now, and we’ll see.”
Suzuki might be a onehit wonder in Atlanta. He’s enjoyed his time on and off the fifield with the Braves, but that may not be the deciding factor.
“Yeah, I don’t see why not,” Suzuki said about re-signing. “It’s a great place. I like all the guys here and stuff. But there’s a lot of factors: family, my kids starting school (in California), proximity to home (Hawaii). There’s a lot of things you can factor in, but you know, this is aplace I’ve grown to love.”
Success as pinch hitter: Outfielder Lane Adams, who has become the Braves’ go-to pinch hitter, came close to an early retirement a summer ago.
The Yankees released Adams from their Double-A affiliate July 29, 2016. He pondered a career change at just 26 years old. Basketball was his initial thought, but he didn’t have an actual plan. He just had reservations about continuing down what appeared to be a dead end.
“If you’d have told me I’d be in this situation now, I don’t know if I would’ve believed it,” Adams said. “...To be here in this clubhouse, with these guys, honestly I didn’t even think it was possible.”
The Braves signed Adams in December. He wasn’t invited to big-league spring training. And he wasn’t exactly recognizable. “I didn’t know who he was,” manager Brian Snitker said. “I’d never heard of him.”
Adams ended up playing a minimal amount in late spring-training games. Snitker said he noticed his tools: big, strong, fast. Once Adams impressed at Triple-A Gwinnett, the team felt comfortable calling him up.
Now he’s spearheading perhaps the best pinch-hitting situation in the majors. The Braves have 40 pinchhit RBIs, most in the majors. Adams is 10for 38 (.263) with a homer and nine RBIs in those situations.
Adams said he’s gotten more comfortable with the role as the summer has continued. The stats agree: In his past 21 pinch-hit appearances, he’s hitting .368 (7 for 19) with three doubles, four RBIs and a pair of walks.
“Just trying to be prepared,” Adams said. “I do a lot of video work, especially with our analytics guy. He has heatmaps he brings tome every day where every pitcher goes, where they throw their pitches in the zone. Just try to be ready. You never know, especially in the National League. The strategy changes with each batter.”