ATLANTA -- Frustrated and essentially desperate to find any way to get a better feel for the timing of his swing, Braves catcher Tyler Flowers strolled toward the plate during the seventh inning of a game against the Mets last year and decided to use a leg kick for the first time in his career.
This unplanned decision to make this unpracticed alteration provided an immediate result for Flowers, who generated a 109-mph exit velocity on a 424-foot home run off Mets reliever Jim Henderson. The leg kick has been a game-changer for the 31-year-old Flowers, who entered Friday hitting .