Brandon Belt

Early life

Belt was born on April 20, 1988, in Nacogdoches, Texas. Belt attended Hudson High School in Hudson, Texas, where he was a pitcher and outfielder. The Boston Red Sox selected Belt in the 11th round (343rd overall) of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft as a pitcher, but chose not to offer him the signing bonus that would make him forego his college commitment.

College career

Belt enrolled at San Jacinto College to preserve his ability to negotiate with Boston but eventually chose not to sign. He pitched and served as a designated hitter for San Jacinto's college baseball team in 2007. He was drafted in the 11th round (348th overall) of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft by the Atlanta Braves but again chose not to sign.

Belt transferred to the University of Texas, where he played for the Longhorns for two years. In his 2008 sophomore season, Belt batted .319 with six home runs and a team-high 65 runs batted in (RBI) while also pitching in 16 games as a reliever. After the 2008 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League. As a junior, Belt transitioned to first base due to shoulder problems. In 2009, during his junior season, Belt batted .323 in 63 games with eight home runs, 43 RBI, and 15 stolen bases as part of the Texas team that finished as runner-up in the College World Series.

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

The San Francisco Giants selected Belt in the fifth round (147th overall) of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft after his junior year. He signed and received a signing bonus of $200,000. He started his professional career with the High-A Giants affiliate in San Jose, for whom he was a mid-season All Star. He worked with the Giants coaching staff and made an adjustment to his swing mechanics that helped him move quickly through the Giants farm system. He hit well at all three levels in 2010, finishing the year batting .352/.455/.620 with 23 home runs and 112 RBI, gaining attention as one of the Giants top prospects.

In 2010, he played for the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies, and was named a Baseball America Minor League All Star and an MiLB Organization All Star. He also played for the East Division Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League, where he was named a Rising Star and to the All Prospect Team. Belt played in the Arizona Fall League Rising Stars Game for the East team.

He was ranked as the third-best first baseman prospect on MLB.com prior to the 2011 season. He was ranked as the 26th-best prospect overall by MLB.com.

San Francisco Giants (2011–2022)

2011

After his strong showing in the minor leagues, Belt was invited to spring training in 2011, where he played in 28 exhibition games, the most on the team, and batted .282 with 3 home runs. On March 30, the Giants announced that Belt had been named to the opening day major league roster, a moment captured in the series premiere of The Franchise. He started in his first major league game the next day and singled off of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw in his first major league at bat, finishing 1-for-3 with a walk. Belt hit his first major league home run on April 1, 2011, off Chad Billingsley. On April 20, Belt was optioned to Triple-A Fresno to make room on the roster for Cody Ross. He was hitting .192 in 17 games. Belt was recalled to the Giants on May 26 after injuries to Buster Posey and Darren Ford. On June 4, Belt was diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his wrist after being hit by a pitch in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals, sending him to the 15 day disabled list (DL). On July 7, Belt was removed from the DL and optioned back to Fresno to continue his rehab assignment.

On July 19, Belt was recalled to the Giants to give slumping first baseman Aubrey Huff a break. In his first game back in the majors, Belt hit a solo home run in the second inning and a tiebreaking two-run double in the seventh to help the Giants defeat the Dodgers. On August 4, Belt was optioned back to Fresno to make room on the roster for Mark DeRosa. On August 14, one day after being called up to the majors for a fourth time, Belt hit two home runs in a 5–2 victory over the Florida Marlins in Miami. It was the first multi-home run game of his career.

In August 2011, Belt was given the nickname "The Baby Giraffe" by Giants announcer Duane Kuiper, who commented that Belt looked like the animal while tracking down a fly ball in left field during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers. The nickname stuck and Belt became a fan favorite in San Francisco, with "Baby Giraffe" hats rivaling the number of "Panda" hats in the stands at AT&T Park in September 2011 (the panda hats a reference to then-Giants star Pablo Sandoval, nicknamed "Kung Fu Panda"). Six Flags Discovery Kingdom named a baby giraffe born in August after Belt.

2012

Belt made the Giants' opening day roster for 2012. Belt split time at first base with Aubrey Huff and Brett Pill at the beginning of the season. Belt caught the final out of Matt Cain's perfect game that was thrown to him at first base from third baseman Joaquín Arias. After Huff was injured and Pill struggled at the plate, Belt became the everyday first baseman and finished the season strong, hitting .328 from July 24 to the end of the season.

In the NLCS, Belt hit .304 (7-for-23) in six games with a .565 slugging percentage. On October 28, Belt won his first World Series title when the Giants swept the Detroit Tigers. He played a key part of the Giants' clinching game in the World Series, starting the scoring by hitting a triple to right field in the second inning, scoring Hunter Pence from second.

2013

Belt set new career highs in 2013, batting .289 with 17 home runs and 67 RBI during 150 games, and he led the Giants with an .841 on-base plus slugging (OPS). Belt got off to a slow start after losing 11 pounds to an opening-week stomach virus, but finished strong, batting .346 over the season's final 51 games. Belt credited his improvement to changing his grip and moving back in the batter's box. Belt was named National League Player of the Week for August 5–11 after collecting hits in all seven games played, while batting .440 (11-for-25) with five RBI, 20 total bases, two home runs, and eight runs scored.

2014

On February 1, 2014, Belt signed a one-year $2.9 million contract to avoid arbitration. On May 9, Belt was hit by a pitch from Dodgers pitcher Paul Maholm, resulting in a broken left thumb and trip to the DL. Belt was activated from the DL on July 4, only to return to the DL on July 21 after suffering a concussion while fielding during batting practice. Belt was activated August 2, but was placed on the DL again August 8 when his concussion symptoms continued. Belt returned to the Giants on September 15.

In the postseason, Belt batted .295 (18-for-61) with 8 RBI and 11 walks in 17 games. In Game 2 of the NLDS against the Washington Nationals, he hit a solo home run in the top of the 18th inning to break a 1–1 tie after 6 hours and 23 minutes of game play, helping the Giants to an eventual 3–1 series win. On October 29, Belt won his second World Series championship when the Giants defeated the Kansas City Royals in seven games. Belt and teammate Hunter Pence hit safely in all seven games of the series, the only players on either team to do so.

2015

On February 3, 2015, Belt and the Giants avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $3.6 million contract. On May 17, Belt accomplished a rare feat when he collected 3 hits, including a home run, for 3 games in a row against the Cincinnati Reds. He was only the second Giants player to do so since 1900. Barry Bonds had a similar three-game streak in 2000. Belt recorded another unusual statistic since he hit the home runs on 3 consecutive days after not hitting any in his first 30 games. Belt was last player to have done so, when he hit home runs in 3 consecutive games after not hitting any in his first 48 games in 2012.

In 2015, Belt appeared in 137 games, batting .280/.356/.478, and set new career-highs with 18 home runs and 68 RBI. He led all major league hitters in line drive percentage (28.7%).

2016

On February 10, 2016, Belt and the Giants agreed to a one-year, $6.2 million contract to avoid arbitration. On April 9, Belt and the Giants agreed to a 5-year, $72.8 million contract extension through 2021. After winning the National League All-Star Final Vote, Belt was selected to his only All Star Game.

In 2016, Belt led the Giants with 104 walks, 17 home runs, a .394 on-base percentage, and .868 OPS, and set a new career-high with 82 RBI. Belt became the first Giant to record 100 walks in a season since Barry Bonds in 2007. He had the lowest ground ball percentage of all major league hitters (26.3%). He hit poorly in his third postseason, batting 2-for-17 with 2 RBI as the Giants lost to the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS.

2017

In 2017, Belt tied his then-career-high with 18 home runs before suffering a season-ending concussion on August 4.

2018

On April 22, Belt set a new MLB record for most pitches seen in one at bat, with 21 against the Angels' starting pitcher, Jaime Barría. Belt fouled off 16 pitches (15 with two strikes) against the right-hander in his first plate appearance of the game, in the top of the first inning. The at bat lasted 12 minutes and 45 seconds and ended with a fly out to right fielder Kole Calhoun. Belt was also named the National League Player of the Week on May 21. On June 2, Belt underwent an appendectomy. In 2018, he batted .253/.342/.414 with 14 home runs and 46 RBI.

2019

In 2019, Belt hit .234/.339/.403 with 76 runs, 17 home runs, and 57 RBI. He had the lowest ground ball percentage in the National League (28.3%).

2020

In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Belt batted .309/.425/.591 with 9 home runs and 30 RBI in 51 games. He had the fourth-highest OPS in the National League (1.015).

2021

In 2021, Belt batted .274/.378/.597 with 59 RBI, and a career high 29 home runs in 381 plate appearances. He became a free agent after the season but accepted the Giants $18.4 million qualifying offer for the 2022 season.

2022

Following the retirement of Buster Posey, Belt became the longest tenured member of the Giants. In 2022, Belt batted .213/.326/.350 in 298 plate appearances. He had the slowest sprint speed of all Giants players, at 24.3 feet per second. Belt underwent season-ending surgery on September 2 to repair cartilage in his right knee.

Toronto Blue Jays (2023)

On January 10, 2023, Belt signed a one-year contract worth $9.3 million with the Toronto Blue Jays. He batted .254/.369/.490 with 19 home runs in 103 games for Toronto. He served mostly as a platoon designated hitter, facing primarily right-handed pitchers. He batted 0-for-8 with 5 strikeouts in the AL Wild Card Series.

Belt became a free agent after the season. He received only one guaranteed contract offer, which he called "baffling" given his 2023 performance, but he did not sign with a team for the 2024 or 2025 season.

Career accomplishments

Championships

Awards and honors

Personal life

Belt married his high school sweetheart Haylee Stephenson on December 3, 2010, in their hometown of Lufkin, Texas. They have two sons, born in 2014 and 2018.

Belt founded Brandon Belt Fishing, which hosts big bass fishing tournaments. Their mission will be to raise money for Harold's House, a nonprofit that serves victims of sexual and/or physical abuse.

References

References

1. Schulman, Henry. (August 26, 2011). "Brandon Belt - the 'Baby Giraffe'". San Francisco Chronicle.
2. Pavlovic, Alex. (June 22, 2017). "Instant Analysis: Five Takeaways From Giants Dropping Series Vs Braves". [[NBC Bay Area]].
3. (March 16, 2022). "SF Giants News: Return of the Captain". [[SB Nation]].
4. MacPherson. "How the Red Sox almost added SF's Brandon Belt to their pipeline of pitching". The Providence Journal.
5. Pavlovic, Alex. (March 13, 2014). "Cactus League: Brandon Belt can't win over Giants fans". San Jose Mercury News.
6. (October 30, 2014). "Belt again a world champion". [[Texas Longhorns]].
7. "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League". [[Cape Cod Baseball League]].
8. "2008 Harwich Mariners".
9. "Brandon Belt".
10. "Brandon Belt Stats, Highlights, Bio | MiLB.com Stats". [[Minor League Baseball]].
11. Willis, Scott. (August 26, 2010). "Brandon Belt Scouting Report". CrazyCrabbers.com.
12. (January 18, 2011). "Prospect Watch: Top 10 first basemen". MLB.com.
13. Haft, Chris. (January 26, 2011). "Belt earns ranking among Top 50 Prospects". MLB.com.
14. Schulman, Henry. (March 6, 2011). "Brandon Belt's emergence a victory for scouts". San Francisco Chronicle.
15. Pavlovic, Alex. (March 30, 2011). "The Brandon Belt decision: He's a San Francisco Giant". San Jose Mercury News.
16. Shea, John. (March 30, 2011). "Brandon Belt makes SF Giants' roster". San Francisco Chronicle.
17. Poole, Gary Andrew. (July 12, 2011). "'Curt Flood' and 'The Franchise': A Baseball Documentary Double-Header". The Atlantic.
18. Kepner, Tyler. (March 31, 2011). "The Giants Start Over, Adjusting to the Glare". The New York Times.
19. (March 31, 2011). "San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers - Box Score". ESPN.com.
20. (April 1, 2011). "Belt's first career homer". MLB.com.
21. (April 21, 2011). "Belt sent to Triple-A to make room for Ross". MLB.com.
22. Kroner, Steve. (May 26, 2011). "SF Giants call up Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford". San Francisco Chronicle.
23. Steward, Carl. (June 4, 2011). "Belt headed to DL with small wrist fracture". San Jose Mercury News.
24. Pouliot, Matthew. (July 7, 2011). "Brandon Belt comes off DL, gets sent to Triple-A". [[NBC Sports]].
25. (July 19, 2011). "Brandon Belt returns to key Giants' victory over Dodgers". ESPN.com.
26. (August 4, 2011). "Mark DeRosa reinstated from DL". ESPN.com.
27. Schulman, Henry. (August 15, 2011). "Brandon Belt hits 2 homers, SF Giants beat Marlins". San Francisco Chronicle.
28. Schulman, Henry. (August 26, 2011). "Brandon Belt - the 'Baby Giraffe'". San Francisco Chronicle.
29. Townsend, Mark. "Bay Area Six Flags names baby giraffe after Giants' Brandon Belt - Big League Stew".
30. Calcaterra, Craig. (April 4, 2012). "Brandon Belt makes the Giants roster". NBC Sports.
31. Schulman, Henry. (May 15, 2012). "UPDATE: Tonight's SF Giants lineup, plus Bochy on Belt/Pill/Huff". [[SFGate]].
32. Pavlovic, Alex. (February 25, 2013). "Giants first baseman Brandon Belt hopes to reach his potential this season". San Jose Mercury News.
33. (October 28, 2012). "San Francisco Giants vs. Detroit Tigers - Play By Play - October 28, 2012". Espn.go.com.
34. (August 12, 2013). "Brandon Belt of the Giants named National League Player of the Week". MLB.com.
35. Haft, Chris. (February 21, 2014). "Big contract a 'special moment' for Belt". MLB.com.
36. (May 10, 2014). "Giants put Brandon Belt on DL". ESPN.
37. (July 4, 2014). "Giants activate 1B Brandon Belt". ESPN.com.
38. Torres, Maria. (July 21, 2014). "Concussion sends Belt to disabled list". MLB.com.
39. Alexander, Jackson. (August 8, 2014). "Concussion symptoms land Belt on seven-day DL". MLB.com.
40. Haft, Chris. (September 15, 2014). "Feeling 'really good,' Belt comes off disabled list". MLB.com.
41. Haft, Chris. (October 5, 2014). "In 18th, a Belt wastes Nats' six-hour effort". MLB.com.
42. MLB. (2014-10-30). "WS2014 Gm7: Pence, Belt tie World Series hit mark".
43. Haft, Chris. (February 3, 2015). "Giants, Belt avoid arbitration with 1-year deal". MLB.com.
44. (May 18, 2015). "Giants by the numbers: Belt accomplishes rare three-game hit streak".
45. Kruth, Cash. (February 10, 2016). "Belt OKs one-year deal with Giants". MLB.com.
46. "Major League Leaderboards » 2016 » Batters » Batted Ball Statistics".
47. Kruth, Cash. (February 10, 2016). "Belt OKs one-year deal with Giants". MLB.com.
48. "Belt signs contract extension through 2021".
49. "2016 San Francisco Giants Batting Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
50. Pavlovic, Alex. "Instant Replay: Samardzija K's 11, But Giants Blanked". CSN Bay Area.
51. "Major League Leaderboards » 2016 » Batters » Batted Ball Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball".
52. "Brandon Belt Postseason Batting Game Logs".
53. Faraudo, Jeff. (August 4, 2017). "Brandon Belt beaned, Giants fall to Diamondbacks". Bay Area News Group.
54. (April 22, 2018). "Giants vs. Angels Play By Play 04/22/18".
55. (April 22, 2018). "Brandon Belt sets MLB record, sees 21 pitches in AB before lining out".
56. Murphy, Bryan. (May 21, 2018). "MLB names Brandon Belt the NL Player of the Week". [[SB Nation]].
57. Park, Do-Hyoung. (June 2, 2018). "Brandon Belt has surgery to remove appendix". MLB.
58. "Brandon Belt Stats".
59. (January 1, 2019). "Major League Leaderboards » 2019 » Batters » Batted Ball Statistics".
60. Gilbert, Steve. (November 17, 2021). "Belt accepts QO, will stay with Giants in '22". MLB.com.
61. "Statcast Sprint Speed Leaderboard". MLB.com.
62. (2022-09-03). "Brandon Belt out for remainder of 2022 season".
63. Matheson, Keegan. (2023-01-11). "Brandon Belt signs with Blue Jays".
64. Mearns, Andrew. (2024-05-03). "Why has no MLB team signed Brandon Belt?".
65. "Former Blue Jay Brandon Belt baffled as to why he hasn't received any offers".
66. Deeds, Nick. (2024-04-07). "New York Notes: Belt, Martinez, Cole".
67. "Player of the Week".
68. (March 30, 2013). "Brandon Belt". SF Giants Photos Blog.
69. Schulman, Henry. (August 28, 2014). "SF Giants' Brandon Crawford reveals injury, plus lineup change". [[SFGate]].
70. "Brandon Belt Fishing".