© Ron Chenoy | 2021 Sep 7
This is the most confident Brandon Belt has ever been. It’s hard to get more confident than declaring yourself captain of the best team in baseball because you know you’re the “alpha male” and everyone else will follow your lead.
Then following it up by scoring twice, reaching base five times and driving in two runs with a two-run homer all while wearing an electrical taped “C” on your chest. Peak confidence.
Sept. 10 will go down as the first official day of Brandon Belt’s tenure as the captain of the San Francisco Giants. What began as a joke on the team plane turned into a very real display at Wrigley Field in the Giants’ 6-1 win over the Cubs — SF’s fifth straight.
“When you’re the alpha, you’ve just got to do it,” Belt said. “And everybody else just follows along.”
Manager Gabe Kapler called Belt the captain “of something.” “What a character,” Kris Bryant said. Starter Logan Webb gave his stamp of approval in the form of a gif from “The Office” on Twitter.
How did we arrive at this point? On the team flight from Denver to Chicago, Belt had a revelation that he’s “been the captain all year,” he said. He told everybody that he’d be getting off the plane first, and everyone went with it. “I just felt it in my heart,” Belt said.
https://t.co/LTikBpEyiE pic.twitter.com/UXEZm1lK30
— Logan Webb (@LoganWebb1053) September 10, 2021
Evan Longoria, who put SF ahead with a two-run homer Friday, taped the “C” onto Belt’s jersey before the game without Belt knowing. Kapler called the makeshift jersey decal “kind of bootleg.”
“When I walked in and saw it, it was pretty funny,” Belt said. “But I was not going to wear it. But everybody thought that I should. Being the leader that I am, I stepped up and did it.”
Part of being a leader, especially during a 162-game baseball season, can be bringing levity to a clubhouse.
“I think it’s important to smile and laugh and be playful,” Kapler said. “This group takes each game very seriously. You can be playful and be intense. You can be playful and be a grinder. And that is really who Belt is.”
Had Belt not played so well Friday, the play may have fallen flat. But he started the game by drawing two walks off Kyle Hendricks, added a double down the right field line and a two-run homer — his 22nd — in the seventh inning.
Belt has already dedicated this season to his late grandmother, Margaret Peterson, who passed away on Aug. 24. In her name, Belt has eclipsed his previous career-high in home runs and has recorded his highest OPS in a full season ever.
Twice in August, Belt put up multi-home run games. Despite missing 58 games due to injuries, he’s tied with Mike Yastrzemski for the team lead in homers.
Belt credits his age-33 success to his experience. The two-time World Series champion said he knows what works for him at the plate, and the coaching staff has empowered him. The support from coaches has always been there for the most part, Belt said, but now he’s wise enough to recognize it and harness it.
He’s been more than just a steady presence at first base. He’s playing his captainship into existence.