I mean, it makes sense to let Brandon Belt go.
He’s in his mid-30s. He has a bad knee. At this point in his career, he can really only play first base or DH. To the Giants, who are looking to get younger, healthier, and more athletic, he’s none of those things. He’s redundant with LaMonte Wade Jr, who is just as left-handed but can play the outfield. He’s not going to have a lot of opportunities at DH, with Joc Pederson and Michael Conforto and Mitch Haniger all around. It just wasn’t going to be a great fit for Belt in San Francisco this year.
On the other hand, I like Brandon Belt and don’t want him to leave?
Belt will reportedly sign a 1 year, $9.3 million deal with the Blue Jays today, ending his 12-year tenure in San Francisco. The Blue Jays, a very right-handed lineup, wanted to add a different look, while Belt wanted to get paid to play baseball and also get plenty of playing time. Kind of a win-win there, really.
Brandon Belt was an integral part of the Giants for more than a decade. He’s tip 10 in Giants history — including New York! — in doubles, homers, extra base hits, and walks. He hit the homer that won the 18-inning playoff game in Washington, he started bunting for hits before it was popular, and he put an electrical tape C on his jersey to show that he was the captain. He fielded first base and wore a giraffe-leather jacket ensemble with the same aplomb:
He was productive on the field, and delightful off it.
There is also a segment of Giants fandom for whom defending Brandon Belt became part of their identity, and if you’re reading this, then you are disproportionately likely to have been one of them. There were always Giants fans who were frustrated by his taking called strike threes, or who thought that he should be able to just hit 30 homers, or didn’t appreciate him because of his streakiness. They conflicted with the Giants fans who liked the power he did have, appreciated his defense, and were positively moon-eyed over his OBP.
The Belt Wars, though, have finally come to an end. Or possibly they migrated to Toronto, where Canadian fans will engage in the same debates, though presumably theirs will include more Degrassi references. Either way, our part in the battle is done. It’s not our fight anymore. It’s not our war anymore.
Instead, Belt will head north, where he’ll try to be their Joc Pederson, their lightning bolt who gets white-hot for weeks at a time. He’ll have a lot of help over there, with Vlad Jr and Matt Chapman and Bo Bichette and George Springer, so he found himself a good place. There’s nothing wrong with this move, not for Belt and not for the Giants. It’s just how it works out sometimes.
But it still sucks. When Gabe Kapler came to San Francisco, there was this sense that finally, the team had a coaching staff that valued Belt’s skills. Kapler would go out of his way to praise Belt, and yes, he’ll do that for just about anyone, but there are times that it seems like he’s doing it because of some advice he got from a sidebar in What Color Is Your Parachute, and with Belt it was always genuine. Kap was always excited to have a player who knew the strike zone so well, made such good swing decisions, and also had the physical tools to be an excellent hitter. For all Bruce Bochy’s virtues as a manager, he never gave off that impression.
For all we know, that success will continue in Canada, after taking a gap year in 2022. The Blue Jays obviously believe in Belt enough to go out and sign him, and if his knee can stay healthy for most of the year, then they might have snagged themselves a good player at a cheap (in 2023 baseball terms, anyway) price. I’m rooting for that. I really am.
Because the thing is, as much as I want to see Brandon Belt remain a Giant forever, it’s okay for time to run its course. The entire 2014 team is gone, save Brandon Crawford. Buster Posey retired. Sergio Romo and Pablo Sandoval both played in the Mexican League last year. Madison Bumgarner is a shell of himself in Arizona, though that’s pretty common among people who move to Arizona. Joe Panik’s retired. So is Michael Morse, and so is Hunter Pence, and Gregor Blanco, and Matt Cain, and Jeremy Affeldt, and…
All of them. They’re all gone but Crawford, and most of them are retired. Time catches up with everyone, and the Giants, a Smart Franchise, will understand that. If the Blue Jays want to take their shot at Brandon Belt defying decline for one more year, then great. Good for them, good for him.
I’ll miss the big lug, though. Who will be Crawford’s co-Brandon now? Who will be the goofball? The team will be missing a big, giraffe-shaped personality, and someone new will have to step up to fill that hole. I don’t know who that will be, but I do know that the character of the Giants will fundamentally change. It was always going to have to at some point. I just wish that point wasn’t now.
I’ll leave you with this, where Belt is the straight man to Crawford’s outstanding comedic chops. These were the last two of the championship era. Now it’s down to one.
Losing Bob stinks.
Nicely written tribute to the Captain. Wishing BB all the luck in the world and pleased he's going to be socking dingers in the Rogers Centre instead of Coors Field or some place even more distasteful than that.
Brandon Belt will be HILARIOUS at all of the 2012 and 2014 (2021?) team reunion events going forward and no weird Canadians can ever take that away from us.