The lowdown on FA 1B Brandon Belt

For the better part of 12 seasons, first baseman Brandon Belt has been a mainstay in the Giants' lineup, helping the club win World Series titles in 2012 and '14. The big left-handed slugger enjoyed the best offensive stretch of his career from 2020-21, but injuries limited him to 78 games in 2022 before he had to undergo season-ending right knee surgery. Initially, it was unclear whether Belt would be able to continue his playing career, but after the procedure in September, the 34-year-old said the knee felt good and that he wants to continue playing. The question now is whether that will be with the Giants, given that Belt is set to become a free agent after the conclusion of the World Series.

Here’s what you need to know about Belt:

FAST FACTS
Birthdate: April 20, 1988 (Age 35 in 2023)
Primary position: 1B
Height/weight: 6-foot-3, 231 lbs.
Bats/throws: Left/left
Place of birth: Nacogdoches, Texas
School(s): Hudson (Texas) HS; University of Texas
Drafted: 5th round, 2009, by Giants
MLB debut: March 31, 2011
Qualifying offer: Not eligible to receive one

THE NUMBERS
2022: .213/.326/.350 (92 OPS+), 8 HR, 0.3 WAR* in 78 G
Career: .261/.356/.458 (123 OPS+), 175 HR, 27.6 WAR in 1,310 G
*Per Baseball-Reference

STAT TO KNOW
From 2020-21, Belt really came into his own as a power-hitting first baseman. In '21, he set a career high with 29 homers despite missing nearly a third of the season. Add in his nine home runs in 51 games from the 60-game 2020 season and Belt had 38 homers and a .595 slugging percentage in 148 games played in that span. He raised his barrel rate from a career-low 8.7% in 2019 to 17% in '21, which ranked among the top 15 hitters in the league.

Belt was unable to replicate that kind of production last season, largely because he was hampered by injury. The aforementioned 17% barrel rate dropped to 12.6% in 2022, while his hard-hit rate fell from 44.8% to 38.5% and his expected slugging percentage fell more than 100 points, from .525 to .412.

QUESTION MARK
Throughout his career, the major knock on Belt hasn’t been his production, but rather his ability to stay on the field. Over the past five full seasons -- not counting the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign -- Belt has played more than 115 games in just one. After undergoing knee surgery in September, it's unclear how effective Belt will be at the plate or in the field moving forward.

He's a born leader
In 2021, while the Giants were surging to their first NL West title since 2012, Belt took it upon himself to be the team’s captain during a series with the Cubs late in the season. He outfitted his jersey with a ‘C’ made out of electrical tape on his chest to let the world know, then went on to slam his 22nd homer of the season and reach base four times during the Sept. 10 matchup when “The Captain” was born. The Giants even took it as far as having Belt dress up as a sea captain before their final flight of the regular season, with their rookies serving as his sailors.

He gets on base
Not only does Belt bring some pop from the left side, he’s also been one of the best in the league at getting on base when healthy. From 2020-21, Belt posted a .393 on-base percentage. That ranked as the eighth-highest rate among all players with at least 200 plate appearances in that span, and second among first basemen behind only 2020 NL MVP Award winner Freddie Freeman. Belt’s walk rate has been in the top 10 percent of the league in six out of seven seasons since 2016.

He used to be a two-way player
Prior to his junior season at Texas in 2009, Belt’s skill set wasn't limited to just one side of the diamond. Coming out of high school in 2006, the Red Sox actually drafted Belt as a pitcher in the 11th round, but he chose to head to college instead. For the next two years, Belt found himself in the outfield and on the mound, appearing as a reliever for the Longhorns in his sophomore year. A shoulder injury forced him to take up first base, and the rest is history.

He has a zoo animal named after him
During his debut season in 2011, Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper gave Belt a nickname that has stuck with him throughout his career: "Baby Giraffe." This was due to how the young, lanky Belt looked while playing the outfield, with Kuiper saying he resembled the animal running around. The folks at Six Flags Discovery World in California caught wind of the nickname and decided to name a newborn giraffe after the Giants' first baseman in 2013.