Sep. 10, 2021
San Francisco Giants’ Brandon Belt rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Friday, Sept. 10, 2021.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
The San Francisco Giants have been a well-oiled, perfectly balanced machine these season. They entered Friday’s early afternoon game against the Chicago Cubs with MLB’s best record, 90-50 (and improved to 91-50 after a decisive 6-1 victory). But it sounds like first baseman Brandon Belt would like to stake his claim as the undisputed team leader of the league’s best-performing club.
Belt strutted to the plate against the Cubs while sporting a poorly taped-on “C,” even though he is very much not the Giants’ team captain. And you know what? He played like someone deserving of the title, going 2-for-3 with a double and a home run, his 22nd of the season.
After the game, Belt’s unofficial captain journey came into focus. It turns out Evan Longoria stuck the “C” on Belt’s jersey as a joking response to Belt’s insistence on the team plane that he deserved the title. And then Belt just … didn’t take the tape off.
“Somebody has got to step up, and when you’re the alpha male on the team, it’s got to be you,” Belt told reporters. Hard to argue with that logic, though I have a feeling the taped-on “C” sign probably will not be on Belt’s jersey for their next game.
