Brandon Belt

He was ranked as the 26th-best prospect overall by MLB.com.

Brandon Kyle Belt (born April 20, 1988), nicknamed "Baby Giraffe", "Sparky", and "Captain", is an American professional baseball first baseman who is a free agent.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays.

Belt played college baseball for San Jacinto College and the University of Texas at Austin.

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.

Belt enrolled at San Jacinto College in order 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 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 college baseball for the Texas Longhorns for two years.

In his 2008 sophomore season, Belt batted .319 with six home runs and a team-high 65 runs batted in 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.

The Giants selected Belt in the fifth round of the 2009 MLB draft.

In 2009, during his junior season, Belt batted .323 in 63 games (76-for-235) with eight home runs, 43 runs batted in, and 15 stolen bases, while recording a .989 fielding percentage, as part of the Texas team that finished as runner-up in the College World Series.

The San Francisco Giants selected Belt in the fifth round (147th overall) of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft after his junior year, and he signed for 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 runs batted in, gaining attention as one of the Giants top prospects.

In 2010, he played for the San Francisco Giants Class-AAA-affiliate 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 made his MLB debut during the 2011 season and was a member of the 2012 World Series and 2014 World Series championship teams with the Giants.

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

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, 2011, 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, and was sent to the 15-day DL after being hit by a pitch in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

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 and a tiebreaking two-run double in the seventh inning 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.

Belt was an All Star in 2016.

Belt signed with the Blue Jays as a free agent after the 2022 season.

Belt attended Hudson High School in Hudson, Texas, where he was a pitcher and outfielder.