© Brad Penner | 2021 Aug 24
Brandon Belt choked up at the end of his on-field postgame interview. He hadn’t even told all of his teammates, but it was time to let the world know.
“I’m a pretty private person, but I just want to dedicate this game to my grandmother, who passed away this morning. I’m not looking for anybody to feel sorry for me, I just want to dedicate this game and the rest of the season to her and let everybody know that I love her so very much,” he told NBC Sports Bay Area.
Margaret Peterson died on Tuesday morning. She had COVID-19. She was in her early eighties, Belt said. Tuesday night’s game, and the rest of Belt’s season, are for her.
Belt grew up down the street from Peterson. Their family would go over to her house for holidays. She loved to brag about her grandson, and he’d sign baseball cards for her to hand out at church and her assisted living facility. When Belt was in high school, Peterson and her husband — Belt’s grandfather — helped the young ballplayer afford trips to baseball showcases.
“I’ve kind of been in a daze all day,” Belt told reporters postgame. “It’s a tough day. It’s part of life. But I think I can honor her best by playing to the best of my ability for the rest of the season.”
https://twitter.com/NBCSGiants/status/1430358706387099655?s=20
Before first pitch, Belt sent a text message to his wife and parents — “just told them I was struggling a little bit,” he said. He and manager Gabe Kapler shared an emotional hug during batting practice.
Kapler said he would’ve given Belt a day off if that’s what he needed. When there’s a death in a family, Kapler said, it’s his job to prioritize his players’ mental health over the night’s baseball game.
But Belt felt he had to play.
“My dad just reminded me that she would want me to go out there and do the best I could,” Belt said. “I think that kind of locked me in as much as it could. I wanted to go out there. Obviously I want to do well every day, but I really wanted to do that today for her. Just let her know that I appreciate everything and I love her.”
Then, in the first inning, Belt stepped up to the plate to face Mets starter Tylor Megill. He fouled off the first pitch he saw. He took a fastball out of the zone. The third pitch, a hanging slider, left his bat at 106.4 mph and landed 431 feet away in center field.
The special moment may have felt normal for some around Belt. He doesn’t always like to talk about his personal life, and didn’t tell all of his teammates what had happened; Sammy Long, who pitched his best game in the majors in Tuesday’s 8-0 over the Mets, didn’t hear the news until the postgame press conference.
But Belt called it a “pretty emotional at-bat.” It’s easy to see why now.
“I couldn’t help but feel that something powerful was at play there when he hit that first home run,” Kapler said.
His next plate appearance, Belt socked an opposite field homer for his second of the game and a new career-high in homers on the season (19). It was his second multi-HR game of 2021 and seventh of his career. He finished 4-for-5 with two homers and three RBI.
Belt agreed with Kapler: there must’ve been a higher force looking down at Citi Field.
“I’m just glad I could come out here and do that for her,” Belt said. “She was a huge supporter of mine. So this really does mean a lot.”
