The San Francisco Giants were dealt a serious blow when first baseman and self-anointed team captain Brandon Belt fractured his left thumb on a bunt attempt Sunday against the Colorado Rockies.
This came a few weeks after Belt was seen at a game against the Cubs in Chicago with a hilarious taped-on “C” on his uniform, something teammate Evan Longoria did as a joking response to Belt’s insistence on the team plane that he deserved the title of team captain.
“You know, somebody has got to step up, and when you’re the alpha male on the team it’s got to be you,” Belt said at the time. “I put the ‘C’ on my chest and I went to work today, and thankfully it worked out.”
It definitely seemed like something that brought the team together as they continue to fight to hold off the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the NL West. On a recent road trip to Colorado, the Giants’ “sea men” posed with their “captain” before boarding the team plane.
But now that their captain is down, his teammates want him to know that he’s on their minds.
Several members of the Giants were seen wearing T-shirts inspired by the tape job.
The Giants are playing the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park on Wednesday with SF’s Alex Wood (10-4) facing Arizona’s Merrill Kelly (7-11). SF has a two-game lead over the Dodgers in the NL West with five games left in the regular season.
If the Giants win the division, SF’s first playoff game will be played Friday, Oct. 8. If the Dodgers sneak ahead by the season’s end, the Giants will play in the NL wild card match-up on Wednesday, Oct. 6.
If SF and LA finish the season tied atop the NL West, they would play a one-game tiebreaker on Monday, Oct. 4, to determine the division winner.
Belt is likely to miss any playoff start date.