In a final shot at a long-time rival, former San Francisco Giants veteran Brandon Belt joked that he came close to signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers, something he’d never do.
In a recent interview on KNBR San Francisco, former Giant Brandon Belt, now of the Toronto Blue Jays, joked about how close he came to signing with the Dodgers, imparting one last shot at his long-time rival.
When asked if he had any thoughts about coming back to San Francisco and why he chose the Blue Jays, Belt deadpanned, “Honestly, I was so close to signing with the Dodgers.”
After a brief pause, Belt made sure to let his fans know that that outcome was never in the cards.
“I’m just kidding,” he assured the hosts and audience. “I would never sign with them.”
Brandon Belt departs the San Francisco Giants after 12 seasons and 2 World Series
Belt is leaving San Francisco after 12 years patrolling the outfield and anchoring first base for the Giants. He put up some stellar seasons in a Giants uniform, most recently in the shortened 2020 campaign and 2021, in which he found his power stroke, launching 29 home runs in only 97 games.
Despite struggling with a knee injury last season, his final season as a Giant, his legacy remains strong. The Bay Area fan-favorite helped bring two World Series to the city, in 2012 and 2014, and was named to the NL All-Star team in 2016, a season in which he helped the Giants get to the postseason once more.
Can Brandon Belt help the Blue Jays win the World Series?
After signing a one-year $9.3M deal with the Jays, Belt joins a young, talented, and experienced group in Toronto looking to take the next step. He recently joined TSN Overdrive and explained that Toronto was an exciting destination for him and that the Jays “should be World Series favorites this year.”
There’s a long way to go and a lot of baseball to be played before we get to October, but Belt obviously feels like he made a good decision by signing in Toronto. And while Giants fans will be sad to see Belt leave town, they can take solace in the fact that he made sure to get one final jab at the rival Dodgers before heading north.