Brandon Belt
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BRANDON BELT • Born April 20, 1988, in Nacogdoches, Texas, in a house his father built. • Parents are Darrell and Janice (pronounced Ja-neece). He has one younger brother, Cameron. Father is a geometry teacher at Brandon’s high school, Hudson High in Lufkin. His mother is a hairdresser. • As a senior at Hudson High, Belt earned district MVP, All-State and All-Amer- ica honors. Standout pitcher – thought he’d make the major leagues in that position. • Had a verbal agreement with Cubs coming out of high school to be drafted in high rounds and paid high-round money. But Cubs didn’t come through and Red Sox drafted him the 11th round. Disappointed, Belt went to college instead. “Everything I went through happened for a reason,’’ he says. “I’m so happy I went to college. I matured so much as a baseball player and as a person and I made so many friends.’’ • Played one year for San Jacinto College in Houston before transferring to University of Texas. (Same two colleges Roger Clemens attended.) Majored in education. Helped propel Texas to the College World Series in 2009, where the Longhorns lost in the Championship game to LSU. • Injuries as a junior at University of Texas forced him to give up pitching altogether. When his hitting dropped off – he was barely hitting .300 two thirds into his junior year – Brandon sank to the lowest point in his life. He had always wanted to be pro baseball player and now he was wondering if he would make it. Then his grandfather, James Peter- son, died. His grandfather had been so instrumental in Brandon’s development as a baseball player by loaning Brandon the money, whenever he asked, to go to showcase camps and tournaments. “When I was flying back from the funer- al, I decided to play the rest of the season for him,’’ Brandon says. From that series on, he started to play better. He played well in the Big 12 tournament, which helped him get drafted. Another thing that helped was the veteran eye of Giants scout Doug Mapson, who had seen Belt hit a home run in the Cape Cod all-star game, turning around a 98 mph fastball. “It was in there,” Mapson said. “You can’t make that up.” • He had been drafted twice (Braves and Red Sox) before signing in 2009 with Giants, who picked him in the fifth round. • 2010 rookie season: Advanced through three levels, hitting over .350 with 23 homers and 112 RBIs. In early 2011, he was ranked No. 26 among the Top 50 Prospects in baseball by MLB.com. (Contrast with a year earlier when Baseball America didn’t even have him in the top 20 among Giants prospects entering 2010.) • Married Hudson High sweetheart Haylee Stephenson Dec. 3, 2010, at Providence Baptist Church in Lufkin. The groom’s cake was three tiers of chocolate with a Giants cap on top and alternating Longhorns and Giants logos on the sides. Haylee majored in business communications at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches. • Writes a blog he shares with Brandon Crawford: http://brandon.mlblogs.com/. • Signed a six-year extension through 2021 during the first week of the 2016 season. GREGOR BLANCO • Grew up in Venezuela with two brothers – a twin and one seven years younger. His twin, Gregory, played in the Angels and Pirates minor leagues as a catcher but left after a few years to become a physical education teacher. Younger brother, Gregsman, works as a job recruiter for the government. Yes, the three brothers are Gregor, Gregory and Gregsman. Why? “I still don’t know. My mom said she just liked the names. She even named our house The Gregs and put up a sign.’’ • Gregor’s mother died of brain cancer at the age of 47. • His father sold insurance and now owns a taxi company. • Gregor married his childhood sweetheart in 2010. They have a four-year- old son named Gregor Alejendro Jr., and Gregor has an eight-year-old son from a previous relationship named Grenyer. (His brother Gregory’s son is named Greyver.) Gregor and Mirna are expecting a second child in late September 2015. • “I never wanted to do anything but play baseball.’’ Signed with the Braves at the age of 16 and made ma- jor-league debut eight years later, in 2008. He stayed in the majors most of that season and parts of the next two. Traded to Kansas City in the summer of 2010. Between the Braves and the Royals that year, he hit .283, his best season ever. • Then it all fell apart. He didn’t spend a single day in the major leagues in 2011. Kansas City started him in Tri- ple A then traded him to the Washington Nationals, who also put him in Triple A. Developed bone spurs in his wrist halfway through the season and had to stop playing. “It was the worst year of my career.’’ • But before he went on the DL, former Giants catcher Brian Johnson, a major-league scout for the Giants, saw him play in Triple-A and sent the front office a report that showed a low batting average (from the bone spurs) but a high on-base percentage. • The Nationals released him Nov. 2, 2011. “For two weeks I didn’t have a team. I didn’t know what was going to happen,’’ Gregor says. The Giants, short on outfielders, signed him to a minor-league contract Nov. 19, 2011, while he was playing winter ball in Venezuela. He became MVP of the league playing for Tiburones de la Gu- aira. Giants hitting coach Hensley Meulens, who was coaching in the league, also put in a good word with the Giants. The Marlins were also offering a minor-league contract. “Between Bam-Bam and Pablo Sandoval, they convinced me I should sign with the Giants.’’ • Impressing everyone with his bat and speed, Blanco surprised everyone by making the 2012 Opening Day roster. • Walk-up song is “Welcome to Jam Rock’’ by Damian Marley. “It makes me happy to hear it.’’ • Blanco made a spectacular catch to preserve Matt Cain’s perfect game in 2012. In the dugout, Cain came up to him and said, “What are you doing playing there? How’d you make that?’’ Gregor said, “I’m there for you, man. I did it for you.’’ • When Cain was honored during a pre-game ceremony later on, he presented Blanco with a photo of the cel- ebration and note thanking him. Gregor told him, “That’s my job to catch the ball. And I hope it’s not the last time we do something special like that. I hope we can do it again.’’ - MORE - • In July 2012, Gregor’s father flew from Venezuela to meet Gregor in Atlanta for the series against the Braves. It was the first time Hernan had seen his son play in the major leagues. “And I hit a home run in that series, so he was really proud and happy.’’ • As a “fourth’’ outfielder in 2012, 2013 and 2014 he averaged more than 140 games per season. • Invaluable filling in for an injured Angel Pagan in centerfield in 2014. • Playing in his second World Series in 2014. Hit the first World Series leadoff home run in Giants franchise history on Oct. 22, 2014 at KC (Game 2). • Signed a two-year deal on January 15. • They moved from Venezeula to Miami in 2014. BRUCE BOCHY • Has two sons, eight years apart. “Like my career,’’ he says, “I got a hit about every eight years.’’ • Younger son Brett played baseball at Kansas. Bochy listened to the games on the Internet. “That’s as much stress as I’ve ever gone through. I pace.’’ Brett was drafted in the 20th round by the Giants in 2010. He was a pitcher in the Giants farm system and retired after 2015. • His older son, Greg, played at Cal Poly. Bruce remembers one of the games he attended at Cal Poly, where his son was a pitcher. “He didn’t get out of the first inning. He was crushed because I was there watching. I told him how proud I was of him. That’s part of the game.’’ • Says managing is different now from 20 to 30 years ago. Not an iron fist. Guys want things explained. Players are more thinkers. • His advice to new skippers: Do it your way. Trust your instincts. Communicate with your players. Delegate. Keep abreast of the mood and pulse of the clubhouse through players you can talk to. • Hobbies: Loves to fish, tuna mostly. Bird hunting. Golf. • Says of his wife, Kim, who is a doula (she helped Brian Sabean’s wife, Amanda, through her 2008 pregnancy and delivery): We’re opposites. She doesn’t fish or hunt or play golf. I love wine and she doesn’t drink. We walk around San Francisco a lot together. • Says he became a catcher because “I couldn’t run a lick. A catcher can go further on less talent than other positions.’’ • He says the toughest time in his life was 1978. He had just gotten married and went into spring training with Houston thinking he might start the season in Triple A. Instead he was the back-up catcher in Double A in Co- lumbus, Georgia, making $750 a month. His wife was working at a bank. He thought it might be time to move on with his life. He contemplated returning to Florida State, where had spent one semester after first attending Brevard Community College.