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WATCH: Brandon Belt shares appreciation for Kruk & Kuip on SF Giants broadcast

Injured SF Giants 1B Brandon Belt joined Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper on the NBCSBA broadcast on Wednesday and gave a touching thanks to the iconic duo.

Marc Delucchi

WATCH: Brandon Belt shares appreciation for Kruk & Kuip on SF Giants broadcast
WATCH: Brandon Belt shares appreciation for Kruk & Kuip on SF Giants broadcast /
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During the SF Giants game against Atlanta on Wednesday, injured first baseman Brandon Belt joined Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper on the NBC Sports Bay Area broadcast for the third inning. Belt took some time during his appearance to express his gratitude to the legendary broadcast duo.

Belt took a moment from talking about the game action in the top of the third inning. "Y'all are the best in the business," Belt said to Kruk & Kuip. "I really mean that. So if I don't get to play in front of y'all again, it's been an honor. I've really enjoyed it. Y'all have the best calls in the game. I've heard everybody and y'all are awesome and y'all do it the best. I know y'all know this, but I wanted to get that out there."

You can watch the full clip here:

Belt underwent season-ending knee surgery earlier this month in hopes of clearing up a nagging injury. He underwent the same procedure back in 2015 and was able to bounce back well. However, now 34, it is far from a guarantee that Belt will be able to return to form.

Belt was one of the best hitters in MLB last season, blasting a career-high 29 homers alongside an exceptional .274/.378/.597 triple-slash in 97 games. This year, though, Belt was clearly limited by his knee injury. He finished the season with eight home runs and a below-average .213/.326/.350 line.

While it seemed possible that Belt's career could be over following his latest surgery, the Texas alum sounded incredibly optimistic about his chances of returning to the field next season. At one point during the broadcast, Belt said, “I know I have a lot left in me and that’s what I want to show everybody,”

An impending free agent, Belt was asked about the prospect of returning to San Francisco and reiterated that he would love to be back in an SF Giants uniform. “There’s really nowhere else I want to play," Belt said. "We’ll see what happens. It’s a business, you know, stuff happens. I don’t know what’s going to happen. All I know is I’m going to get as strong as I can and get ready to play baseball next year.”

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Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

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