Belt’s 21-pitch AB new record
AP ANAHEIM, Calif. — Giants first baseman Brandon Belt has a reputation for forcing pitchers to work deep into counts.
Now, Belt has more than just a reputation, he has a spot in Major League Baseball’s record books.
With an epic 21-pitch at-bat in the top half of the first inning against Angels rookie Jaime Barria, Belt broke the league record for the most pitches seen in an at-bat.
The at-bat finally ended when Belt flew out to right fielder Kole Calhoun. The old record of a 20-pitch at-bat was held by Ricky Gutierrez, who accomplished the feat against Bartolo Colon on June 26, 1998.
Remarkably, Colon was in his second season and is now the oldest active player at 44 years old.
Belt’s at-bat featured 16 foul balls, including 15 with two strikes. Barria threw over to first base four separate times during the at-bat to check on base runner Joe Panik.
In his second career start, Barria needed 49 pitches to make it through the first inning, but he did not allow a run in an eventual 4-2 loss for the Angels.
After allowing singles to Andrew McCutchen and Buster Posey, Barria induced popouts from Evan Longoria and Pablo Sandoval to end the inning.