Toronto Blue Jays DH Brandon Belt on currently being second to Shohei Ohtani in All-Star vote: "That's how I know it's rigged. I should be number one"
Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter Brandon Belt has conveyed his frustration at currently being second to Los Angeles Angels pitching/hitting phenom Shohei Ohtani in the voting for July's MLB All-Star Game.
Belt was possibly being sarcastic, or maybe he had dipped a little too heavy into some Canadian lager, but he told MLB.com's Paige Leckie that he was the obvious choice to the American League DH in this midsummer classic, saying:
"Yeah, that's how you know it's rigged, I should be number one. And everybody knows I'm a better hitter than he is. Better DH, better team leader. But here we are."
Brandon Belt is second among AL DH’s in All-Star voting, 1,387,257 votes behind Shohei Ohtani. And he’s not happy https://t.co/EfLdhXe7IY
Brandon Belt, a 13-year MLB veteran, is having a decent season in his first campaign with the Blue Jays after 12 years with the San Francisco Giants, but he is far from Shohei Ohtani's level.
Playing in 48 of the Blue Jays' 74 games heading into Tuesday, Belt is batting .263 with four home runs and 16 RBI.
Shohei Ohtani has stepped to the plate in 72 of the Angels' 74 games so far. He is leading the majors with 24 homers and 58 RBI to go with a .300 batting average. The six-year MLB veteran has hit 151 homers with 400 RBI in his career.
In more than twice the number of major league seasons, Brandon Belt has 179 homers and 600 RBI.
It is likely Belt is trolling Ohtani with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek. Since the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals, the Blue Jays have become Canada's team. In that, MLB fans across the United States have claimed many Toronto players are getting a boost in the All-Star voting as an entire nation is voting for them.
Never mind that Canada's total estimated population is 38.25 million people, which is nearly one million fewer than California's estimated population of 39.24 million. However, California does have five MLB teams to split the vote — and you'll have a hard time finding a Giants fan that will willingly vote for a player from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Brandon Belt likely not joining Shohei Ohtani at the All-Star Game
Unless Brandon Belt is somehow able to overcome Shohei Ohtani at the ballot box, he likely will not be making the second All-Star Game appearance of his career. However, on a one-year contract for $9.3 million, he is still looking like a pretty good offseason pickup for Toronto.