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NL DIVISION SERIES: GIANTS v NATIONALSOctober 4, 2014Brandon BeltWASHINGTON, D.C.: Game Two Q.  Are you 100 percent concussion symptom‑free? BRANDON BELT: I think so. I am not sure how good my normal was before the concussion (laughter). Everything seems to be good.  I went and saw the doctor in Pittsburgh. He said he didn't anticipate anything coming back. I am listening to what he says. I tell the experts how I am feeling and they'll they tell me what to do from there. All is good for now. Q. How long have you been symptom‑free? And when you were suffering what were they? BRANDON BELT: It was mainly a lot of vision problems, blurry vision, double vision, whatever you want to call it. I was light‑headed, dizzy, you know, caused headaches. So when I went to the doctor, he said basically that if we can correct the vision problems, everything else will fall into place. I did some eye programs on the computer, a lot of vestibular stuff, inner ear stuff. Once I corrected that, everything, like he said, fell into place. It probably took me about two weeks after I started doing that stuff, where I started feeling normal. Three weeks, three and a half, is when I came back from that second time. Q. In retrospect, was there a point that was kind of scary or nerve‑wracking for you that you can think of? BRANDON BELT: Absolutely. At first, when you have the concussion, it is scary, there is not much you can do about it. You sit and wait for it to get better. When you are in that moment, it is kind of like, is this ever going to get better? You don't see the light at the end of the tunnel at first. It freaks you out a little bit. In saying that, once again, when I went to the doctor, he kind of laid out a plan for me. At that point, it took a lot of stress off of me. That anxiety went away little bit. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. So once that happens, it kind of gives you the green light to move forward. Q. When did you start to feel like the rust was off, and you were ready to participate in the postseason and be able to contribute? BRANDON BELT: I think it all came together in that San Diego series. Even before that, I knew that I was seeing the ball pretty well. I just couldn't get my hands and my eyes to do exactly what I wanted to. My hands were a little bit behind what my eyes were seeing, vice versa, I guess. I don't know. I knew I could see the ball early on, in the L.A. series, or even when we were at San Diego. It was just a matter of getting my body to work the way I wanted to. In the final series of the season, it all came together. I knew I was going to have a good chance of helping the team out in the postseason. Q. What was the goal that you set when you were going through the tough times? Did you say, if I could get back by the end of September, I could be productive? What did you say to yourself? BRANDON BELT: I wanted a couple of weeks of playing in baseball games. I wanted to play against Big League competition for a couple of weeks. I knew if I could do that I would have a strong chance of getting my timing back at some point. I didn't have quite that long. Fortunately, you know, I was in the cage quite a bit. The coaches were helping me out quite a bit. We started to figure some stuff out. I was able to get my timing back, like I wanted, in maybe a little less time. Q. Concussion issues aside, the fact that you were able to make some good contact, see pitches well, after a lot of time off, does that tell you that you know, the changes, all the changes that you made to your stance and your swing, where your hands are, are a thing of the past? And you have settled in on where you are going to be at the plate? BRANDON BELT: You know, I think in general I have set myself up pretty well to make adjustments. Once I made the first adjustments, now it changes the whole‑‑ changes the ballgame, I guess. I know I can make adjustments now. You know, that takes a lot of pressure off of you. Yes, I mean‑‑ I don't want to say they are a thing of the past. You are constantly having to make adjustments. I know now, after going through all of those tough times, I know that I'm better equipped to maybe come back from an injury like this, or come back from a slump or something like that. I know I am in better shape now for sure. Q. Brandon, the Giants have now won nine straight postseason games, can you talk about what yesterday was like. If there was a certain comfort level just in this situation again that was reminiscent of 2012? BRANDON BELT: You might get different answers from different people. I don't think there is ever that comfort zone in playoff games. That must be what makes us play so well we don't get complacent. We may be confident in ourselves, but not complacent. We don't get comfortable in those situations. I really believe that the veteran leadership on this team sets a tone for everyone else. People like Hunter and Peavy and Madison and Hudson, all of those guys, they kind of‑‑ there is a familiarity about playing in these games, and playing with these guys that kind of sets everybody else at ease. We enjoy it. I mean, it is just a lot of fun. I think, yeah, we figured out how to play these games, and we do a pretty good job at it. Q. Brandon, along those lines, Huddie has not had the greatest year record‑wise, but when you look at what he has done against this team, a lot of that goes back to when he was with the Braves, what does he bring to the table in Game 2? BRANDON BELT: Just experience. I guess not just experience, but he brings experience, he brings the know‑how, the veteran leadership I was talking about. I don't think he lets any moment get too big for him. Kind of like Madison does, he goes out there, does exactly what he is supposed to do. When you see that calmness from him, I guess transfers to everybody else behind him. Just like when Peavy gets on the mound, you see that fiery competitiveness in him. That transfers to everybody else behind him. So, yes, I think that definitely helps. Been there, done that before. Q. Brandon, can you talk about the underdog factor. Being compared to 2012, you weren't favored to go as far as you did. Does being an underdog serve as motivation for you? Do you talk about it? BRANDON BELT:  I think it is mentioned. I don't know if it plays as big a role as everybody thinks it does. It might; I don't know. I think we know how to play in these games. Whether we are underdogs or not, we are going to go out there and play the same way. I think that is what helps us get to these games and win a lot of the games. Q. Back to the health stuff, you mentioned the light at the end of the tunnel. How much was the birth of your son part of that light? BRANDON BELT: Yes, that was definitely huge. I look back on this season, and if you can pick out one bright spot out of it, it was having my kid. You know, being able to take care of him in the tough times. It puts stuff in perspective as well. I think that is the big thing. You realize that this is not the end of the world. That kind of combined with what the doctors are telling you, was a huge weight off my shoulders. Q. You guys have a bunch of rookies contributing, can you think about what this clubhouse did to make you feel comfortable? Is there anything that you have done to help Panik and those guys get their feet wet? BRANDON BELT: The thing is I don't know, this could be kind of stupid to say, there is a lot hazing that goes on, I guess, in Major League Baseball. Not hazing, the older guys give the younger guys a tough time. It seems like here, it doesn't matter who you are, you are treated like one of the team. You are treated just like everybody else. I think that it kind of helps your psyche a bit. "Okay, I am part of the team. I am contributing like everybody else. I am treated like everybody else. I am not some peon out here. I get to actually help out." I think that helps the mentality a bit. Q. Brandon, you said you know how to play in these games, what does it mean to you? How do you play in these kind of games to win? BRANDON BELT: Like I said, I don't think the moment ever gets too big for us. We don't get ahead of ourselves. We don't try to do too much. It seems like we play our best baseball when it gets into playoff time. We play, we don't try to up go up and do too much, get that big home run. It is not necessarily about being a hero, it is about being a team. When we can do that, get people on, get them over, get them in and play great defense, great pitching, we know we put ourselves in great positions to win ballgames. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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