User:GhostRiver/dante

Alphonse Dante Bichette (born November 18, 1963) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. Between 1988 and 2001, he spent 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the California Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, and Boston Red Sox. A four-time All-Star, Bichette's most successful season was in 1995, when he was the National League's home run and runs batted in leader, as well as a Silver Slugger.

Early life
Bichette was born on November 18, 1963, in West Palm Beach, Florida. His mother Mary owned an antique shop, while his father Maurice worked in construction. He was one of seven children, three of whom were from his father's previous marriage. He decided to become a professional baseball player when he was nine years old after watching Reggie Jackson hit a home run with the Oakland Athletics in the 1973 World Series. Bichette did poorly in school, telling his parents, "School doesn't matter. I'm going to be a professional ballplayer."

Draft and minor leagues (1984–1988)
The California Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB) selected Bichette in the 17th round, 424th overall, of the 1984 MLB Draft.


 * 1984 Salem Angels
 * 1985 Quad Cities Angels
 * 1986 Palm Springs Angels
 * 1986 Midland Angels
 * 1987 Edmonton Trappers
 * 1988 Edmonton Trappers

California Angels (1988–1990)
Bichette was promoted to the Angels on September 5, 1988. He made his major league debut that night, lining out to right field in his eighth-inning at bat. Bichette and his fellow prospects were used only sparingly through the final month of the 1988 season. This reluctance to use younger players was one of the factors leading the Angels to fire manager Cookie Rojas once the team was mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Appearing in 21 games for California after his promotion, Bichette hit .261 in 46 major league at bats, with two extra-base hits and eight RBI.

Bichette entered 1989 spring training in contention with Tony Armas for the reserve outfielder position on the Angels. While Armas had a slow start at the plate, Bichette was batting .394 by March 15, an offensive surge he attributed to his work with hitting coach Deron Johnson.


 * 1989
 * 1990

Cincinnati Reds (2000)
On October 30, 1999, the Rockies traded Bichette and $1.9 million in cash to the Cincinnati Reds to acquire Jeffrey Hammonds and Stan Belinda. He opened the 2000 season in right field, with Dmitri Young in left and Ken Griffey Jr., another offseason acquisition, in center.

Retirement
After entertaining offers from several teams during the 2001-02 offseason, Bichette signed a minor-league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on January 30, 2002. Although he was considered a backup for the left field position if Brian Jordan was moved to center, Dodgers general manager Dan Evans primarily envisioned Bichette as a right-handed complement for the left-handed pinch hitter Dave Hansen. After struggling in spring training, batting only .190 in 16 exhibition games, Bichette announced his sudden retirement from professional baseball on March 23. At the time, the Dodgers still expected that he would have an Opening Day role as a pinch hitter and reserve outfielder. He told reporters that he would consider reversing his retirement if a team were to offer him an everyday playing role, but that he "had the whole off-season to find that job, and it just wasn't there".

Bichette finished his career with a lifetime .299 batting average in 6,381 at bats. In 1,704 major league games across 14 seasons, he recorded 274 home runs, 1,141 RBI, and 934 runs scored. His .316 batting average and 201 home runs with the Colorado Rockies both ranked fourth of any player in their career with the team.

Later career
On July 30, 2004, Bichette signed a contract with the Nashua Pride of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent baseball league. He made his Atlantic League debut that day, hitting a home run on the first pitch he saw from Lincoln Mikkelsen of the Camden Riversharks. Bichette told reporters that he agreed to join Nashua because his younger son Bo had no memories of his father playing professional baseball. Making $1,200 per month, one of the stipulations of Bichette's contract was that he would have an opportunity to pitch for the Pride. He pitched in three games: two relief appearances and one start. While he earned a save in one of these relief appearances by pitching three scoreless innings against the Somerset Patriots, his September 6 start was less effective, as he allowed eight earned runs on nine hits in two innings against the Newark Bears. Bichette finished his season in Nashua batting .312 with 18 home runs and 54 RBI in 199 at bats across 49 games.

Bichette rejoined the Rockies as a hitting coach for the 2013 season, a job which reunited him with former teammate and then-team manager Walt Weiss. He left the organization after one season to spend more time with his family. At the time, the Rockies led the league with a .271 team batting average, while Michael Cuddyer was the NL batting champion. In 2020, the Toronto Blue Jays invited Bichette to spring training as a guest instructor. He continued with the organization as a special assistant during the 2021 season, and took on a larger hitting coach role during the final stretch of the season. Bichette resigned from the Blue Jays during the 2021–22 MLB lockout: he wanted to keep working with Bo, a shortstop for Toronto, during the lockout, but employees and players were not allowed to work together until a collective bargaining agreement was reached.

Personal life
Bichette met his wife Mariana while he was playing for the Brewers in 1991, and they married two years later. In 1992, law enforcement responded to a domestic violence call involving Bichette and Mariana, who was pregnant at the time. Bichette referred to the incident as "a one-time thing". The following year, law enforcement responded to another domestic dispute at the Bichettes' off-season residence in Palm Beach Gardens.

Both of Bichette's sons also play baseball Dante Bichette Jr. gained media attention when he participated in the 2005 Little League World Series with the team from Maitland, Florida. The New York Yankees selected Dante Jr. 51st overall in the 2011 MLB Draft, and he spent several years with the minor-league Trenton Thunder and Harrisburg Senators, as well as the St. Paul Saints of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an independent baseball league. Bichette's younger son Bo was selected 66th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2016 MLB Draft, and he made his major league debut in 2019.

Honors
Bichette appeared on the 2007 ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He received three votes (0.6 percent of votes), falling below the five percent threshold required to appear on subsequent ballots. Ten years later, he was one of the 2017 inductees into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.