I have 93 cards of Dante Bichette. This one is from 1995 Pacific Prisms.
Playing career: Outfielder Dante Bichette was a mediocre
ballplayer for the first five seasons of his career in California and
Milwaukee, and the last two years in Cincinnati and Boston. However, in between
he spent seven years as a hitting beast in the thin air of Colorado, where he
was a four-time All-Star and twice led the NL in hits. In 1995 he just missed
the Triple Crown, hitting .340 while leading the league with 40 HR and 128
RBI. In that year’s NLDS loss to the
Braves, his only playoff appearance, he hit .588 (10-17) with 1 HR and 3 RBI.
Where he is now: Owns Baseball at the Warehouse, an instructional
facility in Orlando.
My memories: I remember thinking that his high offensive
numbers in Colorado were due to the altitude. That’s probably mostly true, but
doesn’t fully explain why his batting averages, not just power, were so much
better there. He was probably better than many critics gave him credit for
being.
Interesting facts: He is the father of Yankees prospect
Dante Bichette Jr. Dante Sr. and current Yankees manager Joe Girardi were such
good friends as Rockies teammates that Girardi named his son Dante.
Google Autocomplete results: He is third when you type Dante
B, between Dante Bichette Jr, the Yankees prospect, and Dante Bayern, referring
to a single-named soccer player on the Bayern Munich team. There do not appear
to be any other prominent Dante Bichettes.
Coming up next: The next profile will be Dante Bichette Jr.
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