- published: 15 Jul 2015
- views: 1274
Alphonse Dante Bichette, Sr. ( /ˈdɑːnteɪ bɨˈʃɛt/; born November 18, 1963 in West Palm Beach, Florida) is a former Italian-American Major League Baseball player. Bichette was a four-time All-Star as a member of the Colorado Rockies.
He began his career with the California Angels in 1988, but was a streaky hitter and was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in 1991. After putting up only average numbers with Milwaukee, he was traded to the new expansion team, the Colorado Rockies. On April 7, 1993 he hit the first home-run in Rockies history, a solo shot off of New York Mets pitcher Bret Saberhagen. It was with the Rockies where he shone as a player. Bichette was part of the "Blake Street Bombers" which also included sluggers Larry Walker, Andres Galarraga, and Vinny Castilla. At least some of his slugging success can be attributed to the home run-friendly ballparks in Denver, Mile High Stadium and Coors Field. During his time in Colorado, his at-bat music was Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel.
He finished the Rockies' first season with 21 home runs and a .310 batting average, his personal best for both at the time. Bichette also hit his first home run at the newly-constructed Coors Field, a fourteenth-inning smash against the Mets that secured an opening day victory for the Rockies in 1995. Bichette had his best season in 1995, coming very close to the Triple Crown with a .340 batting average, 40 home runs and 128 RBIs and barely lost the MVP voting to the Cincinnati Reds' Barry Larkin.