“Bichette Happens.”
During the height of his stardom with the Rockies, Dante Bichette inspired T-shirts and posters with the saying.
More than 400 players have been Rockies, but there has been only one Dante. The popular outfielder returns to Blake Street tonight to honor his signature moment — a 14th-inning, walkoff home run against the Mets that christened Coors Field in 1995.
“I am so much looking forward to seeing that place again, seeing the fans, seeing the Rockies get after it,” Bichette said last week. “It’s been so long since I have been to a game there. I can’t wait.”
The idea of honoring Bichette on the 15th anniversary of his blast was hatched last November when the former slugger visited Coors Field during a family vacation. Bichette played 14 seasons in the major leagues for the Rockies, Angels, Brewers, Reds and Red Sox. But he left an indelible stamp as a Rockie from 1993-99. He earned four all-star berths, hitting .299 with 274 home runs and 1,141 RBIs.
In 1995, he finished second in the National League MVP voting to the Reds’ Barry Larkin as the Rockies became the fastest expansion team to reach the playoffs. Bichette credits former manager and current Rockies hitting instructor Don Baylor for shaping his career.
“He believed in me and gave me an opportunity to play,” said Bichette, who coaches his kids, Dante Jr., who has signed a letter of intent with Georgia, and 12-year-old Bo, in the Orlando, Fla., area. “He was the key.”
Baylor called Bichette one of the best clutch hitters he has ever coached.
There were times when it would have been difficult for Baylor not to play Bichette. It was Bichette who was the first Rockies player to hit for the cycle, and it was Bichette who celebrated home runs with a foosball flick of the wrists.
He became so popular with fans that they once held a bake sale outside Coors Field to help re-sign him as a free agent.
“I have always had that spot in my heart for the way they embraced and treated me. It’s always been a real special place,” Bichette said. “Now, they have had success and they have done it the right way.”
