Bichette walks softly, carries a big stick

Sunday, February 27, 2000
Bichette walks softly, carries a big stick

BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Dante Bichette ducks a pitch high and tight during batting practice.
(Michael E. Keating photos)
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SARASOTA, Fla. — The Reds' hopes for run production no longer revolve around Dante Bichette. But they certainly involve him.
Ken Griffey Jr.'s arrival almost totally obscured Bichette's. Suddenly, the four-time Colorado Rockies All-Star wasn't viewed as the sole replacement for Greg Vaughn, who collected 45 homers and 118 RBI last year.
“Not that I wasn't up for the challenge,” Bichette said Saturday. “It (Griffey's presence) just makes it a lot easier for everybody here.”
Yet the same could be said of Bichette, 36. He's a complete hitter, a right-handed and more accomplished version of Sean Casey. The 12-year veteran has 1,111 hits since 1993, more than anyone in the major leagues. He combines consistency, proficiency and power, averaging .300 for his career and 30 homers and 128 RBI over the last five seasons. Last year was typical: A .298 average with 34 homers and 133 RBI.
Bichette, acquired last Oct. 30 for outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds and reliever Stan Belinda, actually could improve his statistics. If he hits fourth, as has been projected, he'll bat behind Pokey Reese, Barry Larkin and Griffey, who should create numerous RBI opportunities.

Bichette plays pepper with Ken Griffey Jr.
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“Junior's probably going to get pitched around a lot, like (St. Louis' Mark) McGwire does, and get walked,” catcher Eddie Taubensee said. Bichette also will have the respected Casey batting behind him in fifth to offer protection.
Acquiring Bichette or Griffey alone would have compensated for Vaughn's departure. Adding both of them enables the Reds to entertain the notion of breaking the franchise record for runs scored for the second year in a row. They totaled 865 runs last season.
“I don't think I've ever been on a team with so many horses,” shortstop Barry Larkin said.
“They've got something special here,” said Bichette, who'll play right field. “If I can blend right in, we won't miss a beat.”
Bichette didn't immediately find his rhythm. Though he hit 15 homers in each of his first two full big-league seasons, he lacked polish at the plate.
“My first manager (Doug Rader of the Angels) told me, I don't care if you strike out 170 times, you're going to hit 30 home runs, no problem,” Bichette said. “But 30 home runs is only 30 at-bats. There's 650 other at-bats out there. I was on pace to hit 30 home runs, but I was hitting .240 and striking out every time and they'd take me out of the lineup.”

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Bichette became an every day player with the Rockies, who he joined before their inaugural 1993 season. But he already had begun to refine himself by realizing that maintaining his compact stroke would yield success.
Having hit 40 homers just once, Bichette isn't a prototypical No.4 hitter. Cleanup men don't usually say, “The best hit in baseball is that single to right field with a man on second base,” as Bichette proudly said.
But he wastes no energy or motion when he takes the bat off his shoulder — literally — and slices his bat directly into the ball.
“It's as simple as I can get it,” Bichette said.
Bichette's approach has helped him survive when others flounder — with two strikes on the count. He hit .250 last year with 10 home runs and 45 RBI in two-strike situations. That's remarkable, given the major-league average on two-strike counts was .192.
“I think that's what finally turned me around,” said Bichette of his two-strike mastery.“I think if there's a strength to my game, it's driving in tough runs.”
Bichette's detractors claimed he couldn't thrive outside of hitter-friendly Coors Field, which opened in 1995. From 1994-98, he hit .369 at home with 105 homers and 404 RBI, compared to .267 with 41 homers and 200 RBI on the road. His output was more balanced last year, when he hit .308 with 20 homers and 82 RBI in Coors while batting .287 with 14 homers and 51 RBI away from it.
“I did have some bad years on the road,” he said. “I think that came from pressing.
“There are some factors about playing at Coors FIeld that people don't realize. Breaking balls don't break at all. Then you go on the road and face the same pitcher, and all of a sudden his breaking ball's working. ”
But there's at least one other ballpark where Bichette has excelled: Cinergy Field, where he has hit .328 (40-for-122) with eight homers and 29 RBI.
“For some reason I step into that box and feel good there,” he said. “I just feel like I can wait a little longer. Maybe that's from seeing the ball really well.”
Besides the numbers, the most prominent indication of Bichette's ability to hit outside of Denver was his agreement to go to Cincinnati. Having spent more than 10 years in the majors and the last five with the same team, he could have vetoed any trade.
As he said, “I wouldn't have left if I didn't think I could do it.”

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