Bo Bichette's 4x All-Star dad leaves out Red Sox, Angels, Reds, Brewers in favorite ballpark choice
Bo Bichette's dad, Dante Bichette, was a MLB player himself, having played for the California Angels (1988–1990), Milwaukee Brewers (1991–1992), Colorado Rockies (1993–1999), Cincinnati Reds (2000) and Boston Red Sox (2000–2001).
Bichette Sr. played in 42 ballparks, including Boston's Fenway Park, Anaheim's Angel Stadium, Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park and Milwaukee's American Family Field but when asked his favorite ballpark, it belonged to none of the above.
Dante had the best time of his career playing for the Colorado Rockies and their home ballpark, Coors Field. This is why he named the ballpark the No. 1 all-time.
"So, I thought it was the most beautiful stadium I’d ever seen when I stepped in here," Dante said of Coors Field. "I, you know, I go watch my son play, I get to all the stadiums, and it's still the most beautiful ballpark, without a doubt."
Though he gave a respectful nod to Baltimore’s Camden Yards — often cited as one of MLB’s architectural jewels — Bichette was clear that Coors Field stands a cut above.
"Camden Yards is still pretty," he said, "but this place — they took it a step further, and it’s just the best place there is to play ball."
Opened in 1995, Coors Field quickly became famous for its scenic views of the Rocky Mountains. Dante Bichette earned all four All-Star selections while playing for the Rockies only.
For Bichette, a core member of the "Blake Street Bombers" during the Rockies' early years, Coors Field wasn’t just home — it was magic.
Dante Bichette's way of teaching baseball to Bo Bichette
When Dante Bichette retired his elder son, Dante Bichette Jr. was starting to learn baseball at seven years. Bichette Sr. seemingly imposed baseball too early on him and years later, he found it wrong.
“And I tried to teach a 7-year-old to play like that, to prepare like that," Dante said via MLB.com. "And I think a lot of dads mess this one up. The first thing you have to do if you’ve got a young one, the first and most important thing you have to do if you see talent in your son or daughter in something, is you need to nurture their love for that.”
So when his young son, Bo Bichette, started to play, he made “a little bit of an adjustment,” and he went on to become a star shortstop for the Toronto Blue Jays. The one thing he changed was not letting himself to be too imposing with his techniques and rather see him make mistakes and fail.
“I let him fail quite a bit,” Bichette said of Bo. “And that’s when you can teach the lessons. And you’ve got to let them fail because baseball is such a game of failure.”
It seems the change in shift in coaching might have went well as Bichette is now an important at-bat for the Blue Jays.