Bichette Works Himself Hard for One-Way Ticket to Majors

For 26 glorious days last September, outfielder Dante Bichette was an Angel. He appeared in 21 games, hit .261, scored one run, had eight runs batted in and struck out seven times. Like any rookie, he remembers each delicious appearance.

He also remembers Edmonton, his minor league home for the last two seasons. And Midland and Palm Springs. And Quad City and Salem before that. If nothing else, five years in the Angel farm system has taught Bichette one thing: He doesn’t want to go back. Ever.

That explains why Bichette took the extra money he earned in September as a major leaguer and re-invested it in the one commodity he knows best--himself.

“I’m shooting for the long run,” he said.

Bichette bought a pitching machine. Then he went out and purchased a soft toss machine, a gizmo that lightly tosses baseballs your way. And to record it all, Bichette splurged and got himself a video camera.

Some players buy Porches; Bichette buys business aids.

“A big car right now wouldn’t do me much good,” he said.

He started lifting weights, using resident Angel he-man Brian Downing as his model and mentor. Before, Bichette didn’t know a tricep from Trident gum. He thought a latissimus dorsi was a fish. Now look at him: His shoulders are as wide as a car hood.

Bichette arrived at spring training tuned and toned. His swing needed some work, what with all the lunging Bichette does, but Angel hitting instructor Deron Johnson took care of that.

The results? Along with pitcher Jim Abbott, Bichette has become the people’s choice to earn a place on the team’s 24-man roster. Underdogs have a way of doing that to a crowd. Wally Joyner receives polite, appreciative applause when he steps to the plate. Bichette and his .345 average and team-leading four home runs get cheers.

“They want me to be up (in the big leagues),” he said. “They think well of me. It’s really nice to hear that, especially from the fans.”

So far, Bichette has done everything except furnish the clubhouse lunch spread this spring. He has hit for power and average. He has stolen a few bases, knocked in 14 runs in only 55 at-bats. He has played well in the outfield. In the process, Bichette has made life difficult for Angel Manager Doug Rader.

The plan was this: Bichette would attend camp, have his swing refined, probably struggle as he learned the new mechanics of it all, receive an occasional start in the lineup, then be dispatched to Edmonton.

“They were thinking I probably wasn’t ready for the big leagues,” he said.

Instead, Bichette understood exactly what Johnson was trying to do, and proved it with this impressive spring performance. Even his outs--line drives to straight center field, towering fly balls to the outer reaches of the warning tracks--are fun to watch.

“The last two times I came (to camp), I knew I wasn’t going to play a lot,” Bichette said. “I knew I wasn’t even going to be considered for a job. This year, I wanted to show them I can play.”

Bichette can play, all right. But where?

The Angels didn’t sign former Yankee outfielder Claudell Washington to that multiyear, multimillion dollar contract so he could recommend nice restaurants when the team traveled to New York. Devon White will be the Angel center fielder for the rest of this decade--at least. Chili Davis isn’t going to be replaced, not as long as he keeps churning out those 20-plus home runs and 90-plus RBIs.

Which leaves Bichette competing with veteran Tony Armas for the fourth outfielder spot. You might like Bichette’s chances if spring statistics were the lone factor. Armas hasn’t hit Twiggy’s weight, much less his own. But Armas did put up some nice numbers during the 1988 regular season, which explains why Rader seems convinced that youth, meaning Bichette, would be better served back in triple A.

“You hate to see a guy have the kind of spring that he did and get sent out,” Rader said. “But conversely, if he does get sent out, he would certainly be the first guy we’d recall. The only reason he would be sent out in the first place is because we couldn’t guarantee him enough playing time here. So it’s a nice feeling to know that if you’re getting sent out, it won’t be long before you get back.”

Bichette wouldn’t exactly use the word, “nice,” to describe what it might feel like to be sent to Edmonton again. He prefers “tough” and “very disappointing.”

“But I know they’re going to try to do what’s best for me and the team,” he said.

Bichette said he belongs in the major leagues now. It isn’t an ultimatum or a ploy, just a simple declarative sentence spoken by a 25-year-old player at peace with himself and his swing. “I don’t want to sound like I can do it all,” he said.

Despite a spring to remember, Bichette’s chances aren’t good. Rader said Bichette would have to earn a starting position to make the team, and that’s not going to happen with the company of White, Washington and Davis available.

“I don’t think you can place (Bichette) as a right-handed hitter in a platoon situation because how many at-bats (against left-handed pitchers) are you going to get?” Rader said. “Not as many as you need.

“As a developing player, you don’t want to place him in a platoon mode at this point in his career. He needs to start.”

So barring the improbable, Bichette will become a part-time Canadian again. It’s not Anaheim, but then again, it’s not Quad City, either.

“I don’t think the Angels or anybody, including myself, knows how good I can play,” Bichette said.

But don’t worry, they will. And by the way, see you soon.