Bichette Earning Respect the Hard Way : Rockies: Slugger acknowledged for great year, even though MVP talk brings out doubters.

The booing that has been loudest in Los Angeles during the Colorado Rockies’ trip continued Wednesday night. It was the sound of music to Dante Bichette.

“As an athlete, the biggest compliment is to get booed on the road,” Bichette said. “This is the first time it’s happened to me. Maybe I’m finally getting some respect.”

At Dodger Stadium, perhaps, the crowds were simply expressing their emotions regarding Bichette’s candidacy for the most valuable player award and their support for Eric Karros and Mike Piazza.

No matter. The absence of respect, real or imagined, has been an issue with Bichette, much of it stemming from the perception of critics in and out of baseball that he doesn’t deserve to be MVP because his domination of many of the National League’s offensive categories has been enhanced by the launching pad that is Coors Field.

On a 5-5 trip that ended Wednesday night with the Rockies losing to the Dodgers, 7-4, and falling half a game off the lead in the National League West, Bichette addressed his road image with a series of big hits, including a three-run homer off Kevin Tapani in the finale, raising Bichette’s league-leading totals to 40 home runs, 126 runs batted in and 352 total bases. He is third in batting at .340 and tied with Tony Gwynn for the league lead in hits at 191.

“Without question he’s the MVP,” Colorado Manager Don Baylor said. “Look at all the categories--hits, total bases, average, home runs, ribbies. And he might wind up playing for a first-place team.”

Baylor is biased, of course. But in San Francisco the other day, Giant Manager Dusty Baker said of Bichette and the MVP:

“He’s my candidate. I mean, you can probably tack on 10% because of Coors Field, but even if you took off 20% he’s still had a hell of a year, particularly when you consider we’re playing 18 fewer games.”

Wednesday, Bichette went the other way against Tapani in the third inning, reaching the bleachers in right-center to temporarily tie the game. He was up with two on and two out in the fifth against Tapani and grounded out. He had a third shot at a three-run homer in the seventh but flied out against Antonio Osuna.

He still finished the trip with a .386 average (17 for 44), five doubles, three homers and 11 RBIs. He finished his regular-season road schedule with a .299 average, hitting nine of his 40 homers and collecting 45 of the 126 RBIs away from home.

“He’s been out to prove he can hit on the coast and hit on the road,” Baylor said. “There’s been a lot of Bichette bashing the last couple months. He should be having the time of his life, and I think he is team-wise, but on a personal basis there’s been a lot of unfair things written about him.”

Most of it pertains to the Coors Field issue, but Baylor’s ire was raised here when asked about a recent Peter Gammons column in the Boston Globe in which Gammons claimed Baylor had called Bichette the least intelligent player he has coached or managed.

“If you know the way I feel about Dante you know I would never make a comment like that,” Baylor said. “I have more of a friendship with him than a manager-player relationship. Why would I say something like that? If people are using that to take votes away from Dante, it’s a joke.”

Bichette said he puts no credence in the Gammons report, saying the team deserves to have a candidate.

“If people are going to be negative about me as far as the Coors Field thing, they have to be negative about the whole team,” Bichette said. “How do they justify that considering we’re fighting for first place? Hopefully the baseball world will wake up and realize we’re a good-hitting club, home or away.”

The fight goes on at Coors Field, with four games against the San Francisco Giants. The Rockies are 42-26 at home. Bichette is certain to hear cheers. Respect comes in all forms.