Bichette Retires After 14 Seasons

Reserve outfielder Dante Bichette, convinced he would not be effective in the pinch-hitting role the Dodgers envisioned, abruptly announced his retirement Friday night, ending a distinguished 14-year big league career that began with the Angels in 1988.

Bichette, a career .299 hitter with 274 home runs and 1,141 runs batted in, doubled in three at-bats in the Dodgers’ 7-3 exhibition victory over Montreal, coming within a few feet of a home run in the sixth inning. He decided earlier Friday afternoon it would be his last game.

“I can still play; I think I could play until I’m 80,” Bichette, 38, said. “But I remember talking to Paul Molitor, and Jim [Tracy, Dodger manager] said it tonight--you retire because the preparation and the focus aren’t there. Those are the things I didn’t have this spring. I have no regrets. I’m really at peace with this.”

Bichette, expected to be the right-handed complement to pinch-hitting specialist Dave Hansen, hadn’t slept well for a week as he pondered what to do. The four-time All-Star nearly walked out of camp Wednesday but said Thursday he planned to honor his contract.

“Then, at 1 p.m. [Friday] it hit me,” said Bichette, who has a wife (Mariana) and two sons, Dante, 9, and Bo, 4. “To be honest with you, I broke down a bit. I prayed to Jesus to make me a strong man, husband and father.... The family was calling me.”

If another team calls with a full-time job offer, Bichette would consider it.

“But I had the whole off-season to find that job, and it just wasn’t there,” he said. “It’s tough for me to say I’m retiring, but if the door to being an every-day player is shut, I would be hurting the team if I stuck around and my heart wasn’t in it.”

Bichette hit .190 (8 for 42) with two homers, two doubles and four RBIs in 16 spring games. He was considered a lock to make the team, but now Mike Kinkade, Hiram Bocachica and Phil Hiatt will compete for a pinch-hitting job.

“There are players who had good careers, great careers and brilliant careers, and to me, he’s had a brilliant career,” Tracy said of Bichette. “Not a lot of players have accomplished what he has, so I have to respect his decision. I’m disappointed I didn’t have him five years ago, and I wish I had those 500 at-bats for him.”

General Manager Dan Evans was surprised by Bichette’s retirement.

“After talking to him three times in the last three days, I respect what he’s doing,” Evans said. “He’s doing it for all the right reasons.”

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There’s an edginess to camp these days, an uneasiness that often comes in the final week of spring training when jobs are still up in the air and roles have not been clearly defined.

Nowhere is that more evident than in the rotation, where Odalis Perez, Omar Daal and Eric Gagne have been battling for the fifth spot. Perez appears to be the favorite, Daal is the most likely to be traded, and Gagne appears headed to the bullpen, but right now, uncertainty rules.

“It would be good for management to make a decision, because we need to know,” Perez said. “It would be better for each of us to know what’s going on, so guys can get ready for their roles.”

Tracy said Friday he is “very close to making a decision so guys know their roles ... but not today.”

Gagne may have made one of those decisions for the Dodgers on Friday night, throwing three innings of perfect relief, striking out four. Gagne’s fastball hit 97 mph in his first inning and hit 96 mph consistently. He also showed a good slider and changeup.

Gagne is tentatively scheduled to start a game Wednesday, but Tracy said he would like to see him pitch a few more times in relief. There is also speculation Gagne could evolve into the closer the Dodgers lack.

“He’s got the stuff to do it and the mentality,” catcher Chad Kreuter said. “He’s not afraid of anything. He has that hockey mentality; he’s going to stick his nose in and battle.”

Gagne said he doesn’t care whether he starts or relieves, but he admits the idea of closing intrigues him. He was the closer for the Canadian national team in 1995, throwing 12 scoreless innings and striking out 20 in 11 games.

“It would be an adrenaline rush, I’d love it,” Gagne said.

And if he blew a save? “It might be easier to forget,” he said. “One of my big problems as a starter is I’d have four days to think about what I should have done, what I did wrong, what I have to do the next time. As a reliever, if you screw up, you have to get over it and pitch the next day.”

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Hideo Nomo gave up one run on four hits and struck out six in five innings Friday night, throwing 79 pitches. Shawn Green, batting .094 this spring, hit a two-run homer to the opposite field in the first inning.