Alphonse Dante Bichette Jr. (born September 26, 1992) is a

Brazilian American Brazilian Americans ( or ) are Americans who are of full or partial Brazilian ancestry. The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates the Brazilian American population to be 1,905,000, the largest of any Brazilian diaspora. The larges ...

artist and semi

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He was drafted by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) in the first round of the

2011 MLB draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the fi ...

Early life and career

Bichette was born in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, in 1992. His father

Dante Bichette Alphonse Dante Bichette Sr. (; born November 18, 1963) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder for the California Angels (1988–1990), Milwaukee Brewers (1991–1992), Colorad ...

, is a former Major League Baseball player. His brother, Bo, plays for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. Bichette played in the 2005 Little League World Series, representing

Maitland, Florida Maitland is a suburban city in Orange County, Florida, United States, part of the Greater Orlando area. The population was 19,543 at the 2020 census. The area's history is exhibited at the Maitland Historical Museum; the city also hosts the ...

. One of his teammates was future MLB player Max Moroff, and the team's two assistant coaches were

Mike Stanley Robert Michael Stanley (born June 25, 1963) is an American former college and professional baseball player who was a catcher in Major League Baseball for fifteen years. Stanley played college baseball for the University of Florida, and the ...

and

. During his senior year at

Orangewood Christian High School Maitland is a suburban city in Orange County, Florida, United States, part of the Greater Orlando area. The population was 19,543 at the 2020 census. The area's history is exhibited at the Maitland Historical Museum; the city also hosts the ...

, he batted .640 with 10 home runs and 40 RBIs in 30 games.

Professional career

New York Yankees

Bichette was drafted 51st overall in the

2011 Major League Baseball draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the firs ...

by the

. He debuted in the Minor Leagues as part of the Yankees

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the low ...

team, the

GCL Yankees The Florida Complex League Yankees are a Rookie-level affiliate of the New York Yankees, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball ...

on June 20, 2011. Bichette spent the 2017 season with the Double–A

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the D ...

, playing in 72 games and hitting .262/.352/.353 with four home runs and 33 RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2017.

St. Paul Saints

On December 23, 2017, Bichette signed a minor league contract with the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

. He was released on March 28, 2018. On April 2, 2018, Bichette signed with the

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They previ ...

of the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

. In 99 games for the Saints, he batted .310/.355/.434 with nine home runs and 52 RBI.

High Point Rockers

On February 21, 2019, Bichette was traded to the

High Point Rockers The High Point Rockers are an American professional minor-league baseball team based at Truist Point ballpark in High Point, North Carolina, which is part of the Piedmont Triad region. They are members of the South Division of the Atlantic League ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. He was named Atlantic League Player of the Month for April and May. Bichette appeared in 36 games for the Rockers, batting .386/.412/.514 with three home runs and 23 RBI.

Washington Nationals

On June 7, 2019, Bichette's contract was purchased by the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

organization. He spent the remainder of the year with the Double–A

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team who play in the Eastern League, and are the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The team is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at FNB Field on Cit ...

, batting .297/.348/.402 with two home runs and 33 RBI across 73 games. Bichette elected free agency following the season on November 4. On December 26, 2019, Bichette re-signed with the Nationals on a minor league contract. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Bichette was released by the Nationals organization on May 31, 2020.

International career

Bichette represented

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in the

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

World Baseball Classic Qualififers. Both Bichette and his brother

Bo Bichette Bo Joseph Bichette (born March 5, 1998) is a Brazilian-American professional baseball shortstop for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019. Bichette is a two-time MLB All-Star and twice led the Americ ...

have played for Brazil in the WBC due to their mother Mariana being a native of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Their maternal grandfather is of Chinese descent.

Personal life

Bichette’s father,

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

, is a former

player and four-time All-Star. His younger brother, Bo, currently plays with the

. On June 11, 2024, Bichette alleged that his father Dante had abused him as a child while playing youth baseball. He wrote that his father would beat him during or after bad performances and physically fought coaches, spectators and "many" umpires.

References

External links

Dante Bichette, Jr. Stats, Bio, Photos, Highlights
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bichette, Dante Jr. 1992 births Living people American sportspeople of Brazilian descent American sportspeople of Chinese descent Baseball players from Orlando, Florida Baseball first basemen Baseball second basemen Baseball third basemen Charleston RiverDogs players Gulf Coast Yankees players Harrisburg Senators players High Point Rockers players Scottsdale Scorpions players St. Paul Saints players Staten Island Yankees players Tampa Yankees players Trenton Thunder players