Bichette named to Colorado Sports HOF

DENVER — Dante Bichette became one of the Rockies’ earliest stars with his bat, so much so that the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame this week announced that Bichette will be a member of its 2017 class of inductees.

So it comes almost as a shock to learn what Bichette, 53, is doing these days: pitching.

On Wednesday, Bichette discussed his Colorado sports honor from Phoenix, where he was pitching for the EC Cardinals, a men’s team out of Charlottesville, Va. It’s one of several teams Bichette — who resides near St. Petersburg, Fla. — has been known to pitch for these days.

“The knees give me a hard time, so I don’t hit much anymore — too much pressure,” Bichette said, laughing. “I like to pitch now. I’ve thrown a lot of batting practice to my boys [Dante Jr. is a Double-A prospect with the Yankees, and Bo is a Blue Jays prospect in Class A], so my arm is in good shape. I’ve got a fastball, a curve and a changeup, and I’ll drop down a little, submarine style. I was at 90 mph a few years back, but I don’t know if I can touch that anymore.”

But Bichette is a Colorado Sports Hall of Fame inductee because he could really hit. He had a 14-season career as an outfielder. In seven seasons with the Rockies (1993-99), he compiled a .316 batting average that’s tied for third-best in club history. His 201 home runs rank fourth.

Bichette had …

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