Last night, the Yankees drafted  Dante Bichette Jr. out of Orangewood Christian High School in Maitland, Florida with the 51st pick in the second round. You probably remember his dad who played 14 seasons, with most of his production coming as a member of the Colorado Rockies.

I never liked Dante Bichette, and it was mainly due to him showboating after a game winning home run against the Mets on Opening Day 1995. That was actually the first ever game at Coors Field. Through the years Bichette was very productive in Colorado (201 homers, .316 batting average); however most of his production came at Coors Field and Mile High Stadium, where he hit .360 with 137 home runs. Fifty percent of his career home runs came in the rarefied air.

In 1996, I sat behind the visiting dugout for a Mets/Rockies game at Shea Stadium. Just 19, I was in a trash talking mood that night. I trashed talk Bichette the entire game. I told him how he couldn’t hit outside Coors Field, etc; nothing vulgar, just silly quips. In the fifth, the Mets had a 3-2 lead when Bichette stepped to the plate with a runner on third. He promptly deposited Pete Harnisch‘s next pitch over the left field wall. As he walked back to the dugout he made the home run sign with his finger and blew a kiss to my section. The Mets would lose to the Rockies that night 5-3. I guess you could call that my Spike Lee moment.

What does this mean for his son? Nothing. I wish him the best of luck in his career. His father just annoyed me for whatever reason. I am sure he is a good guy, but there was never a player that symbolized the absurdity of the early days of Coors Field than Dante Bichette.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

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Tags: Colorado Rockies, Dante Bichette, Dante Bichette Jr., New York Mets, New York Yankees