HAPPY BO DAY!
As Bichette turns 26, he’s ready to expand leadership role with Blue Jays
“That’s how culture is built. Everyone thinks that coaches build culture or a guru builds culture. It’s the players.”
John Schneider
Toronto Blue Jays manager
DUNEDIN — It happened early in spring training, the type of baseball conversation Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider has been having with Bo Bichette since the latter was a teenager and they were in the minor leagues together.
The gist, as described by both men, was twofold: one, that the team was better than it has shown the previous two seasons, and two, there is a newfound urgency to prove it.
“That’s just him,” Schneider said of Bichette’s wisdom offered during one of the latest heart-to-hearts he has had with his all-star shortstop. “He relayed that quietly in years past and this year really took a step forward and said ‘we need to be better.’ It’s not just players. It’s everybody.
“We always as coaches think that and when players come in and are delivering that message, it’s awesome.”
Bichette always has seemed older and wiser than his years, a player whose maturity led to a natural leadership role in the clubhouse, even among more accomplished veterans with longer service time.
On Tuesday, Bichette was birthday Bo, turning 26 and further acknowledging that he is no longer a kid and these are no longer the “young” Jays. Bichette’s message is that it’s time to approach the job accordingly.
“I think that you just have to remember that we’re professionals here and our No. 1 priority every day as professionals is to come here and to win,” Bichette said in a recent interview with the Postmedia News. “That’s what we’re paid to do. That’s the standard.
“That’s the culture — to show up every day and be ready to do whatever we can to win a game. And that culture is built over a period of time of people holding each other accountable to that standard and that culture.
“That’s what we’re working on now.”
There are no false platitudes from Bichette, who is soft spoken and chooses his words carefully, but isn’t opposed to delivering a frank message when the time is appropriate.
“It was lacking, but not in a bad way,” Bichette said of how accountable Jays players were at times previously. “I’m saying that if we want to win a World Series, it has to be better. You can take that however you want to take that.
“We’ve been decent. We made the playoffs. I don’t think it’s been bad. We just need to be better.”
And not just in October, either, an urgency Bichette made sure he shared with Schneider and subsequently to his teammates in the early days of spring training.
While there has been so much attention placed on the post-season demise the previous two years, Bichette quite rightly stresses that there were issues long before the Minneapolis mess.
“I wouldn’t put it on a singular playoff series,” Bichette said by way of a 2023 autopsy. “There’s an entire season of things that leads up to that. It was the entire season, looking back on it and realizing we need to be better.”
Schneider said that when Bichette approached him with those thoughts and his desire to share them, it was a welcome sign. The manager is wise enough to know that a coach’s voice carries weight but often can be dwarfed by a prominent player who holds the respect of his teammates.
“He talked about what he wanted to say to the team and what he wants to continue to talk about during the year,” Schneider said. “He’s realistic, which I love about him. If it’s not good enough, he’s willing to say something. And if he says it, it has a lot more weight than if anyone else says it.
“That’s how culture is built. Everyone thinks that coaches build culture or a guru builds culture. It’s the players. When they are holding themselves to a very high standard and expectations that’s when it shows.”
It also doesn’t hurt when the voice is coming from a guy who led the American League in hits for two of the past three seasons and his team in all three..
And what about those expectations? Bichette is transparent enough to be realistic.
To wit: As much as he likes the tone set in camp thus far, he knows that what happens in Dunedin, Bradenton, Sarasota and the other spring training stops means little if they are not transported north.
“I think things are better, but things are always good in spring training,” Bichette said. “It’s not to say that I don’t envision it being better for a full season, but if we accomplish what we want to accomplish, it’s got to be for eight months or whatever it is.
“There’s going to be days when we want to stop and get lazy and we want to put it in neutral and coast but what’s going to separate from everyone else is if we keep on pushing and keep on going through times that are tough.”