Bichette (5-for-5, HR) embracing best sides of offensive identity

BOSTON -- What if this is just who Bo Bichette is now?

We’ve seen distinct stretches of greatness from the 25-year-old, who flourished with his first steps in the big leagues in 2019. Bichette hit for power. He hit for average. He simply hit everything, cementing himself as a franchise cornerstone with a brilliant future sprawled out in front of him.

The three seasons since, from the COVID-shortened 2020 through the end of '22, represent something closer to the “very good” outcome for Bichette, a .295 hitter with an .817 OPS over that span. He led the American League in hits in each of the past two seasons, his hot streaks at the plate often covering for the days where his defense didn’t match.

This feels like something bigger, though.

Bichette went 5-for-5 in Monday night’s 6-5 loss to the Red Sox -- which ended on a walk-off home run from Alex Verdugo -- a bright spot out of the second frustrating game in as many days for the Blue Jays. Bichette launched his seventh home run of the season and his third in the past five games. He drove the ball, went the other way and stole a base. On defense, he made the plays he should have, which is more than enough when he’s hitting like this.

The shortstop’s torrid end to 2022 looked like a strong finish that salvaged a season. Now, it’s starting to look like it was the start of a new era of Bichette.

It goes back to Spring Training, when he reflected on last year’s surge. This is a player fully embracing who he is and what he’s capable of.

“I just think I found out that I'm really good, to be honest,” Bichette said in camp. “I always knew what I was capable of, but I now understand who I am.”

For the most part, Bichette prefers to let his play do the talking. When he does speak about his own success, though, he continues to come back to the concept of “competing.” Whether it’s competing on every pitch or competing as a lineup, that’s the buzz word you’ll hear tacked onto the end of every sentence from Bichette.

It might not have a clean and tidy definition, and maybe that definition changes depending on the day, but it’s clearly a mindset for the young star.

Manager John Schneider has seen it for years, even before Bichette broke through in 2019. He was with Bichette prior to his Major League debut, at Double-A New Hampshire in '18, where he won an Eastern League championship with members of this young core at the forefront. So Schneider has seen this idea play out over years, not just at-bats.

“Competing is when he’s taking his skill set along with a really good approach to what the pitchers are doing to him,” Schneider said. “At 5-for-5, you can’t really say much else. It’s a combination of approach and skills. We saw that tonight.”

Don’t sleep on Bichette’s stolen base, either. It’s a small corner of his grand performance on Monday, but surprisingly enough, this was his first of the season. He stole 25 bases in 2021 before swiping just 13 a year ago, but he has the speed and instincts to chase 30.

During spring, Bichette said he already wanted to be more aggressive on the bases, even before MLB’s rule changes made stealing even more attractive. Plus, he has his manager’s trust.

“Situationally, if the opportunity is there, you guys know I like to be aggressive,” Schneider said, smiling. “Today was a 3-2 count, assuming [Matt] Chapman was going to put it in play, but you still trust Bo.”

These games won’t come often, with Bichette going a perfect 5-for-5 and the Blue Jays losing. The rest of Toronto’s lineup managed just four hits and couldn’t break through in some big moments, leaving the stage set for Verdugo to send the Fenway faithful home happy with his walk-off blast against Jordan Romano in the ninth.

José Berríos’ outing was representative of the game itself, teetering on the edge of something better, but ultimately tipping in the wrong direction, as he allowed five runs on 11 hits and two walks over 5 1/3 innings. For a lineup and pitching staff coming off an exceptional stretch of baseball to end April, this has been a quick return to the reality of the game.

Bichette just keeps hitting, though. His 43 knocks lead the Majors, while his .344 average ranks fourth, and those power numbers are coming quickly. He has been good for years now -- often very good -- but he’s starting to show that there’s even more to him.