Dante Bichette Leads Second Wave of Dinner Guests
MANCHESTER, N.H. - The New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Fisher Cats Foundation have unveiled the next group of guests for the 2015 Granite State Baseball Dinner. Former Red Sox outfielder Dante Bichette will sit at the head table along with Fisher Cats pitcher Taylor Cole and former University of New Hampshire running back and aspiring Paralympic athlete Muji Karim.
Bichette ended his career with the Red Sox in 2001, capping a 14-year journey as one of the game's most feared sluggers through the nineties. He broke into the big leagues in 1988, but it was a few years later when he truly made his name. As an inaugural member of the Colorado Rockies, he earned four All-Star nods and finished second in the National League MVP voting in 1995. Bichette owns the Rockies' first home run, and he hit a walk-off blast in the team's first game at Coors Field in 1995. He finished his career with a .299 average, 274 home runs, and 1,141 RBI. Acquired by the Red Sox for the stretch run in 2000, he tallied 19 home runs in 137 games over two seasons.
Cole is coming off his first full season in Double-A with the Fisher Cats. The Las Vegas native tossed 164 innings, third-most in the Eastern League. Over 28 starts he won seven games, including a complete-game shutout against New Britain on the 4th of July. He was also a steady presence in the community, earning the Fisher Cats nomination for the Blue Jays Community Service Award. He won that honor in 2014, the same year he led all minor league pitchers with 181 strikeouts pitching across Advanced-A and Double-A.
Karim provided one of the most inspirational moments during the Fisher Cats' 2015 season. On June 6, his story was told to the crowd before he took a 'Home Run for Life' around the bases on his new prosthetic legs. The former UNH star lost both legs below the knee and part of his left hand in a car accident after his playing days at the university. With new running blades thanks to Next Step Bionics & Prosthetics, Inc., he is training for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio.
The trio of guests joins a jam-packed head table featuring New Hampshire legend Chris Carpenter, Boston Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr., and former Detroit Tigers slugger Cecil Fielder, among others. The event begins at 5 p.m. and tickets are $80. Tickets are available at www.nhfishercats.com.
The event benefits the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, the Ted Williams Foundation, and the Fisher Cats Foundation. Since 2007, the dinner has donated more than $1.28 million to these three organizations.
For more information about the charitable Granite State Baseball Dinner, presented by Northeast Delta Dental, please contact Tom Gauthier, the Fisher Cats' executive director of broadcasting and media relations, at (603) 606-4130 or visit www.nhfishercats.com. Corporate sponsorships are also available. Opening Day 2016 is Thursday, April 14 against the Trenton Thunder at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium. Full and Half-Season Tickets and a complete 2016 schedule are available by visiting www.nhfishercats.com.