Hungry to get better, Bo Bichette worked with former Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki over the off-season

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Troy Tulowitzki reached out to Bo Bichette’s father, Dante, last year and said, “If Bo ever needs me, let me know.”

This off-season Bichette decided to take Tulowitzki up on that, and the current Toronto Blue Jays shortstop called up his predecessor. Bichette is fresh off a breakout season in which he crushed 29 homers, stole 25 bases and made his first all-star game. But the Jays fell one game shy of the postseason, and Bichette hungered to get better.

Tulowitzki is now an assistant coach for the University of Texas baseball team, where he works with infielders and hitters. Bichette, now 24 and gearing up for his fourth MLB season, went to work on his game with Tulowitzki, something he hadn’t done since he was a kid.

Bichette got to hang around the Colorado Rockies when his father worked as the team’s hitting coach in 2013. The big-leaguers gave the promising 15-year-old tips, and let him take batting practice. Tulowitzki was the Rockies shortstop at the time – in the midst of a 13-year major-league career that would include five all-star nods, two Gold Gloves and a pair of Silver Slugger awards. Tulowitzki was among those who made time for young Bichette.

“He was an observing, quiet kid. He could hit, even then,” said Tulowitzki, now 37, in a phone interview this week. “I think he wasn’t sure that he wanted to be a baseball player back then, even though he was pretty good at it. He played some tennis and other things. I think spending time around a big-league clubhouse at that point might have locked him into like ‘This is pretty cool, and I want to do this.’ ”

They’d kept in touch here and there since. Bichette’s dad sometimes sent Tulowitzki videos of Bo playing in high school, and he’d give input on the kid’s swing. Tulowitzki, who played for the Blue Jays from 2015 to 2017, remembers seeing the youngster around spring training among the minor-leaguers after the Jays drafted him in 2016. But this off-season was the first time the two men worked together since Bichette got to the majors.

They spent just a few days working together in Austin, at the University of Texas, working primarily on defence, but doing some hitting, too. Bichette’s father joined them (a 14-year major-league veteran and four-time all-star himself) along with Jays infielder Santiago Espinal, and Tulowitzki’s eight year-old son Taz.

“It was amazing for me,” said Bichette of spending time with Tulowitzki. “You know, obviously he’s accomplished a lot of really great things in the game, and he’s one of the best in terms of fielding percentage.”

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Indeed, Tulowitzki is one of just four MLB shortstops ever to compile a career fielding percentage of .984 or better.

“I learned a lot about what’s important as a fielder, but most importantly, just the effort, the intensity, the focus in everything you do, no matter if anybody’s watching you, if it’s before a game or after,” said Bichette, chatting in Tampa this week before facing the Yankees in Grapefruit League play.

“These are things that I had been taught as a kid, but to hear it from somebody else whose accomplishments I obviously respect – and who’s not my dad – it definitely helps.”

The Jays’ popular, hard-slugging, long-haired shortstop kept the circle going during the trip to Texas, too, working with Tulowitzki’s young son on his own game.

“I feel like it’s kind of my job at this point. I mean, I love that family. He’s done a lot for me, Tulo,” Bichette said. “So yeah, I’m super excited every time he sends me a video of Taz. Yeah, I love to see it.”

Bichette says he focused only on fun with the boy, careful not to give him too much info too fast at this age.

“My son kind of looks at Bo as kind of a friend. I don’t think he really understands that’s Bo Bichette,” Tulowitzki said. “I see a lot of Bo in my son as far as being gifted as a player. It’s cool for me to see it come full circle. That’s what the game does – you give to it, and it finds its way to give back.”

Tulowitzki says while he was playing for the Blue Jays, he had his little boy around sometimes. Tulowitzki’s stretch with Toronto had its ups and downs. He was key to the fascinating Jays 2015 team that made it to the American League Championship Series. But he also suffered with injuries, and the Jays released him in 2018, but had to pay out the end of his contract. After a brief stint with the Yankees, Tulowitzki retired in 2019.

“For me personally, my time in Toronto ended unfortunately not the way I wanted it to. But I enjoyed my time there – great teams, fond memories,” Tulowitzki said. “I watch them from afar, not just because of the relationships I have with some of the players, but it’s a fun team to watch. I love watching great players, and the Blue Jays have a lot of them. I can’t wait to watch this team this year.”

Tulowitzki says if he sits down at home to watch baseball on TV, the Blue Jays are very often the team he chooses to watch – especially for the young stars the club has developed, like Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

“Toronto fans are lucky to see guys like that and see them from a young age on,” Tulowitzki said. “Look back at some of the other guys. The years when we played good, it was more through trades and all that. I think it’s pretty cool to be in that organization and give the fans a chance to see them from when they’re young.”

Tulowitzki has found a knack for working with young players. He was the 2021 USA Baseball volunteer coach of the year for his work with its collegiate national team and its early-teen athlete development program.

Tulowitzki calls Bichette humble and thinks he keenly absorbed what he learned from observing pros as a kid.

“He has access to not only his father – which is a huge advantage – but to players, being around them, seeing some of the traps that big-league players fall into, and maybe thinking they’re better than they are,” Tulowitzki said. “He’s just advanced – on and off the field. He’s down to earth and just a good kid. He really has his head on straight, and it’s impressive for me to see.”

The Blue Jays will open their 2022 season next Friday in Toronto against the Texas Rangers, and their division – the American League East – is projected to be the year’s most hotly contested. The Jays were among baseball’s top performers in the final stretch of last year, and it stung to fall a game short of the postseason.

“I’ve seen improvement in Bo, not only offensively and defensively but also his leadership and thinking about winning,” Tulowitzki said. “When you’re in the minor leagues, you’re thinking about ‘How can I get there?’ And then when you get there, you start thinking ‘Okay, how can we win?’ And I’ve seen him make that transition.”