Joseph Bo Bichette is a baseball shortstop for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Bichette as a teenager played baseball for Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg Florida although he was homeschooled.
He was voted the Gatorade/USA Today Florida Player of the Year and Mr.Baseball after hitting .569 with 13 home runs as a senior. Bichette attained his tertiary education at the Arizona State University where he played college baseball for the Arizona Sun Devils.
Meet Dante Bichette and Mariana Bichette
Bichette was born to parents Dante Bichette Sr and Mariana Bichette. Dante Bichette, Bo’s father is a former Major League Baseball All-star outfielder. He played for teams in the Major League Baseball including the California Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, and Boston Red Sox. Bo was named after popular football player Bo Jackson.
Mariana Bichette, Bo’s mother is a native of old Porto Alegre Brazil. She was at Boston University when she met Dante and it took her ten years to finish school. Mariana took Dante’s career seriously and helped with philanthropic efforts like massaging and helping run his son’s baseball teams.
The couple met during the 1991 season when Dante was playing a match against the Red Sox while he was with the Milwaukee Brewers. Mariana was working her first day at Gold’s when Dante walked into the Gold’s Gym working across from Fenway Park on Lansdowne Street. She had no idea who Dante was but made him a few protein shakes after which Dante asked Mariana and her manager to come for the game which she obliged.
“ I was about 45 minutes late and I was literally minutes away from not meeting him. Dante was walking out as I walked in. The rest is history. We were married two years later” Mariana said in an interview with MLB Reports, Jonathan Hacohen.
The couple had their first son Dante Jr in 1992 and six years later she gave birth to Bo in Orlando, Florida. The couple like any other couple had its ups and downs. In two separate incidents, Dante was accused of domestic violence with Mariana. In 1992 he admitted to striking her while she was pregnant with Dante Jr and another incident happened in 1993 at Dante’s home in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Despite this, the two have remained strong throughout the years and were spotted together when Bo was selected to the American League Team at the All-Star Weekend last season.