Ramsey: AFA baseball coach wrongly optimistic

Oh, the troubles Mike Hutcheon has seen as coach of the Air Force Academy’s baseball team.

He’s been accused of physically abusing players. And forcing his brand of Christianity on players. And running off scores of players.

And, maybe most often, he’s been accused of incompetence. Since arriving in 2004, Hutcheon has won 12 Mountain West games.

And lost 136.

So it was slightly strange to hear Hutcheon talking hopefully about the program’s future. He believes — and I’m not kidding about this — he’s on the brink of reviving one of the nation’s worst college programs.

“We’re going to see the fruits of our labor,” Hutcheon said. “… We want to be in the top three conference-wise.
“In two or three years, I think we’ll be at that point where we can compete for a conference championship and get into a regional. That’s kind of a timeline that we’ve put on ourselves.”

That’s kind of revolutionary.

In the past dozen years, much has changed in our world. Presidents have come and gone. The economy has soared and tanked.

You could always count on this: The AFA baseball team would be hideous and dwell in the conference basement.

When Hutcheon arrived, he was given a clear edict. The baseball team was, to the eyes of athletic officials, being run by the players.

That was not acceptable, athletic director Hans Mueh said.

“We had a culture on the team that was sort of very un-Air Force Academy-like when it came to discipline and when it came to military bearing,” Mueh said. “I’m just being completely honest with you.

“We had to clean house, and I gave him carte blanche to do that.”

Hutcheon wasn’t shy about following Mueh’s instruction. From 2004-06, 31 players either quit or were cut by Hutcheon. The mass departures linger. Six players have quit or been cut since the end of the 2009 season.

Amid the chaos, criticism mounted against Hutcheon.

He was accused of improper Christian evangelism. An investigation requested by AFA exonerated him.

I often receive letters and e-mail messages — always anonymous — charging Hutcheon with physically abusing players. An AFA investigation found one incident in which Hutcheon grabbed a player by the shoulders to get his attention. He was, again, exonerated.

The investigations have done little to slow the accusations. Hutcheon shrugged and said his troubles have strengthened him.

“You have people who are saying things out there that you can’t defend against,” he said. “It’s like a ghost, and it’s kind of cowardly. People know the hot buttons to push at the academy.”

One of those buttons, he said, is physical abuse.

“It’s obvious that someone — or some group — is trying to attack us for a reason. That’s the hardest part. If they really got to know us and who we are, I think they could see that this is a really good situation.

“I know we’re doing this right. I know we’re developing officers.”

He also knows he doesn’t have forever. During a 35-minute conversation, Hutcheon offered dozens of excuses for past losses, but none for future defeats.

He called the incoming freshman class the best in AFA history. Slugging first baseman Matt Alexander will return.

His players believe. The pieces are, finally, in place.

“We need to win,” he said. “We need to produce.”

Mueh is a patient man, especially when it comes to offering grace to losing AFA coaches, but he will not wait forever for a winning baseball team.

“We need to give this program a little more time,” Mueh said. “Mike has two more years on his contract. It’s not like I’ve given him a lifetime contract. He will have to perform and he knows that.”

Mueh and Hutcheon share a shocking belief:

They believe the Falcons will become baseball winners.

For more from this interview with Mike Hutcheon, check out columnist David Ramsey’s blog at daveramseysez.freedomblogging.com