DOWN IN THE COUNT

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Oct 15, 2006 | by DAN WOLKEN THE GAZETTE

The Air Force Academy baseball team has been a mess on the field, posting a 25-131 record in Mike Hutcheon's three seasons as coach. In 2006, the team had a 1-23 record and was outscored 380-114 in Mountain West Conference games, prompting athletic director Hans Mueh to ask the conference if Air Force could drop out of the conference in baseball.

But the turmoil off the field has been every bit as bad, with a near mutiny in 2005. Some former players say winning became nearly impossible because of their antagonistic relationship with the coach, including what they describe as Hutcheon pushing his religious views or favoring players with similar outlooks.

The Gazette identified 31 varsity players from the 2004, 2005 and 2006 seasons who either quit the team or were pushed out by Hutcheon.

The coach denied that religion is a factor in how he treats players. He asserted that he played the best players and those who followed team and academy rules.

The academy is dogged by accusations about religious intolerance, with a lawsuit pending. Academy leaders say they support Hutcheon.

"We've really kind of concentrated on other things besides winning," Hutcheon said. "More of the focus was on cleaning up the program internally and then winning would be a byproduct later. Winning was kind of third or fourth on our list at the time. We're in year four, and we feel like we're at a point now where our program is healthy. We've got guys who really buy into what our system's about."

The Gazette spoke with more than a dozen former players and parents of others. Former players still at the academy, and others now serving in the Air Force who were interviewed for this story were granted anonymity because they feared being punished for speaking out.

According to three former players, the discontent was so severe in 2005 that several players plotted a mutiny in which the team wouldn't report to the bus for a road trip. The plan was ultimately nixed by seniors, who feared their involvement would impact their graduation.

On May 1 of this year -- the same day the academy announced Hutcheon had been given a new three-year contract -- senior captain and starting pitcher Paul Pratt sent an e-mail to players' parents asking them to write academy officials and urge that Hutcheon be fired. A copy of the e-mail was given to The Gazette.

Hutcheon also got a copy of the e-mail, and Pratt was dismissed from the team the following day. Hutcheon then addressed the team about the e-mail, according to players in the meeting. They said Hutcheon asked the team if Pratt was a liar. At that point, three senior pitchers - Kyle DePierre, Paul Vignola and Clayton Couch - walked out of the meeting and quit the team in support of Pratt.

Hutcheon denied asking if Pratt was a liar. "The question posed was if anyone feels the same way Paul does, do us all a favor and pack up your stuff and go on your way," Hutcheon said.

It was the third consecutive year at least one of Hutcheon's captains quit the team or was dismissed during the middle of his senior season.

That won't happen in the 2007 season because Hutcheon said he's not going to have a captain.

"We didn't have what we'd call good leaders on the team," Hutcheon said. "Guys weren't trained to be good leaders. We were trying to train guys to lead and how to take leadership in a proper way.

"We tried to set an example of going through our leadership team instead of going through the captains, we were going through our staff, our coaches and military assistants. We had an idea of what we wanted to do, and maybe that wasn't the same as what some guys wanted. Maybe there was some friction between the leadership teams, which we had to get rid of. This year, we don't have any captains. We have what we call our core group of upper classmen. We'll try to train them how to lead, the proper way of leading."

Hutcheon said his philosophy mirrored that of the academy and that some departing players did not want to follow it. Hutcheon estimated that about a third of the 31 players who left departed because of academic problems. He said some did not respect his authority.

"We tried to base it on, 'Are these guys going to be good officers?'" Hutcheon said. "We fought situations where guys were not responding to our coaching style, which to me is a direct reflection of disobeying authority or respecting authority. We had to come down on the team in that way."

Athletic director Mueh said he supports Hutcheon.

"Mike Hutcheon is confident he's turned this program and that he has people that want to play baseball, that want to win, that are past these biting issues, these mutinous feelings," Mueh said. "It's taken three years, and that doesn't surprise me because he inherited a whole bucket of crap."

Nevertheless, Mueh later said of the many players who left the program, "There aren't any of these players that I thought would not be great officers in the Air Force."

INTOLERANCE ALLEGED

Hutcheon was hired from Bethel College, a private school in Indiana run by the Missionary Church, which describes itself as engaged in "aggressive outreach" and global evangelism. The school has 2,000 students, and its baseball team competes in the National Christian College Athletic Association.