Brett Muché back home, set to coach hitting for Crushers and LCCC

Whoever said you can't go home again never met Brett Muché. After four decades in baseball, starting with his days as a player in the North Olmsted Hot Stove to playing collegiately at Tiffin University and coaching stints at both the high school and college level, Muché recently returned to Ohio and accepted assistant coaching roles with the Lake Erie Crushers and Lorain County Community College. When his playing career ended, Muché started coaching in California and Washington, but always knew he'd make it back home. "For years, I've been wanting to come home," Muché said. "It was my time. The only thing that had been keeping me out west was baseball and sunshine." Family is what pulled Muché back to Lorain County, but he knew baseball had to be part of the package. "Coaching is something that just lights me up, even talking about it gets me going," Muché said. When LCCC athletic director Eric Lahetta was revamping the school's baseball program and looking to fill out a staff, Muché reached out. "When we were going through the coaching search, Brett reached out and said he's love to be a part of it in any capacity," Lahetta said. "Brett was looking to get back to the area from the west coast. I've known Brett for a few years through a mutual friend in baseball. He was recommended to me when I was still at Bryant and Stratton. "Head coach (Jake) Solomon was putting together his staff and reached out to Brett and he's been a really great addition. Our coaching staff is on the younger side and Brett brings that veteran experience." Coaching in the Frontier League will be a full circle moment for Muché, who played for the Newark (Ohio) Buffalos in 1994, the second year of the Frontier League's existence. "When I was playing, these leagues kinda had a stigma attached to them, but now big league organizations come here to look for players," Muché said. "The style of play is way better now, the players are better. They have way more experience because everything has been thinning down with Major League Baseball." While in California, Muché had the chance to work with the winningest coach in the state, John Stevenson, at El Segundo High School. "Right when I was done playing professionally, I started coaching in the Los Angeles Unified School District and also for El Segundo," Muché. said. "I was fortunate enough to be mentored by amazing men that were very successful coaches." Now Muché is excited to bring the knowledge he's gained to the Commodores and the Crushers. "I knew when Eric hired me I was doing the right thing." Muché. said. "It was one of those things where I felt I could bring a lot of value from all of my experiences. It doesn't matter if I'm the head coach or just on the staff, I just love baseball and love coaching. I don't care about the title, I just want to be on the field with the guys coaching the game. "There's no place in world like Northeast Ohio. I took the Northeastern Ohio work ethic out into the world. People here are a different breed. Hard working, don't make excuses. LCCC has completely made me feel like I am at home, and the Crushers organization has been like a family from the day I walked in." Luckily for Muché, there's little to no overlap between the junior college and Frontier League seasons, but he will have to make the adjustment from teaching hitting to players who are often coming straight out of high school to working with older players, many of whom have experience in big league organizations. "At LCCC, we preach 'next pitch mentality.' As soon as the ball is fouled off or you take a pitch, we have to move onto the next pitch," Muché said. "In the pros, those guys do that automatically. If they fouled a ball off, they're usually making that adjustment automatically. We're trying to train the college guys to have that next level thinking." Muché said he needs to see a player take between 1,200-1,500 swings before trust between player and coach exists. Outside of the batting cage, Muché has a way of instantly connecting with everyone around him. "Brett brings a lot of respect and accountability to the game and really connects with people," Lahetta said. "Players really gravitate to him. He's "Coach Mooch" to them. He's highly respected and really appreciated." The Crushers don't get underway until May but Muché will be in the dugout at ForeFront Field in less than a month when the Commodores open their season Feb. 21 against Kent State Tuscarawas. "I can't sleep sometimes at night, I am so excited. I spend my days with the college guys and they are unbelievable," Muché said. "Watching them and knowing I've got the pro guys coming too is just the greatest feeling. The neat thing is my college players can't wait to come down here in the summer. They tell me they are going to sit behind first base and make fun of me the whole game." Muché is happy that Solomon and Lake Erie manager Jared Lemieux worked it out so that he could be on both staffs. "It's an awesome opportunity for Brett," Lahetta said. "This will be a great experience to show what he can give at the professional level. Both programs are going to reap the benefits of his experience." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.