Norwich — Mike Hessman, who retired last year after a distinguished 20-year professional baseball career, admits he still feels the urge to hit every once in a while.

"There's still certain times that I want to grab a bat and take (batting practice) with them," said Hessman, the first-year hitting coach with the Connecticut Tigers, on Wednesday at Dodd Stadium.

Hessman could really hit, too, ending his playing career at the age of 37 as the minor league baseball career home run leader with 433.

Now he hopes to pass on his wisdom and vast knowledge to young players coming through the Tigers system. Connecticut opens up the New York-Penn League season at Tri-City on Friday night in Troy, N.Y.

"I've been around a lot of good quality people in the game and a lot of good hitting coaches," Hessman said. "I feel I have a fair amount of knowledge about the swing, approach and what it takes, day in and day out, to go about the process to get yourself ready to be in a position to succeed. ... Hopefully, they can grab a hold of some of the stuff that I can give them and help these guys become better hitters."

While he'll have to get to know the Connecticut players, he's already familiar with manager Mike Rabelo, a former minor league teammate.

In 2006, they won an International League championship playing for the Toledo Mud Hens, the AAA affiliate of the Tigers.

"Outstanding person and a great coach," Rabelo said. "He's going to be really good. ... We won a championship that year. It was a blast. ... He went on to be an International League MVP. He's played a long time and he's one of the most respected people in baseball."

Hessman played first base, third base and outfielder during his marathon career that included major league stints with Atlanta, Detroit and the New York Mets., belting 14 home runs in 109 games. He spent a season in Japan with the Orix Buffaloes in 2011. He was on the 2008 Team USA squad that captured a bronze medal in the Summer Olympics in China.

At his peak, he slugged 20 or more home run 13 times, including a season-best 34 for Oklahoma City, Houston's AAA team, in 2012. He belted 16 for Toledo in his final season last year.

The Baseball Hall of Fame asked for his jersey worn the day he slugged the minor league record setting 433rd home run last August. In 2009, he played all nine positions in a game for Toledo.

But Hessman, who was selected in the 15th round by the Atlanta Braves in the 1996 major league draft, was known for his power.

So what was his secret?

"I've been blessed," Hessman said. "I've been given God-given talent to be able to play baseball. There's a lot of guys that can go out in BP and hit every other ball out of the ball park. I couldn't do that in BP. I don't know what it was.

"I had a swing that worked in the game. A lot of those pitchers supplied some of that power for me. I tried to stay more line drive and gap to gap. ... That was kind of my approach."

Hessman will maintain his low-key style as the hitting coach. He prefers to lead by example, following the old school route of playing hard and playing the right away. He believes in building strong relationships.

He'll offer tips when necessary.

"If something really stood out to me or jumped out, I'd go over and approach the players and talk to them...," Hessman said. "A lot of players have to figure some things out themselves."

And if they're curious about Hessman's legendary career, he'll be happy to talk to them about it. That could be a long conversation considering he appeared in 2,272 games including winter ball, Japan, minor and major leagues.

"I don't know if everybody knows exactly what I did," Hessman said. "I've had a lot of guys come up and ask how many (home runs) I hit. There's a been a little bit of talk about it."

g.keefe@theday.com