Posted 5:03 p.m.
Updated at 8:25 p.m.
Rapid City, SD—It seems surreal. Two generations of baseball players and fans knew only Dave Ploof as the head coach of Post 22 baseball.
Scratch that, two entire generations and their mothers and fathers knew only Ploof as the coach of the Hardhats.
But for the first time in half a century, one of the premier American Legion baseball programs in the country will have a new man in charge. On Sunday, the Post 22 Baseball Parents, Inc. Board of Directors voted to make Mitch Messer the new head coach of the Post 22 baseball program.
“It’s humbling. When I started out coaching ten years ago I certainly never would have imagined being in this spot,” Messer told IDS. “So, it’s a bit humbling. At the same time, it’s still baseball and I know how to do this. At the end of the day, when I walk through the gate at Fitzgerald Stadium it will be business as usual.”
“Mitch was brought on board two years ago with the expectation that he could potentially take the reins as head coach. Tonight that has happened,” said Baseball Parents, Inc. President Brian Chleborad in a press release statement. “Mitch has the qualifications, the training, and the mental attitude that will drive our program to meet the expectations of everyone involved. Mitch has studied and kept up with the latest technology and training for today’s baseball. Many things have changed over the years, and Mitch brings the skills, talent and connections that will keep Post 22 in the forefront of American Legion baseball. We are grateful that the current staff are all on the same page and we look forward to many successful years at Post 22 under the tutelage of Mitch Messer and his staff. Mitch will be announcing his staff at the November board meeting.”
After, at times, a contentious process as the Board established its procedures for selection, Messer, 32, was offered the job Sunday afternoon. Messer was one of three applicants along with former Major Leaguer, and Post 22 alumnus Dave Collins and former Sioux Falls West head coach Josh Merrigan.
“It’s a good choice. He’s young, and he’s got new ideas that will get us back to being an elite program,” said long time Post 22 coach Rich Downs. “He’ll maintain our traditions. The game is the same, but he’s got some new approaches, some new ways of teaching, that can move us forward. He’s going to bring a new approach to the players. He will still maintain discipline, but he wants to empower the players to take responsibility for the team and their own development. I think that attitude will rejuvenate player enthusiasm.”
Kyle Yamada, who has been a Post 22 assistant coach for 11 years, echoed his support for Messer.
“Through the whole process there have been people trying to pick us apart, but when it came down to it, we (the coaching staff) are a united front and we have the same vision,” said Yamada. “The whole coaching staff supports this. No one else applied because we knew Mitch was the man for the job. We are ecstatic. We want to get back to the way things used to be. The reason I have supported Coach Messer is that he is very collaborative in his leadership style and I know he will be open to our ideas as coaches.”
For people close to the Post 22 program Messer’s selection came as no surprise. He is widely considered one of the brightest young baseball coaches in the region.
“I think selecting Mitch is a great decision. I know him well,” said Missoula head coach Brent Hathaway. “I tried to recruit him to come be on my staff when he was in the Bitterroot. I’ve always been very impressed with his professional approach and the way he gets his players ready to play. He respects the game. I think it’s an advantage that he’s younger, in his early 30s. He’s separated from the players by ten or fifteen years, but he’s still young enough to be able to relate to them.”
“He encourages a lot of communication,” said Downs. “The coaches are talking more, and sharing ideas. Since Mitch applied a few weeks ago, frankly, it’s been a lot of fun talking about new ideas and new ways to improve the program.”
When Messer left Bozeman, Montana after turning a mediocre Legion program into a perennial powerhouse in the region, and moved to Rapid City three years ago, it raised more than a few eyebrows. Why would the two-time Montana American Legion ‘Coach of the Year’ come to Rapid City to be an assistant coach?
“My wife and I moved the family back because we always thought in the back of our heads that it would be nice to move back home and live closer to family. Family is always first, and then the opportunity arose to come back and coach baseball,” said Messer. “I have said from the day I got here that I didn’t have an expectation, but I knew in my own mind if the opportunity ever came about I would be interested.”
It was Dave Ploof who helped persuade Messer to come back to Rapid City and coach the Post 22 Expos. Was he Coach Ploof’s hand-picked replacement? Neither Ploof nor Messer will say.
Two of the players who will be at the center of Post 22 for the next few years are Jake Sullivan and Carter Wevik. Both said they are excited for the future with Messer at the helm.
“I had Coach Messer when I was on the Expos and it was a really fun year,” said Wevik. “He was a great coach and he really knows baseball. He knows the in’s and out’s of everyone’s swing and he pays attention to little details. He can help make adjustments when you’re in a slump. The thing that really stands out is how he helps with the mental side of the game. I wanted him to be selected. I’m really happy.”
“He deserves it. He’s a great coach, and I’m really looking forward to next season,” said Sullivan. “He knows a lot about baseball. I was in a slump last summer, and he came to the batting cages and worked with me on little things to improve my swing. I came right out of my slump. He’s just a great coach.”
Those on the outside, looking in, may be asking “Who is Mitch Messer?”
Messer played for Post 22 when the program was at the pinnacle of its success in the mid-1990’s. In 1995, he was on the second team in three years to play in the American Legion World Series. One year later, after losing eight seniors including Mark Ellis, Messer helped lead a young and experienced team back to the 1996 World Series.
Messer went on to play college baseball at Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa and finished his baseball career at Augustana University in Sioux Falls.
Straight out of college Messer went into coaching. He started as an assistant coach for the Sioux Falls Post 15 East. One year later, he landed his first head-coaching job in the Bitterroot Valley, just outside of Missoula, Montana. Messer quickly developed a reputation for the ability to restore and revamp programs. The Bitterroot Bucs were once the class of Class A Legion baseball in Montana, but a split in the program created another team just down the road in Hamilton. The new team thrived. The Bucs did not, until Messer came. In his first year, the Bucs returned to the state championship game.
His success in the Bitterroot open eyes in Montana. There was another program not too far down the road that was in need of help, in Bozeman.
“I competed against Mitch for three years when he was coach at Bozeman, and I think very highly of him,” said Billings Scarlets head coach Adam Hust, whose team won the Montana state tourney this season. “In fact, the Royals job is open in Billings, and I tried to convince people to get him to come back to Montana. When we played Bozeman I knew we had to be prepared because Mitch’s teams would always be ready. He’s a great motivator. He treats the kids well, and he’s always prepared. I don’t think his age will work against him. I was thirty when I became head coach of the Scarlets. Sometimes youth is an advantage. A younger coach can relate to the kids better, and understand them.”
From 2006-2009, Messer led the Bozeman to a 201-75 record and the program’s first-ever state championship in 2007. He was named Montana American Legion Coach of the Year in 2007 and 2009.
Sam Hurst contributed reporting for this story.
Congratulations to Coach Messer! I believe he will be a huge asset to the future of Post 22 baseball.
Congrats Messer! What a great opportunity. Post 22 is in great shape.
Mitch brings the right kind of attitude to Post 22. I feel he’ll provide unity to Rapid City baseball. Mitch has been left a great program, that is bigger than any one person. I urge everyone that loves baseball and Post 22, to join in welcoming Mitch. I feel this is a positive step in the right direction….
Congratulations Mitch! Taking the place of a legend won’t be easy, the one man that can do it is Mitch. Good luck. Great story Jake, keep up the great work, the site is fantastic.
Excellent choice! Coach Messer is as good a person as he is a coach. How great is it to read so many positive comments from players, Post 22 coaches and opposing coaches?!?!
Best wishes, Mitch!
Right man for the right job. Congrats Mitch!
I take it by the 110+ likes on this article that the correct decision was made.
where is the interview with Post 320 new head coach Paul Pool? Messer isn’t the only coach in town with credentials. Coach Pool was Texas High School coach of the year and has coached numerous all americans and MLB players. Post 22 will no longer be the only show in town. Show some support for the other program
wondering,
Check the archives, the article on Brandt and Pool was written in mid-July. http://insidedakotasports.com/brandt-to-retire-as-head-coach-of-post-320-pool-to-take-the-reigns.
You mean the July 14th article? Already been done.
I think everything is going to be ok. Good job Mitchell.
Much love,
Dad
when do we get to hear the rest of the story.
when comparing the resumes of the applicants the choice should have been easy.
Let’s hear why a professional coach wasn’t selected for a legion job.
Well according to Anna and Lake Orion High Schools baseball records for the years Collins coached there, the combined records are 17-21. Not really a solid High School coaching record. He also hasn’t kept a job longer than 3 years since his coaching debut in 1992. All of his MLB coaching experience has been as a first base coach, not involved in daily player development. His biggest success as a coach was a league championship in Salem for the single A team the Avalanche in 2001. His last coaching position was as first base coach for the Florida Marlins in 2010, where he “resigned” half way through the season. Not to mention this guy has had nothing to do with this community or baseball here since he was 18 years old. So if Dave Ploof did these background checks that he so desperately wanted to do, he himself should have realized that Dave Collins has already proven a failure at the HS level and has a serious issue in keeping a job. But this was Ploofs plan all along. Since he was “let go” (lets quit acting like he retired), he has done everything he can to try to destroy this baseball program. From bringing lawyers into board meetings with false documents to then pleading for them to inform the media that he was retiring instead of losing his contract to save him from being embarrassed, to this whole Dave Collins joke. October 31st will be the sad and pitiful end to COACH Ploof as his contract expires and his made up position as Board of Directors no longer exists and he returns to the community as just DAVE Ploof. So to answer your question “huh”, Mitch Messer brings community respect and wins, while Dave Collins only brings a name that he desperately wants to force back into importance.
Anybody that knows what they’re talking about.
Over the last fifteen years that I have been watching Post 22 baseball, I have noticed that the single most destructive influence is the gossip that surrounds the program. That’s typical of organizations where authority is tightly held for a long period of time. In the absence of “openness” it’s inevitable that gossip eventually overwhelms fact. Nobody on this website is qualified to speak to the question of why Mitch Messer was hired and Dave Collins was not. I personally think Messer is great. I base that on getting to know him over the last two years. He’s a great teacher, and he’s plenty professional enough to lead this program. But here’s the bottom line…
The Board of Baseball Parents would do themselves a big favor if they began to reach out to the community of interest: players, parents, alumni, fans, the community at large. Tell us what went in to your decision. Tell us what your future plans are. Tell us how the program will stay the same and how it will change. Lots and lots of people care deeply for Post 22. They want Mitch to succeed. They want to contribute in new and creative ways.
It’s a new day. We can wallow in the past and we can gossip about whether Dave Collins would have been a good coach or not, but it’s irrelevant. I want Mitch and the Board to tell me what I can do to move things forward.
well said sam.
The poeple of this community who have volunteered countless hours to the Post 22 program and donated their money deserve to know that they have the best coach possible to lead their program. I hope we have. But we deserve to know.
Was this decision made long before the application process? Did it even matter who applied?
It would not be as large an issue if the applicants had all been of similiar qualifications. Then the coach who was in house would be a likely choice. But when one candidate is at a completely different level and doesn’t get the job it raises all kinds of red flags.
The worst part of this whole situation is that if the board says nothing and just moves on without an explanation the heat will be shielded to the new coach. Everything he does will be second guessed with a “well maybe we should have hired the professional coach”. I am sure there is a good reason Collins was not hired and knowing that would put the responsibility of the choice where it belongs…on those that made the decision. The new coach deserves to start with a clean slate….without this hanging over his head.
If we want to continue the tradition of personal responsibility it should start at the top. Man up and own the decision. This is a program that continues to exist because of the community, it is not a self sufficient organization.
I would hope that the days of stuffing your heads in the sand and accepting Post 22′s decisions as delivered from the lord almighty are over. But it sounds as if most are happy as long as things go the way THEY want. Openness needs to be demanded for all decisions not just the ones you don’t agree with.
To The Rest of the Story:
I think we’re on different paths. I want the Board and the new coaching staff to talk about what they plan on doing to move the program FORWARD, not wallow in the past. I reject your premise that Dave Collins is a better coach or a more qualified coach than Mitch Messer for our program. I’m not interested in celebrity. This is not a “biggest celebrity wins” situation. Messer is a great teacher and has a great coaching personality for this level. Let’s embrace Mitch and ask what we can do to make the program better for the future.
you didn’t write that with a sraight face did you sam?
Dave Collins is more qualified than 99.9% of the nation when it comes to coaching baseball.
The fact that he knows more about baseball than the entire post 22 coaching staff is not even arguable.
why was the most qualified applicant not selected? there has to be a good reason, because basing it on qualifications alone makes the board look foolish.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100626&content_id=11616198&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
Dave Collins didn’t “retire” from coaching, he resigned because the manager of the team was fired. Say Dave got an offer next summer to start coaching minor league baseball or to become a bench coach again in the MLB, do you think he would stay around and coach legion baseball? No. Besides it was mentioned in the article above that “Sometimes youth is an advantage. A younger coach can relate to the kids better, and understand them.” so why would bringing in another old man work? It’s obvious with Post 22′s performance the past few seasons that having an old coach isn’t what they need.
And why should the Baseball Parents Inc. board ever have to justify its selection to the public? Chleborad said it perfectly (again in the article above) “Mitch was brought on board two years ago with the expectation that he could potentially take the reins as head coach…Mitch has the qualifications, the training, and the mental attitude that will drive our program to meet the expectations of everyone involved. Mitch has studied and kept up with the latest technology and training for today’s baseball. Many things have changed over the years, and Mitch brings the skills, talent and connections that will keep Post 22 in the forefront of American Legion baseball” THERE’S YOUR JUSTIFICATION PEOPLE!
Would you be having the same reaction if Perkins hired a new manager? No, you’d shrug and know that it’s still going to be the same great food. With Messer taking over, you shrug and know it’s still going to be the same great program. Hell, it’ll probably be better after watching the way Mitch interacts with the players on, and off, the field.
That is a good point. If he was offered a job in professional baseball it would be hard for him to turn in down. But I would imagine if he thought there was any chance of coaching professionally he wouldn’t be applying for a legion job. And say he only coached one year as the head coach of post 22 would that not be beficial to the program? wouldn’t the coaching staff learn more in that one year than they’ve learned in the last 10, including Mitch Messer?
This would not have been bringing in “just another old man”, a ploof cloon, this is a man who has spent his professional career out of playing and coaching at the highest level. He coached under Joe Torre, Jack Mckoen and Clint Hurdle. One year of him at the helm would have done wonders for the entire program.
I always wonder what it means saying a younger coach can relate to the player more. Relate to them about what? video games? girls? baseball? baseball is baseball. no matter the age of the teacher. When i hear that statement I always get the feeling that means softer on them. They don’t need someone to be their bud. They need the most experienced coach they can get. They would adjust to an older big league coach because they would have to and if you are playing for post 22 you are serious about being the best player you are capable of being.
You are correct the board doesn’t have to explain themselves if they choose not to. But if they have made this decision based on the applicants qualifications (as we are left to assume) then they look incompetent.
I understand that two years ago Mitch Messer was apparently brought on board to take over the program. I don’t discredit his capability to be a good coach. i am sure he is everything you have stated above. But he has never sniffed the bigs. He has never coached under anyone who has done more than watch it on tv. He is not at the top of his profession. If you were running a business you would at best remain mediocre making decisions like this. Why not push the limits of what this program is capable of. Do it for the players.
The reason no one mentions the new manager at perkins is because no one cares. People care about Post 22, that’s why we are talking about it here. Now say Perkins hired a chef from a 5 star restaurant out of New York. People would be talking. Because they have just hired the best in the profession. You would now get to sample the best the industry has to offer. It would be the best for the restaurant. The same goes for Post 22.
I can’t believe people are trying to rationalize this decision based on the qualifications of Messer and Collins. That can not be the basis of this hire. There has to be a serious black eye in Collins’ background for this to make any sense.
When it’s said that kids connect with a younger coach better, it means that they will listen and learn from him more. Dave Ploof was obviously the best coach in the midwest if not the nation at this level for many years because kids respected him and listened to him. Recently, however, Ploof has gotten old and “senile” in the eyes of his players which means none of them respected him and just shrugged off whatever he said. When Messer talks, people listen. He brings energy to the games, and more importantly to practice where Post 22 has spent the last few years looking like zombies.
After Messer’s two years in the program, the board knows exactly what he can bring to the program. They know he will rejuvinate a lifeless team and bring more of the traditional success that Post 22 is used to. Bringing in Dave Collins could be a crapshoot for the board and it was a risk they didn’t want to take. He obviously could have left early as we already talked about, but he also could have a different philosophy and demand for the players to win. Sure every coach wants to win but with Messer, just like with Ploof, there is NO other possibility than winning.
And one final thing. Ploof and Collins have to be pretty good friends. If Collins was the coach, he may have Ploof help in all the decisions which is exactly what the board doesn’t want after not renewing his contract to get to the “almighty” 50 years.
I am surprised more blame for the last few seasons hasn’t fallen on the rest of the coaching staff. Surely they should carry some responsibility since (according the the ploof detractors) they have been doing most of the coaching lately. The rest of the coaching positions have been as stagnant as the head job. Is it possible they have become complacent and are not relating to the players as well as they have in the past? Maybe some turnover through the ranks would be beneficial.
Lunar- that is where you are dead wrong, the other coaches have no say under a dictatorship. Ploof has only to look in the mirror to see answer to his and the teams problems. Move on.
And no one wants to bring up the High School girls he coached and why Collins was fired.
I agree if Ploof had lost the respect of the players than there wasn’t much he could do. And you are right he wouldn’t have been able to relate to them. But it seems like whenever anyone speaks of coaches relating well to players they always say it is because of their age: “A younger coach can relate to the kids better, and understand them”. I don’t believe age has anything to do with it. If the players respect the coach and he knows his stuff then he can impart his knowledge to them (ie ploof for the last 47 years minus the last few). So Collins’ age shouldn’t cost him the job in my opinion.
I have no idea of ploof and collins are friends but
You don’t give Collins much credit. You honestly think that after the career he has had he would bow to ploofs wishes on all decisions. That’s what he envisioned when he applied for this job? Being a puppet of Ploof? That seems a little far fetched.
You think that there is a possibility that Ploof and Messer have more of a desire to win than Collins? You are aware of the fact that Collins was a product of Post 22, i know. I would imagine he still has a passion for the program that gave him many of the skills that got him to the next level and would do everything in his power to continue the Post 22 tradition of excellence. Oh and he played and coached in the bigs, i am sure he knows how to win or his career would have been short lived.
I think the possiblity of new philosophys and ideas was the exciting thing about collins applying for the job. He could have infused Post 22 with the ways of the current big league organizations. No other legion club in the country would be anywhere close to Post 22′s leadership. It would have been the best for the players’ development and would have made them more appealing college and professional athletes. I can’t help but think Post 22 will teach Messer more than he will teach the program. Messer was the easy choice (business as usual). Hell, every coach on the staff has more experience than he does.
I can’t help but wonder if the worry that collins might have a different way of doing things didn’t influence the current coaches favoring Messer. It is going to be easy for them. I would imagine Messer played for most of the coaches on the staff at one time or another. I will be interested to see how he handles his new staff. Comfort leads to complaceny. There needs to be some competition for all coaching positions. They should be coaching for their job every year. THey need a little fear of losing their jobs and I will be surprised if Messer will bring that. If Collins would have been hired the current staff would have probably experienced a few restless nights sleep and would have been expected to push their limits and learn some new ways of doing things. He would have made them better coaches. What can Messer teach Coach Downs?
What it sounds like to me is that you are satisfied with level of baseball knowledge in the program. You too are complacent.
We should never be satisfied with level of our program….never. that is not what this program has it’s foundation on.
I hope this is not the last Big League coach to want the post 22 position. And if by some miracle ANOTHER unicorn shows up I hope the board at that time has the stones to make the tough decision.
What drove the decision to hire someone young? Let’s look at the age of some current MLB head coaches:
Tony larussa 67
Jim leland 67
Ned yost 56
Buck Showalter 55
Joe Maddon 57
Ron Washington 59
Kirk Gibson 54
Mike Quade 54
Dusty Baker 62
Jim Tracy 56
Ron Roenicke 55
Terry Collins 62
Charlie Manual 67
Bruce Bochy 54
Davey Johnson 68
etc.
Maybe the board knows something the bigs don’t.
Dave collins 58
maybe he’s in his prime.
Dave Ploof was 32.
My foot is tired of kicking this horse but let me say this.
The point of hiring Collins was to advance the post 22 coaching tree. Right now we have a coaching staff that falls under the ploof coaching tree. Hiring Messer doesn’t change that.
Hiring collins and having his successor coach under him and learn from him creates a coaching tree with a professional at the top. Thus upgrading the coaching staff from a Ploof coaching tree to a coaching tree with a Major League coach at the top. You still have the ploof coaching tree in your program but now you have added another layer.
This new coaching tree also has the likes of Joe Torre and Clint Hurdle in it. You have now tapped into the best baseball coaching that exists.
I thought we deserved that here.
If you are suggesting that Dave Collins is a Joe Torre, then your ego is so huge that this must be Dave Collins himself writing the comments!
I am suggesting he coached beneath joe torre.
Let’s use our real names here like big boys and girls. Without knowing Mitch Messer, you have no idea what kind of coach he is. If today we were talking about hiring Dave Ploof at the age of 58 or Dave Collins at the age of 58, Ploof without a doubt would be the smartest decision to take this legion program forward. I’m not really sure why a guy that played professional baseball and coached 1st base (the only coaching position he held in MLB) is much more qualified to coach teenage kids. Especially one that has had issues with teenage girls? Stating that coahing teenagers that play the game for fun during puberty, live at home with their parents and deal with High School issues is the same as coaching first base for millionaires is ridiculious. Isn’t there also something a little odd about a “celebrity (local)” that’s so awesome at coaching that you compare him to Larussa and Torre, wanting to take a legion job in Rapid City South Dakota for 30k? Wanting to move back to Rapid for that kind of money? That’s a red flag to me. Then again maybe this Dave Collins thing was all a joke. Maybe his name and resume was used to stir this kind of thing up? If he was one of the best coaches in the country he wouldn’t be looking for work at the HS level in South Dakota.
There we go. Now let’s get into the effect of the Rapid City rumor mill on this decision.
What other rumors have you heard Mike? Please learn me.
I never compared him to those coaches I only stated the fact that he coached under them. And probably learned a few things from them. Please don’t put words in my mouth, I have enough BS in it.
So is the fact that he only coached first base is a negative? So we would only consider HEAD MLB coaches and Head Montana legion coaches? I forgot that by law.
I don’t think you give these little high school kids who live with their parents enough credit. They can handle a hard nosed coach. And that’s why you have assistants who are young, to talk to them about their “high school issues” and puberty. The head coach should know as much about baseball as possible.
Collins was also the head coach of a single A team made up entirely of early 20′s ball players (not making millions, yet) which included matt holiday, garret atkins and aaron cook.
I am not saying Dave Collins should have been hired the minute he applied, I am just saying he should have received more consideration. Was he flown in for a face to face interview? Maybe they should have asked him why he wanted to coach in RC themselves.
Do you know for a fact that Messer is making 30K? That might have been what ploof was making, but that’s not what Messer was hired for.
If you what you (and jeff beck below the messer interview story) have said is true that would explain it.
I just could not believe it was based on qualifications.
It surprises me so many people tried to argue that.
If you would have told me that earlier I could have spent my time doing more important things..like fixin fence.
I think Dave Collins was considered and from what I’ve heard he was very close to being the head coach. I’m not sure what rumors I stated above? The teenage girl issue? I took that from someone else’s comments, that’s why it had a question mark after it. It was a question. As in, if it was a true statement, maybe that was considered in the decision making. Collins coaching first base isn’t a negative thing, I was reminding you that he wasn’t some big shot like the other people you kept name dropping. You seem to have your hair tangled in his ego for some reason. How do you know what questions they asked Collins? You seem to have a lot of info that you only hint at. My $30k statement was an estimate but it sounds like you know what Messer is making. What’s he make? How do you know this information? Why do you continue to hide who you are?
Good Luck to our new coach.
What nobody is mentioning is that Dave Collins is on here posing as “the rest of the story” trying to defend his resume. Shake this one off and grow up Dave.
that’s funny.
by that rational, all the other comments must have been posted by Messer.
silly little boy.
I think it’s funny that so many people assume that they know what the head coaching salary is at Post 22. For years, people assumed that Ploof made 60, 70, or 80 thousand. Not even close. The Billings Royals job posted for 25,000. That should provide a frame of reference for what the 22 job pays.
To all,
Everthing written was very interesting, but no one needs to justify why Messer was hired and why Collins and the other applicant were not hired. Mitch Messer is a very good baseball coach and I think they made a smart decision. I do not know what Dave Collins thought or intended and that does not matter. Best of luck to both baseball program in our town. Steps have already been taken in the right direction.