Long time Post 22 assistant coach Rich Downs will not seek the head coaching job for Post 22. (Photo Kevin Cox/IDS)

Every leading man has a sidekick.

Never center stage, never in the limelight, forever a partner, but never a bright star, sidekick’s toil in anonymity. The Lone Ranger had his Tonto. Batman had his Robin. Butch had Sundance. One common thread defines their dramatic role. They are forever showing up at the last minute to save their impulsive heroes.

Post 22 baseball assistant coach Rich Downs has played the role of trusted sidekick to Dave Ploof for 29 years, and when Ploof announced his retirement last month, it was natural for local baseball fans to assume that Downs was the heir apparent.

But Baseball Parents, Inc., the governing board of Post 22 baseball, is more than halfway through the two-week process of receiving applications for the head coach position, and with only a few days remaining, Rich Downs has not applied for the job.

Downs recently confirmed to Inside Dakota Sports that he will not seek the job of head coach.

“No. I’m not planning to apply.” Downs said. “I think the program needs a youth movement. New blood. New thinking. I’m getting older, and I think I’m on the edge of not being able to relate to the younger players. I’m more of a college guy. I’m more old school. Baseball has stayed the same. But the way a coach needs to relate with kids these days has changed. If I was going to coach Post 22, I’d have to go to clinics and talk to younger coaches just to learn how to motivate the players.”

Baseball Parents, Inc. board member Jeff Stone has been given the responsibility of accepting the first round of coaching applications. Stone told IDS Tuesday afternoon that “five or six people have applied”.

IDS has confirmed that Post 22 assistant coach Mitch Messer has applied.

Mitch Messer, 32, twice 'American Legion Coach of the Year', in Montana has applied for the head coaching job. He is entering his third year as a coach with Post 22. (Photo Jake Nordbye/IDS)

“Yes. I sent my resume and a list of references.” Messer explained. “No one has contacted me for an interview. I don’t know what happens next.”

Stone also confirmed that Dave Collins, a graduate of the Post 22 program, who went on to play 16 seasons in the Major Leagues as well as being a coach at the Major League level has also applied.

“Yeah, he’s an applicant. “ Stone said. “He’s contacted us about the position. To be honest, I don’t know if it offers enough for him to move back to Rapid City to do it, but he has contacted us.”

Stone told IDS that after the application period closes next week the Board will review the applications, select the six most qualified, and submit those to Dave Ploof, the Director of Baseball Operations for the Post 22 baseball program. Ploof will conduct a background check and review the applications before submitting his recommendations to the board.

“The intent was for him, because he knows a lot of people through his years in baseball, just to contact them and give the board a feel for what he thinks.” Stone explained. “If he doesn’t like one of our own coaches that we like, I don’t think he could say, ‘Well, he’s out.’”

Dave Collins, 58, played for Post 22 from 1968-71 and went on to play in the Majors from 1975-90.

IDS asked Stone if Ploof had veto power.

“No. No. That’s not the intention. I’m not sure exactly how the process will work. We haven’t done this for 47 years. But Coach Ploof will have a limited role in some things, and he has agreed to that.”

“I’ve heard some people criticize the Board because they thought we were doing it internally. Now we’re not.” Stone continued. “They say, ‘You guys don’t know what you’re doing.’ Well, we’re just trying to follow a proper protocol. The proper way to do it is, you open the process up. You take applicants. And you pick the best applicant. Obviously, we think that what we have already (the existing Post 22 coaching staff) is a pretty good deal. But it is still important to do the right process and pick the right person.”

Despite their efforts to use a properly transparent, orderly process to select the next coach, Downs’ decision not to apply leaves the Board with big questions. If Dave Ploof is Director of Baseball Operations, and someone new is hired to be head coach, is there a place for Downs in the future of the program?

Stone’s response was: “There is a proposal from the coaches (of Post 22), and they have a plan in place that does include Rich.”

While the Board of Baseball Parents, Inc. has been moving deliberately toward the Post Ploof era, it is now clear that behind the scenes the coaching staff has been playing a major role.