Coste Set To Lead West Fargo Legion

Article reprinted courtesy of Fargo Forum and reporter Eric Peterson.

WEST FARGO -- Chris Coste will now be doing double duty with his baseball coaching career.

The Concordia College head coach is adding West Fargo American Legion to his job duties.

Coste has been named head coach for the West Fargo Patriots.

"I've really fallen in love with the coaching side of the game the past five years," said Coste, who has been on the Concordia coaching staff the past five seasons and next spring will be his third as head coach. "For me, it made perfect sense to be a part of this program."

Coste is a former Major League Baseball player who won a World Series Championship with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008.

"Not many people can say that they've done that," said Todd Rheault, vice president of the West Fargo Baseball board. "I feel he can take us to that next level. … We are very excited to get someone the caliber of Chris."

Coste played independent baseball for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks prior to his four-year career in the major leagues. He played for the Phillies and the Houston Astros.

Coste, who lives in West Fargo, said there were multiple factors that played into him taking the Legion position, including the job former Patriots head coach Bill Ibach did with the program. Ibach resigned last August in part to have more time to follow his kids in their activities.

"It makes it a lot easier knowing it's a strong program," Coste said.

Ibach coached Coste while the future major leaguer was playing youth baseball.

"He was a huge role model for me back in those days," Coste added.

Coste said he was "95 percent sure" he wanted to take the West Fargo Legion job about a week after the position became available. However, he added that it took about a month before he made his final decision because he didn't want this to be a short-term move.

"I don't want this to be a one- or two-year deal and then I walk away," Coste said. "To me, this is a long-term commitment."

Coste said since the American Legion season doesn't overlap with the Concordia season that makes for a good fit. Cobbers assistant coach Bucky Burgau, the Cobbers longtime head coach before Coste took over, was a good resource for Coste.

Burgau used to be the head coach for both Concordia and the Moorhead Blues Legion team. Burgau was also a RedHawks assistant coach, while he was a head coach for the Cobbers.

"He knows my passion for the game," Coste said. "We never came up with a reason for why it couldn't work."

Coste had a lifetime .272 batting average while he played in the major leagues. He was a three-time All-American while he played for the Cobbers during the mid-1990s, and is a member of the Concordia Athletic Hall of Fame. Coste is also a member of the Fargo Legion Baseball Hall of Fame. He played for Fargo Post 2 in 1990 and 1991.

"I have incredible respect for Post 2," Coste said. "It will be a fun rivalry. There will certainly be no animosity."