Christopher Robert Coste (born February 4, 1973), is an American author and former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher ...

, who first played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB) at age 33, after twelve seasons of independent and minor league baseball. He was an analyst on Pre Game Live and Post Game Live for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

and is the current

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the American Association of Professional Baseball.

Playing career

After attending

Fargo South High School Fargo South High School, more commonly known as Fargo South , South High, or South is a public high school located in Fargo, North Dakota. The campus serves about 1,000 students in grades 9-12. The school is a part of the Fargo Public Schools sys ...

, Coste went to Kishwaukee Community College for 1 year, a Division II college Junior College, but later left. He then attended classes and played baseball for Concordia College, a Division III school in Moorhead, Minnesota, where he was a three-time All-American. He started his professional career in 1995 playing for

Brainerd, Minnesota Brainerd is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 14,395 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Crow Wing County. Brainerd straddles the Mississippi River several miles upstream from its confluence wit ...

in the independent North Central League. When the league folded in July he joined the Brandon Grey Owls in the independent Prairie League. From 1996 to 1999, he played four seasons for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the independent

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

Early career

In 1999, Coste was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates but was released after spring training and returned to the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks. In 2000, Coste signed with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

organization, having gotten significant playing with then Triple-A affiliate

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

. He spent 2003 with the Boston Red Sox organization and 2004 in the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

system. Coste first signed with the Phillies in 2005, spending the entire season with their Triple-A affiliate, then known as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons. DSC02726 Chris Coste

Philadelphia Phillies

He remained with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre until his promotion to the Phillies, facilitated by his fantastic performance in 2006

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

. After starting the 2007 season in Triple-A, Coste was called back up to the majors on May 12, 2007. On May 25, 2007, Ryan Howard was re-activated off the DL and the Phillies sent Coste back to the minors to Double-A

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. Coste chose to go to Reading so that he could start and play every day, and because it would help the club if he was ready, rather than being

Jason Jaramillo Jason Cory Jaramillo (born October 9, 1982) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2009 to 2011. Amateur career Jaramillo attended Oklahoma State University, and in 2003 he played co ...

's backup at Triple-A

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. In late June 2007, Coste was called back up from Reading as a result of Jon Lieber's season-ending injury and Jayson Werth's wrist injury. Coste finished the 2007 season with a .278

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average i ...

, 5

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

s, and 22

RBI RBI most often refers to: *Reserve Bank of India *Run batted in RBI may also refer to: Organisations *Radio Berlin International *Raiffeisen Bank International *Reed Business Information *Restaurant Brands International *Ruđer Bošković In ...

in 48 games. For the 2008 season, Coste was slated as the Phillies' backup catcher behind Carlos Ruiz. In a game against the Mets on August 26, 2008, Coste went 4 for 4 without even starting the game. He entered as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning, and became the first player in 63 years to appear at least that late into a game but still record 4 hits. He delivered a game-winning walk-off single in the 13th inning. Coste was very popular with Phillies fans and had a fan club that was at every Phillies game known as the ''Coste Guard''. They wore red bathing suits and white

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a '' crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are genera ...

s. They also wore sunglasses, and sunscreen on their noses; fans could hear their whistles which they used to help cheer on the Phillies and Coste. On October 29, 2008, Coste became the first player that originated from Division III college baseball's MIAC to win a World Series.

Houston Astros

Coste was claimed off waivers on July 10, 2009 by the Houston Astros. Due to starting

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the major ...

Lance Berkman William Lance Berkman (born February 10, 1976), nicknamed "Fat Elvis" and "Big Puma", is an American baseball coach and former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman, who is the current head baseball coach of the Houston Christian H ...

's injured calf, Coste found playing time at first base for the Astros.

New York Mets

On November 30, 2009, Coste signed with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major leagu ...

Washington Nationals

On March 29, 2010, Coste was claimed off waivers by the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadi ...

. Before the season began he injured his elbow which required Tommy John surgery in May 2010. He was released on June 5, 2010. Coste retired from professional baseball after that.

Writing career

''Hey... I'm Just the Catcher''

Coste wrote his first book about his experiences in professional baseball: "Hey... I'm Just the Catcher: An Inside Look at a Northern League Season From Behind the Plate," published in 1997. This book covers his first few seasons in independent baseball leagues, mainly the RedHawks (in his hometown). This book is out of print and supplanted by his new book.

''The 33-Year-Old Rookie''

2008 saw the release of Coste's second autobiography, "The 33-Year-Old Rookie: How I Finally Made it to the Big Leagues After Eleven Years in the Minors." The book, which chronicles Coste's first season in the majors, contains a foreword by John Kruk. This book covers Coste's professional career up through his third season (2008) with the Phillies. It includes nearly all the historical material found in his first book (independent baseball) as well as the time in the affiliated minor leagues. Due to the recent success of films about athletes such as

Vince Papale Vincent Papale (born February 9, 1946) is a former American football wide receiver. He played three seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League, primarily on special teams, following two seasons with the Philadelphia Be ...

and Jim Morris, movie studio representatives have contacted Coste about the possibility of a movie about his struggle from career minor-leaguer to the majors.

Later career

Coste was an in-studio analyst for Phillies games, and appeared on Phillies Pregame Live and Postgame Live shows. Besides these appearances, Coste is currently the head baseball coach at Concordia College. On December 1 2017, he was named the hitting coach for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks. On June 15, 2020, he was promoted to interim manager for the 2020 season following the departure of Jim Bennett. On April 20, 2021, he was named permanent manager of the RedHawks. With the RedHawks, Coste led the franchise to a runner-up finish in the American Association in 2021, losing to the

Kansas City Monarchs The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 1 ...

in the league finals. The following season, the RedHawks defeated the

Milwaukee Milkmen The Milwaukee Milkmen are an independent baseball team based in Franklin, Wisconsin. They are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. They began play in 2019 and play h ...

in five games to claim their first AA crown, 24 years after Coste earned a

title with the franchise.

References

External links

Chris Coste
at Astros Daily
Chris Coste
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) {{DEFAULTSORT:Coste, Chris 1973 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Akron Aeros players Baseball coaches from North Dakota Baseball players from North Dakota Brainerd Bears players Brandon Grey Owls players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Caribes de Oriente players Clearwater Threshers players Concordia Cobbers baseball players Concordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota) alumni Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Houston Astros players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball catchers Ottawa Lynx players Pawtucket Red Sox players Sportspeople from Fargo, North Dakota Philadelphia Phillies players Reading Phillies players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Yaquis de Obregón players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Concordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota) faculty