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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

, 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) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

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 o ...

for the

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks are a professional minor-league baseball team based in Fargo, North Dakota, in the United States. The RedHawks are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major Leagu ...

of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

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 with ...

in the independent

North Central League North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

. When the league folded in July he joined the

Brandon Brandon may refer to: Names and people *Brandon (given name), a male given name *Brandon (surname), a surname with several different origins Places Australia *Brandon, a farm and 19th century homestead in Seaham, New South Wales *Brandon, Q ...

Grey Owls in the independent

Prairie League {{Unreferenced, date=April 2019 The Prairie League was an independent league of baseball which was based in the prairie provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba and the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The league was or ...

. From 1996 to 1999, he played four seasons for the

of the independent Northern League.

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 F ...

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 Fiel ...

. 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) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

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 The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

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 Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. 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 Ryan James Howard (born November 19, 1979), nicknamed "the Big Piece", is an American former professional baseball first baseman. Howard spent his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, from to . He is ...

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'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 Jonathan Ray Lieber (born April 2, 1970) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He stands tall and weighs . He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1994–1998), Chicago Cubs (1999–2002 and 2008), ...

's season-ending injury and

Jayson Werth Jayson Richard Gowan Werth (born May 20, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2002 to 2017. His 15-season career was split among the Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, P ...

'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 is ...

, 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 i ...

s, and 22 RBI 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 general ...

s. They also wore

sunglasses Sunglasses or sun glasses (informally called shades or sunnies; more names below) are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can s ...

, and

sunscreen Sunscreen, also known as sunblock or sun cream, is a photoprotective topical product for the skin that mainly absorbs, or to a much lesser extent reflects, some of the sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation and thus helps protect against sunburn and ...

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 The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

. 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 majori ...

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 Hu ...

'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 league ...

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 Stadiu ...

. 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 John Martin Kruk (born February 9, 1961) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder. Kruk played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago White Sox from through . Du ...

. 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 Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

. 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 B ...

and

Jim Morris James Samuel Morris Jr. (born January 19, 1964) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for two seasons with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Although brief, Morris' career is noted for making hi ...

, 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

. 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 193 ...

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 hom ...

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