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Now he can Coste

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104 comments

Now he can Coste

POSTED: Monday, July 13, 2009, 10:10 AM

They say that unpopular news is dumped on a summer Friday night, and given the popularity of back-up catcher Chris Coste with a faction of Phillies' fans (maybe Generation Jones, the perpetual wannabes?), it was probably an unintended irony that the team announced late this Friday that Coste was headed to the Houston Astros. I openly rooted for Coste here on Attytood a number of times -- I don't know if I could say he was my favorite Phillie but he was my favorite story on the Phillies, and a journalist loves a great story almost as much as he loves winning a World Series. Almost.

Raised in the obscurity of Fargo, N.D., Coste came up with a novel idea for making it to the Major Leagues. It was called hard work and perserverence. He signed on the lowest level of independent minor league baseball and played in far-flug outposts from Manitoba to Venezuela while learning to catch (because he realized that was the easiest path to the Show, relatively). Slowly, he climbed the baseball ladder, then made it to a big-league spring training camp, and even though he was now in his early 30s, he worked his way in a position to finally become what became the title of the book he wrote about his experience, "The 33-Year-Old Rookie."

That made Coste a hero to anyone who believed in late-life opportunity (hey, 33 is late in the life of a pro athlete) and to many fans at Citizen Bank Park. Yet I got a surprising amount of hate here in the past for writing about Coste from people who didn't care about his Horatio Alger baseball saga and seemed bizarrely bitter that a back-up catcher who hit .285 in four seasons wasn't the Second Coming of Johnny Bench.

Here's what one Attytood reader emailed me from his mother's basement this morning: "The player was overmatched as a hitter, subpar defensively, and pitchers did not want to throw to him." There are some elements of truth in that -- but what I saw was a player who relied on the smarts he developed during his 10-year climb but maybe didn't have the God-given skills of some of the other players on the field.

So what? Not only did Coste give a smile to a lot of Philadelphia fans with his feel-good story, but the guy contributed. His 4-for-4 late game surge against the Mets last August, capped by the game-winning hit, was worth two games in a pennant race that wasn't decided until the next-to-last day. The kid from the sandlots of Fargo played in a World Series, and now he leaves Philly with the blinding bling of a World Series ring. If the phrase hadn't been ruined by some other dude, I might say, "Mission Accomplished."

I hope Coste does great for 156 out of 162 games for Houston, or anywhere else that he lands after this, because backup catchers usually last until they can barely walk. After that, I'd love to see him back here with the Phillies on the coaching staff, but if he simply wants to go back to Fargo and raise his family and polish his ring, why not? The guy has already Lived the Dream.

He can Coste from here on out.

Will Bunch @ 10:10 AM Permalink | 104 comments

104 comments

Comments (104)

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:05 AM, 07/13/2009

Coste was a terrific story for a city known for it's blue-collar, up from the bootstraps base. I don't mind Chris going to the 'Stros and wish him well. Sports, like all corporations can be heartless, bottom line enterprises (NFL anyone). Coste persisted, got lucky (yes, 'cause of Cholly) and got his chance at The Show. And what does he have to show for it: THE RING and being a WFC. How many people toil for years and years and years with a supportive family so they can follow their dream only to never make it. Chris Coste was one fellow who was in the right place at the right time with the right talent and made it. There are too many sad stories out there about "Glory Days" and someone's best years being a jock/theater/chess champ in high school. Good luck, Chris. I shed no tear, but thanks for the splendid memories of a magical year.

— jclay

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:13 AM, 07/13/2009

---}}} ..I wonder if the talking Point Fudgie ever played sports? {{{--- I'd answer that - but the thought of adding even more information to your elaborate fantasizing about me is repulsive. As much as I'd like to help you out - I'll allow you to use ESPN to fuel your imaginative dreaming about fit men performing physical activities. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

— Talking point sleuth

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:14 AM, 07/13/2009

bird--I agree with you about the fan groups. Personally, Sal's Pals were my favorite. We're going to a game in a couple of weeks as Dobbs' Slobs.

— Captain Awesome

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:22 AM, 07/13/2009

---}}}I'd answer that - but the thought of adding even more information to your elaborate fantasizing about me is repulsive. As much as I'd like to help you out - I'll allow you to use ESPN to fuel your imaginative dreaming about fit men performing physical activities. Not that there's anything wrong with that.{{{--- let me translate - that would be NO.

— Talking Point Stooge

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:24 AM, 07/13/2009

Captain - I hope you get on TV. Dobbs Slobs sounds good.

— bird11

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:34 AM, 07/13/2009

I'm reminded of a cousin of mine, Kurt Bevacqua, an obscure journeyman utility infielder until very late in his career when luck handed him the starting DH job for the Padres in the 1984 WS. Baseball, more than any other major sport, proves that the American dream is no myth.

— montani semper liberi

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:51 AM, 07/13/2009

I have to say I'm dumbfounded that anyone could think "hard work and perserverence" is a racial code. That may be the stupidest comment in Attytood history. Did you see the way Ryan Howard improved his fielding and lost 20 pounds in the off-season after winning a World Series, just to name one example that immediately popped into my head?

— will

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:54 AM, 07/13/2009

Since Bunch is blogging about baseball - what do people think about a Halladay deal??? I'd love to get him but the cost IHMO is way too much. I think it is crazy to call anybody an "untouchable" - especially a minor leaguer - but Drabek, Taylor, Happ plus doesn't make sense to me.

— bird11

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:56 AM, 07/13/2009

bird, for Halladay no one is untouchable in my mind. He's a top 5 pitcher in baseball, and he'd be coming from the toughest division in the hardest league to a fairly weak division in a lesser league. The question is how much will it take to get him? I wouldn't give up everyone, but I would consider a solid mix of players.

— RG

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 12:01 PM, 07/13/2009

will - I have heard black players complain about the stereotype of the white player being "hard-working and intelligent" while the black athlete is usually called a "great athlete". It is more commonly a complaint raised about basketball players and NFL QBs. Larry Bird had a great "work ethic" while Randall Cunningham was a "superb athlete". Just an FYI that the complaint is out there.

— bird11

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 12:01 PM, 07/13/2009

As usual, RG is right and birdie is wrong. Are you kidding? Trade a couple of possible big-leaguers for a strong shot at two championships? Put Halladay in the rotation and the Phils are an odd-on shot to repeat as WFCs. Down the road, they can trade some aging repeat all-stars and top quality pros (Rollins, Utley, Howard, Vic, Worth, Hamels, Lidge) for quality young players that have actually made it out of the minors.

— Talking point sleuth

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 12:07 PM, 07/13/2009

Oh yeah. And Happ is more than likely worth more now than he will for the rest of his career. It's doubtful that long-term, he will be able to perform at the same level that he's done so far in the majors. It's possible, but his minor league career doesn't support such a prediction. Now's a great time to use him in a trade. I'd go with him and any two of the top minor league prospects. In a heart beat.

— Talking point sleuth

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 12:07 PM, 07/13/2009

I understand the apprehension people have about trading the entire farm system, but who knows where this team will be in three years when some of those prospects are ready for the big leagues. There could be injuries, players could decline, other teams could make trades and significantly improve, etc. The time to strike is now. Secondly, what if Halladay goes somewhere else? Lastly, we have no way of knowing of the prospects are going to wind up being good, while Doc is a proven commodity.

— Captain Awesome

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Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.

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