To make room on the roster for the activated Raul Ibañez, fan favorite (and Phillies Room favorite) Chris Coste was designated for assignment this afternoon and promptly claimed off waivers by the Houston Astros. The Coste Era in Philadelphia is over . . . for the time being. I'd still like to believe Chris is going to be the manager of the Phillies one day.Chris' story first gained attention in Philadelphia during the Spring of 2006. He had bounced around the minors and independent leagues for over a decade and was on fire that Spring as a non-roster invitee. He just missed making the Opening Day roster when the Phils opted to bring in David Dellucci and Chris was sent packing to the minors, despite his .463 Spring Training batting average.
In late May 2006, he finally got the call to the Majors when infielder Alex Gonzalez abruptly announced his retirement. Since then, Chris has played in 256 games with the Phils, hitting .282 with 23 home runs and 98 RBI. Most importantly, Chris earned a World Series ring with the team last year.
His life and baseball journey is chronicled in his autobiography, The 33-Year-Old Rookie, a book which I highly recommend. It's sad to see Chris go, but I wish him success with the Astros. He'll undoubtedly receive a warm standing ovation when Ed Wade's team visits Philadelphia in late September.
3 comments:
Cool blog! I am a huge Phillies fan too.
On Coste - He had some clutch hits while he was here in Philly. Hope he finds success in Houston...just not against the Phillies of course. I still have yet to read his book but I should pick it up.
It's always a little sad when guys like Chris leave the franchise. The Astros picked up a class act.
Chis is living his dream...this probably will be his last year.
Well done Manager Coste.
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