2008 Phillies catcher Chris Coste is back home in North Dakota, inspiring long shots like him

Chris Coste was playing independent baseball in his hometown, a 20-something local celebrity who was the best hitter for a team that played in front of 4,000 fans. He had a baby daughter, a home, and a front office gig as the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks’ director of merchandise.

So no, Coste didn’t want to go to spring training in 2000 with Cleveland to compete for a job he knew he would not win.

“I wasn’t getting paid much, but life was good,” Coste said. “Why would I want to leave?”

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Coste told the Cleveland scout that he would be staying in North Dakota. He was 26 years old and just finished his fourth season with the RedHawks. He planned to finish his career in his hometown and then become the manager. He did not need Cleveland. And then the RedHawks manager called.

“The phone rang and it was still attached to the wall back then,” Coste said. “I was standing in my kitchen and he chewed me out.”

Doug Simunic, who played nine seasons of minor-league baseball, told Coste that a chance like the one he turned down from Cleveland is why independent ball exists. Coste understood. But he was fine in Fargo.

“Then he said, ‘You’re going to wake up in your bed when you’re 50 years old and wonder, ‘What if?’” Coste said. “That’s what got me. When he said those words, it was a punch to the face.”

Coste called back Cleveland and said he would report to spring training. There was no job to win that spring — Coste was excellent yet still couldn’t make a team — but he never wondered about what could have been. He became a 33-year-old rookie with the Phillies in 2006, won a World Series ring in 2008, and played four seasons in the big leagues because his manager in Fargo pushed him.

And now the 52-year-old is back home managing the RedHawks — just like he planned to 25 years ago — and encouraging long-shot players who remind him of the guy who answered the phone in the kitchen.

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“When he said that, it was like, ‘Holy cow. You’re right,’” Coste said. “Now that’s a line that I use on a lot of guys when they’re considering not giving this a try or considering retirement. ‘Boy, if you decide to retire right now, you won’t have regrets right now. But you might later.’”

Coste waited years for his call to the majors. First, he ignored it.

“When you’re hitting .137 in triple A and your manager calls,” Coste said, “you do not answer that phone.”

Coste paced around his room in Scranton, believing the Phillies were planning to release him. He played Division III baseball at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., made the RedHawks after the manager told him he didn’t have a chance, and then played seven seasons of affiliated minor-league ball after turning down that initial offer from Cleveland. He was 33 years old and this felt like the end of his career. Maybe it was time to become a coach.

He called back John Russell, who stunned Coste by telling him he was headed to the big leagues. Coste could not believe it. But then he learned it was because catcher Sal Fasano was nicked up after being hit by a foul tip. Never mind, Coste thought.

“I said, ‘Sal Fasano is one of the toughest guys I know. There’s no way he’s going on the disabled list,’” Coste said. “I was disappointed but encouraged that I made it onto the radar.”

He started the drive to Philly, figuring he would spend a few hours at Citizens Bank Park before heading back to Scranton when Fasano was deemed OK. Ruben Amaro, then the Phillies’ assistant general manager, called and said another player had retired. Coste was on the team.

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“I thought I was in a dream,” Coste said. “There’s no way this is happening because every minor leaguer in my situation — and there’s thousands of us — have had these dreams where you’re called up and then you wake up and it’s January and snowing in Fargo. That’s what I thought was happening.”

Coste started his big-league career without a hit in his first 13 at-bats. But he knew things would turn.

“I had Charlie Manuel in my corner,” Coste said. “That was the first time in my entire career where I had the major-league manager on my side. When you have that, oh my goodness. Now the ball is truly in your court. There’s no excuses. There’s some amazing managers around the league, but I don’t know if there’s another manager in the history of baseball who would have given me a shot the way Charlie Manuel did.”

Coste’s luck shifted when his first hit — an RBI single — came three weeks after he was promoted. He finished 2006 hitting .328 with an .881 OPS. A season later, Coste caught the final strike from Brett Myers when the Phillies clinched their first playoff spot in 14 years. The No. 2 catcher alongside Carlos Ruiz, he started Game 1 of the 2008 World Series as the designated hitter and rode down Broad Street nine days later on a parade float. On a team of stars, the backup catcher from Fargo found his place.

“Everyone just felt like an equal,” Coste said of the Phillies clubhouse in 2008. “Nobody was a rookie. Nobody was a veteran. Nobody was making $15 million a year. Nobody was making the league minimum. When you walked through those doors, you were just a Phillie. It didn’t matter where you came from. It didn’t matter how much time you had in the big leagues. If you played hard and could help the team win, you were every bit as important as Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Cole Hamels. That’s a very unique thing at the major-league level. I think that’s why the team was so good, besides being insanely talented. It was a brotherhood.

“Chase Utley would always say, ‘There’s enough pressure to go around. Why would we want to put any added pressure on a rookie who might have to pitch the 10th inning against the Mets to clinch a division?’”

Coste said he swung and missed just one time during that minor-league spring training with Cleveland. He threw runners out from his knees, blocked wild pitches, and did everything he could to make a team. But there was no room for him.

Eric Wedge, then Cleveland’s double-A manager, told Coste that he could come with him to Akron. There was no roster opening for Coste, but they could stash him on the injured list until a spot cleared. Fargo’s season didn’t start until the summer. Coste gave Akron a chance, hit .333, and suddenly knew he could make it.

Coste didn’t make it past triple A with Cleveland, but he did spend three seasons with the organization. It gave him the chance to meet Manuel, then Cleveland’s manager. Manuel, Coste said, had a way of connecting with everyone in the clubhouse because he could relate to all their journeys. He was a superstar in Japan but also a guy who toiled in minor-league ball and battled to make a big-league roster. Now managing, Coste feels the same way.

“I was never a superstar at the highest level,” Coste said. “But I was the guy fighting to try and make it. I was a guy in triple A as a No. 3 hitter and expected to succeed. I hung out in bullpens with relievers, and made mound visits, and worked with pitchers, and played different positions. A lot like Charlie Manuel, I can walk into a clubhouse and really understand what each guy is going through and where they’re at in their careers.”

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Coste not only manages the RedHawks in the American Association but builds the roster every offseason. If players aren’t all-in, he’ll pass. The highest-paid player earns $4,000 a month while other players live with host families and make $1,700 a month. The hotels and meals are better than they were in the 1990s, but Coste often reminds players that no one gets rich playing indie ball.

“This life isn’t for everyone,” Coste said.

Two seasons ago, Coste’s best pitcher was thinking about retirement. He had a college degree and could make more money working in his field. Coste remembered what Simunic told him on the phone years earlier. It was his chance to give someone the same push he received.

“I wasn’t being selfish, but he was close to being signed by somebody,” Coste said. “I said, ‘If you retire right now in your prime, you’re going to wake up when you’re 50 and wonder what if. If you do this and it doesn’t work out, you’re not going to have any regrets.’ For most of these guys, they’re not going to get to the big leagues. But some guys do.”

The pitcher returned and had an even better season but injured his elbow. Coste said the pitcher is rehabbing now and plans to keep going, just like Coste did. Coste wrote a book, The 33-Year-Old Rookie, about his unlikely journey to the big leagues. Now he’s helping others write their own stories.

“I‘ve had opportunities to do other things, whether it’s managing in the minor leagues or whatever,” Coste said. “But I‘m such a believer in this type of baseball that it would be hard for me to ever leave.”