Security does not come easily to a 33-year-old rookie who's been burned too many times before, even one who's batting .311 and made three consecutive starts at catcher before baseball broke for its All-Star Game.
"It's like I told one of the Philadelphia writers who was asking me the same question. There's a lot of security in this clubhouse with veterans and guys with guaranteed contracts," Chris Coste said Tuesday. "But there's just not a lot of it where I'm standing."
Such is life for our guy Coste, the undisputed feel-good story of baseball's first half. No matter the numbers, no matter the facts, he'll just never be able to feel that his first big-league job with the Philadelphia Phillies is safe.
The Fargo South graduate and former Concordia Cobber and Fargo-Moorhead RedHawk, though, made a pretty compelling case for himself in the past month.
After breaking an 0-for-13 start with an RBI single off Tampa Bay's James Shields on June 15, Coste put together the following statistics: 14 hits in 32 at-bats (.438) with eight RBIs.
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Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has been impressed enough that Coste started Philadelphia's final three games prior to the All-Star break at catcher. Included was a Sunday afternoon start following a Saturday night game, a rarity even for a Joe Mauer or Pudge Rodriguez. Coste batted sixth in that game, after never batting higher than eighth since his May 21 call-up.
Positive signs all. But Coste, with memories of being sent to the minors after a torrid spring training still too fresh, banks on nothing.
"Just when you think you've got this game figured out, just when you think you have the answer, it slaps you in the face," he said.
Coste will know his fate soon enough. Veteran catchers Mike Lieberthal and Sal Fasano are due to come off the disabled list during Philadelphia's upcoming West Coast road trip. That'll give the Phillies four catchers, including hot prospect Carlos Ruiz. Either Coste or Ruiz will be sent to the minors.
Coste has a couple of things going for him, which he'll need since Ruiz is a rookie who's seen as the catcher of the future.
First is the most obvious: the production. Coste has hit, just as he has at every level of pro ball. He's also played solidly behind the plate, throwing out three of six runners attempting to steal, and has handled the Phillies' pitchers well enough that Coste has become a requested commodity among the staff.
It helps, too, that Coste is a Manuel guy. The manager, embattled though he is because of Philadelphia's 40-47 record and 12-game deficit in the National League East, likes Coste's bat and versatility.
"His bat shows up when you look at the rest of our catchers," Manuel told MLB.com. "I like the way he hits and throws."
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Whether he stays or goes, Coste's audition with the Phillies has been fruitful. He's shown he can hit and catch in the major leagues.
"Like they say, self-preservation is the greatest motivation and I think I've shown that I belong," Coste said. "Whether it is with the Phillies or somebody else, I think I've demonstrated that I belong."
Forum sports columnist Mike McFeely can be heard on Tee It Up, Saturdays 10 a.m. to noon on WDAY-AM (970). He can be reached at (701) 241-5580 or mmcfeely@forumcomm.com
