Chris Coste
I'm a big baseball fan, with the Philadlephia Phillies being my team. Been following them since I was 12, which is quite a few years at this point. ;-) Until their recent ascent into actual success, there hadn't been much out there to read on the team. With the winning of the 2008 World Series, my limited horizons opened with all sorts of books coming out.
That being said, The 33-Year-Old Rookie: How I Finally Made it to the Big Leagues After 11 Years in the Minors came out in 2008, two years after Chris Coste, back-up catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies made his major-league debut with the team. When the book came out, I wanted to read it. I am a Chris Coste fan. His story shared by the media had me rooting for him throughout the 2006 season. But, when it came out in hardback, it was $25.00. A little out of my price range. Eventually, I found it on the Bargain Books section in a Borders that was closing (due to the bankruptcy) and snatched it up.
I pulled it off the shelf the other day to read, as we are in full-fledged baseball season now and it seemed appropriate. And I will say, it was a great read! A quick read at 196 pages, Coste writes in a conversational-style that almost makes you feel as if he's talking directly to you as he tells his story. He kicks off his story with Phillies Spring Training 2006. He goes through the entire Spring Training in Florida, sharing how it felt to be with the team, meeting all the "stars," and how his talent seemed to finally be recognized. I really enjoyed this chapter, as I remember the 2006 team and it was great reading about the guys on the team in a more intimate manner.
My biggest issue with the book comes next. From Chapter 1, all about his experience in the Phillies 2006 Spring Training camp, he takes Chapter 2 into a whole different direction, specifically his childhood and the start of his story. It was jarring to say the least. I was anticipating hearing how the 2006 season went for him, but instead he takes the reader back to where it all began, his childhood. Obviously, at some point he's going to take you back to how he got started in baseball, where he played, what struggles he overcame to get to the Major League level, but it was disconcerting the way he opened his book with being in with the major league team then jumping backwards 30 years.
Once you get past that jolt, he writes well. His background is compelling and I found myself rooting for a guy that I already liked. His dedication to the sport and his drive to succeed really made his ultimate call-up that much more special. And eventually, the book gets around to that (in chronological order). He also shares photographs of himself throughout his baseball career and as a photographer myself, gives credit to those who took the photographs (including teammate Shane Victorino).
Coste's The 33-Year-Old Rookie: How I Finally Made It to the Big Leagues after 11 Years in the Minors is a great read for an Philadelphia Phillies fan or anyone who wants to read about someone dedicated to their dreams. Coste never became a huge star in baseball, not like a Ryan Howard or Mike Schmidt, but he became a fan favorite in Philadelphia. He currently is a free agent and is working with Comcast SportsNet on their pre-and post-game shows for the Phillies, as well as Daily News Live. Check him out on the web at Chris Coste.com.
* I have the book in hard back not Kindle, but Amazon shows a different cover currently than the one I have. Apparently, he has updated his book since 2008 to include information on the 2008 World Championship season. I used this image only to show the version of the book I read.
That being said, The 33-Year-Old Rookie: How I Finally Made it to the Big Leagues After 11 Years in the Minors came out in 2008, two years after Chris Coste, back-up catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies made his major-league debut with the team. When the book came out, I wanted to read it. I am a Chris Coste fan. His story shared by the media had me rooting for him throughout the 2006 season. But, when it came out in hardback, it was $25.00. A little out of my price range. Eventually, I found it on the Bargain Books section in a Borders that was closing (due to the bankruptcy) and snatched it up.
I pulled it off the shelf the other day to read, as we are in full-fledged baseball season now and it seemed appropriate. And I will say, it was a great read! A quick read at 196 pages, Coste writes in a conversational-style that almost makes you feel as if he's talking directly to you as he tells his story. He kicks off his story with Phillies Spring Training 2006. He goes through the entire Spring Training in Florida, sharing how it felt to be with the team, meeting all the "stars," and how his talent seemed to finally be recognized. I really enjoyed this chapter, as I remember the 2006 team and it was great reading about the guys on the team in a more intimate manner.
My biggest issue with the book comes next. From Chapter 1, all about his experience in the Phillies 2006 Spring Training camp, he takes Chapter 2 into a whole different direction, specifically his childhood and the start of his story. It was jarring to say the least. I was anticipating hearing how the 2006 season went for him, but instead he takes the reader back to where it all began, his childhood. Obviously, at some point he's going to take you back to how he got started in baseball, where he played, what struggles he overcame to get to the Major League level, but it was disconcerting the way he opened his book with being in with the major league team then jumping backwards 30 years.
Once you get past that jolt, he writes well. His background is compelling and I found myself rooting for a guy that I already liked. His dedication to the sport and his drive to succeed really made his ultimate call-up that much more special. And eventually, the book gets around to that (in chronological order). He also shares photographs of himself throughout his baseball career and as a photographer myself, gives credit to those who took the photographs (including teammate Shane Victorino).
Coste's The 33-Year-Old Rookie: How I Finally Made It to the Big Leagues after 11 Years in the Minors is a great read for an Philadelphia Phillies fan or anyone who wants to read about someone dedicated to their dreams. Coste never became a huge star in baseball, not like a Ryan Howard or Mike Schmidt, but he became a fan favorite in Philadelphia. He currently is a free agent and is working with Comcast SportsNet on their pre-and post-game shows for the Phillies, as well as Daily News Live. Check him out on the web at Chris Coste.com.
* I have the book in hard back not Kindle, but Amazon shows a different cover currently than the one I have. Apparently, he has updated his book since 2008 to include information on the 2008 World Championship season. I used this image only to show the version of the book I read.
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