Say It Aint So! Coste’s a Met

Phils sign Schneider to fill void left by Coste last season

By DAN STAMM

Updated 1:08 PM EST, Tue, Dec 1, 2009

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Philly folk hero Chris Coste, the “33-Year-Old-Rookie,” who swung and caught his way into Phillies fans’ hearts reportedly entered enemy territory.

Coste signed with the New York Mets.

The now 36-year-old catcher reportedly inked a contract with the Queens Chokers that guarantees him a spot on the 40-man roster but not a spot on the big league 25-man roster, according to Coste’s hometown paper the Forum of Fargo-Morehead.

“It’s going to be a bit of a gamble,” Coste said to the Forum. “They have money to spend and they could go out and get a couple more catchers.”

The news likely won’t sit well with Phillies fans. Even though Coste lost out his battle to be an everyday catcher to the ever-reliable and clutch Carlos Ruiz, he earned a way into fans' hearts because of his everyman image.

Coste spent about a decade in the minors before finally getting called up to join the 2006 Phillies.

He would spend parts of four seasons in red pinstripes before being waived in July. During his time in Philly, Coste batted .282 and slugged .440 while hitting 23 dingers and knocking in 98 runs over 256 games.

He also played a decent catcher despite some concerns about his ability behind the plate. His .995 fielding percentage and 22-percent caught-stealing percentage were very comparable to Ruiz’s (.994/27-percent).

In any case Coste remains missed in Philly.

In hopes to find that elusive quality back up for Ruiz the Phightins signed former Met Brian Schneider to a two-year contract.

The deal was worth about $3 million, sources told Andy Martino.

It marks a sort of homecoming for Schneider who grew up a Phillies fan in Allentown, Pa.

The 33-year-old is a career .251 hitter with 59 homers and 356 RBI in ten seasons with the Mets, Nats and Expos. But, he always stepped it up against the Phightins. He batted .272 with six homers, 54 RBI and 28 runs in 385 at bats against the Phillies.

“We feel Brian is ideal for our ball club,” said Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. “He has played in the NL East for this entire decade, so he knows the opposing hitters in this division well and he has also proven he can handle the bat. He’s a guy that we would feel comfortable with playing for an extended period of time, if needed.”

He also can gun down runners with the best of them averaging 38-percent over his career. Since he debuted he leads National League catchers with 183 put outs.