Chris Coste.

The other day as I was eating breakfast, I happened to notice Chris Coste was picked up on waivers by the Houston Astros, or in other words, was no longer a Philadelphia Philly. (Old habits die hard. Ballplayers always check the transactions as you eat breakfast, because you never knew when your own name was going to be in there!)

I had the pleasure of meeting Chris this past Spring Training. The perennial back-up Catcher, who after spending 11+ years in the minors finally got the call up to the Bigs back in 2006, is an inspiration to all who never, ever give up! In fact, he wrote a book about his exploits, "The 33-Year-Old Rookie", which is available through Amazon.com, or through his website, http://www.chriscoste.com/.

Undrafted out of college, Chris began his minor league career in Independent ball, in a league that folded before even completing one season! After that, he kicked around for four more years in Indy ball, before finally signing a minor-league deal with the Cleveland Indians in 2000, and making it to the Bigs with the Phillies in 2006.

When I met Chris, I asked him, "why didn't you give up?" Was I asking this rhetorically? Probably...Because I remember the struggles of being a back-up catcher...Of watching the other guy play while catching bullpens...Of batting once in a while and catching Day games after Night games, so the other guy could rest...

And his answer was simple. "Chance, I never had a Plan B." Amen, brother. "Burn the boats. That way, you can never go back!"

Best wishes to you, Chris Coste. Here's hoping this unusual twist of events in life which have now made you a Houston Astro turn out to be a wonderful blessing. You deserve it.