Maxwell Costes remembers being a small child and sitting on his mother’s lap with his father and older brother as they watched the Orioles play at Camden Yards. He remembers being part of the team’s junior fan club and thought he was in the best ballpark in the world.
On Wednesday night, the former Maryland and Gilman star’s baseball journey came full circle when he signed with the Orioles as a free agent.
For Costes, who grew up on the Upper East Side of Baltimore City, you couldn’t write a better story than this.
“I’ve always been [at Camden Yards] And be like, ‘I’m going to be like him one day,'” he said in a phone interview. “There are no real words to describe what it means to live your dream.”
Costes was an exceptional first baseman during his four years at Maryland, batting .298 with 40 home runs and 145 RBIs. After hitting .310 as a junior, Costes batted .296 with 16 home runs and 52 RBIs as a senior to earn Third Team All-Big Ten Conference honors.
He played a big part in Maryland’s historic 2022 season, helping the Terps set an event record for wins (48) and hosting an NCAA Tournament regional in College Park for the first time.
Cost burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2019, reducing .266/.397/.547 with 15 home runs, 15 doubles and 49 RBIs. He debuted in all 58 games that season and was named to the First-team All-Big Ten.
At Gilman, Costes was named a first-team All-Metro by The Baltimore Sun in 2018 after hitting .392 with six home runs and 21 RBIs in seven saves on the mound.
“I went to Gilman, played four years at the state’s premier school and went to stay home and play [the Orioles],” he said. “You really can’t write better stories than this. It feels unrealistic.”
Costes might even join the big leagues with his brother one day. Marty Costes, a former star of Archbishop Curley who spent three seasons in Maryland, currently plays for the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys after being drafted in the 22nd round by the Houston Astros in 2018.
Three players were drafted earlier this week at the record-setting Terraps, junior left-handed pitcher Ryan Ramsey, junior outfielder Troy Schreifler Jr. and fifth-year senior outfielder Chris “Bubba” Allene.
Ramsey, who threw the second perfect game in Maryland history in April, was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 13th round. Schreffler was picked in the 15th round by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2022 after a drop of .340/.421/.557. Allen, the Big Ten Player of the Year, was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers after becoming the First Division in the 19th round. I am the player to record at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a season since 2018.
MASNSports.com was the first to report Costes’ signing.
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