Former University of Maryland baseball star Maxwell Costes now plays for High-A Aberdeen, an affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.
Costes went undrafted last summer after a five-year career at Maryland but signed with the Orioles on July 20. Now with the IronBirds, he isn’t far from his native Baltimore.
“Every time we have a home series … all of a sudden, I see 30 people that I haven’t seen in five years coming out to see me play,” Costes said on Glenn Clark Radio May 26. “It’s kind of cool to see all like my old coaches coming to see me play.”
“This is like a dream come true for me. I don’t think I can really ask for anything more in my life,” Costes added.
Costes has played 17 games for the IronBirds this year entering play June 2. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound first baseman is hitting .200/.390/.444 with five extra-base hits, eight runs and 11 RBIs.
Costes bounced around the minor leagues after signing, playing in the Florida Complex League, Low-A Delmarva and Aberdeen in 2022 before returning to the Shorebirds to begin 2023. He hit .226/.461/.245 with one extra-base hit, 12 runs and 4 RBIs in 19 games in 2022.
Costes reflected on the MLB Draft process and how the draft has changed post-pandemic.
“The draft has cut to 20 rounds instead of 40. Now you do see a lot of really good players not getting picked up now,” Costes said. “At first, it did cause a little bit of self-doubt in me. I admit it. I’ve always been the type of person that I like doing. … Like if I’m feeling some type of way about something, I go and do something about it.”
Costes piled up many accomplishments at Maryland, including 2019 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, 2020 Collegiate Baseball Third Team All-American, 2021 NCAA Greenville Regional All-Tournament Team and 2022 Third Team All-Big Ten.
Costes set several records during his career with Maryland, including No. 1 in hit by pitch (67), No. 2 in home runs (40), No. 2 in walks (116) and No. 3 in RBIs (145). Still, he went undrafted, but that doesn’t matter any longer.
“The fact that I got a chance to play, I said, ‘OK, I’m going to run with it now.’ Once I got the chance to play like that, that self-doubt turned into intrinsic motivation,” Costes said.
Costes has posted high on-base percentages dating back to college. Costes reminisced about drills he and his brother Marty did with their dad. He also credited former Maryland pitching coach Corey Muscara for instilling the right mindset in him.
“One of the things that he told me was that you should try to find a way to make your greatest weakness your greatest strength,” Costes said. “When I first got to college, I really, really struggled with plate discipline. … I would go in after practice and set up a pitching machine and just work on seeing different pitches, different spins like for an hour after every practice.”
For more from Costes, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Kadalena Messiano