Feature Watch: Cups o’ Coffee
Posted by Neil Paine on October 14, 2009
Wikipedia defines a "Cup of Coffee" as, "a short time spent by a minor league player at the major league level. The idea behind the term is that the player was only in the big leagues long enough to have a cup of coffee before being returned to the minors."
All of you have heard this term before, of course, but maybe you haven't seen the Cups of Coffee page here at Baseball-Reference. If you've ever wondered about players who played just one major-league game in their career and were never seen again at the big-league level, that page is your one-stop source -- it contains every instance in history of a player suiting up for only 1 career MLB outing. Yes, that includes Moonlight Graham, who was a real person and really did play just 1 game (0 AB) for the Giants in 1905 before becoming a doctor in Chisholm, MN.
So for more people who may be just as interesting (if not a famous) as Graham, check out the Cups of Coffee and think about some otherwise-forgotten players who never got a second chance at The Show.
October 14th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
How about John Paciorek (http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/paciojo01.shtml)? This guy went 3 for 3 with 3 RBIs and walked twice for a 1.000 BA and 1.000 OBP in his only career game. Man, what a way to start and end a career.
October 14th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
Oops, link got messed up. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/paciojo01.shtml
October 15th, 2009 at 1:49 am
This may be impossible but the top item my b-r wish list is a category for guys like this.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=law---001jos
I saw Joe Law pitch a no-hitter for Modesto @ Stockton in 1987. I believe I was the only fan keeping score that night and I went down to the dugout and got him to autograph the scorecard. He even asked me how many K's he had.
I followed his career much more closely after that and was excited after the A's called him up in 1988 during a stretch of injuries and tired arms. According to my plan, he would be inducted into Cooperstown rigtt about now and that scorecard would be worth thousands, but alas after a couple of days he was returned to Tacoma, never to be heard from again.
I wonder if there is a database somewhere that can access a list of guys who got that close, but haven't made the major league half of b-r
October 15th, 2009 at 9:28 am
It includes the only guy to have a perfect win-loss% AND a perfect batting average AND a perfect fielding percent. And I'm not talking zero-for-zero, that is an undefined average, not perfect
October 15th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Ruth, that would be one John Kull....
October 15th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Some of these guys are recent enough that it's possible that they'll come back. There are three for 2009. I actually discovered this list a few years ago. I wonder if anyone who was on it before has since made it back to the big leagues.
One other category that it may be hard to tabulate, especially for the early days, are guys who made it to the big league roster but never made it into a game. I remember reading that former Los Angeles Lakers coach Bill Sharman was such a player, with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and even had more ejections than game appearances (as a result of the umpire ejected all or most of the guys on the bench for some derisive comments or other).
A few years ago, the Phillies added a catcher during September who never made it into a game then, and I don't think he's ever come back with anyone else. I don't remember his full name, but I think his first name was Tom.
I consider Larry Yount to be in this category, but I understand why he is considered to have been in a game - he was announced as a pitcher starting the game but got hurt during warm-up throws. I would have to look up whether this was at home or on the road - if it were on the road, and he spent the top of the first in the dugout, and presumably available to hit if his team batted around, then I can better support his being listed as having appeared in a game.
October 15th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
It will be interesting to see if Charlie Zink (Red Sox 2008) is a permanent member of this list.
His debut was a memorable one. He had a GS of 9, but got a no decision as the Red Sox scored 10 in the bottom of the 1st, but had to hold off Texas 19-17.
Zink was 29 years old this year and was 6-15 5.59 ERA with a Whip of 1.67 at Pawtucket this year.
October 16th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
I did some more research on Larry Yount. He was brought into the game (at home, in the Astrodome) to pitch in relief. I thought that his lack of future big league time was as a result of this injury, but it was only a temporary setback. The following spring, he was a candidate for a roster spot but was a victim of the numbers game because he had options left, and other pitchers who had also done well did not have options left. He was traded to the Brewers in time for apring training 1974, the same year his brother Robin made the jump from single-A to the majors at age 18. But Larry didn't make the team that year, or any other year, while pitching about 2-3 more years in the minors.