Cup of coffee
Encyclopedia
A "cup of coffee" is North American sports terminology for 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, or simply to describe a brief stint served with a professional team. The term originated in baseball
, is extensively used in ice hockey
, and rarely in basketball
since the NBA has never implemented a true farm system
.
One example of how this term is used in a sentence was during the 1996 film The Fan
, in which the lead character, a middle-aged former pitcher, says, "I was in the bigs for a cup of coffee myself until my arm went south."
(21 games in September 1992) and Baseball Hall of Fame member Ryne Sandberg
(13 games with the 1981 Philles).
Francisco Rodríguez made his big-league debut by pitching 5 2/3 innings in September for the Anaheim Angels
. Included on the Angels' postseason roster as a replacement for an injured player, he won five playoff games for Anaheim and helped them to a victory in the 2002 World Series
, all before he won a regular-season game in the majors.
Another famous baseball player who made his debut with a cup of coffee was Shoeless Joe Jackson
, who played five games in 1908, five more in 1909, and twenty games in 1910 before finally making the bigs for good in 1911.
For many players, a cup of coffee is all they ever get in the major leagues. Notable cups of coffee include:
Minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in...
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
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
before being returned to the minors, or simply to describe a brief stint served with a professional team. The term originated in baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, is extensively used in ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, and rarely in basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
since the NBA has never implemented a true farm system
Farm team
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team or nursery club, is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher level at a given point...
.
One example of how this term is used in a sentence was during the 1996 film The Fan
The Fan (1996 film)
The Fan is a 1996 American thriller film starring Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes. It was directed by Tony Scott and based on the novel of the same name by Peter Abrahams...
, in which the lead character, a middle-aged former pitcher, says, "I was in the bigs for a cup of coffee myself until my arm went south."
Notable baseball cups of coffee
One well-known variant of the cup of coffee is the September call-up, in which major-league clubs call up additional players to the big leagues from the minors on Sept. 1, when rosters expand from 25 players to 40. This is by definition a cup of coffee, because September is the last month of the baseball season. Notable players who made their debuts in September include Mike PiazzaMike Piazza
Michael Joseph "Mike" Piazza ; born September 4, 1968) is an American former Major League Baseball catcher. He played in his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, New York Mets, San Diego Padres and the Oakland Athletics....
(21 games in September 1992) and Baseball Hall of Fame member Ryne Sandberg
Ryne Sandberg
Ryne Dee Sandberg , nicknamed "Ryno" is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. During a 16-year baseball career, he played from 1981–1994 and 1996–97, spending nearly his entire career with the Chicago Cubs. He was named after relief pitcher Ryne Duren, and is recognized as one of the best...
(13 games with the 1981 Philles).
Francisco Rodríguez made his big-league debut by pitching 5 2/3 innings in September for the Anaheim Angels
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
. Included on the Angels' postseason roster as a replacement for an injured player, he won five playoff games for Anaheim and helped them to a victory in the 2002 World Series
2002 World Series
The 2002 World Series was a best-of-seven playoff series to determine the champion of Major League Baseball for the 2002 season. It was the 98th such contest between the champions of the American League and National League , and featured the AL champion Anaheim Angels against the NL champion San...
, all before he won a regular-season game in the majors.
Another famous baseball player who made his debut with a cup of coffee was Shoeless Joe Jackson
Shoeless Joe Jackson
Joseph Jefferson Jackson , nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American baseball player who played Major League Baseball in the early part of the 20th century...
, who played five games in 1908, five more in 1909, and twenty games in 1910 before finally making the bigs for good in 1911.
For many players, a cup of coffee is all they ever get in the major leagues. Notable cups of coffee include:
- Walter AlstonWalter AlstonWalter Emmons Alston , nicknamed "Smokey," was an American baseball player and manager. He was born in Venice, Ohio but grew up in Darrtown. He is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he lettered three years in both basketball and baseball and is a member of the University's Hall...
. Alston struck out in his only career at-bat for the 1936 St. Louis Cardinals. He would go on to manage the DodgersLos Angeles DodgersThe Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
for 23 years in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, winning seven pennants and four World SeriesWorld SeriesThe World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
championships. He entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983. - Joe NuxhallJoe NuxhallJoseph Henry Nuxhall was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, mostly for the Cincinnati Reds. Immediately after retiring as a player, he became a radio broadcaster for the Reds from 1967 through 2004, and continued part-time up until his death in 2007...
. Nuxhall appeared in one game for the 1944 Reds at the age of fifteen, during a time when the manpower requirements of World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
were making it more challenging for MLB clubs to fill out their rosters. He is the youngest person ever to appear in a big-league baseball game. (Nuxhall came back in 1952 and had a 14-year career.) - Detroit TigersDetroit TigersThe Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
replacement team. When Ty CobbTy CobbTyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb , nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Narrows, Georgia...
was suspended for fighting a fan in the stands, sixteen members of the Tigers voted to go on strike in support of Cobb. Unable to field a team for their May 18, 1912, game in Philadelphia, the Tigers scrounged up nine replacement players from around the city. Philadelphia drubbed the replacement Tigers 24–2. Pitcher Allan TraversAllan TraversAloysius Joseph "Allan" Travers, aka Rev. Aloysius Stanislaus Travers was a Major League Baseball pitcher who made a one-game appearance during the 1912 strike of the Detroit Tigers....
went the whole game for Detroit, giving up 24 runs (a modern-day record), 14 of which were earned. Of the nine replacement players, the only one to ever appear in a big-league game again was Billy MahargBilly MahargWilliam Joseph Maharg, also known as William Joseph Graham has three distinct historical connections with Major League Baseball -- first, as a replacement player in the 1912 Detroit Tigers' players strike, second, for a one-game stint with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1916, and third, for his role...
, who made it back for one more game in 1916 (and later was one of the fixers behind the Black Sox ScandalBlack Sox ScandalThe Black Sox Scandal took place around and during the play of the American baseball 1919 World Series. Eight members of the Chicago White Sox were banned for life from baseball for intentionally losing games, which allowed the Cincinnati Reds to win the World Series...
). The real Tigers, threatened by American LeagueAmerican LeagueThe American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
president Ban JohnsonBan JohnsonByron Bancroft "Ban" Johnson , was an American executive in professional baseball who served as the founder and first president of the American League ....
with lifetime bans, came back for their next game. - Eddie GaedelEddie GaedelEdward Carl Gaedel was an American with dwarfism who became famous for participating in a Major League Baseball game....
. Gaedel, who was three feet, seven inches tall, was put on the roster of the 1951 St. Louis BrownsBaltimore OriolesThe Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
by maverick owner Bill VeeckBill VeeckWilliam Louis Veeck, Jr. , also known as "Sport Shirt Bill", was a native of Chicago, Illinois, and a franchise owner and promoter in Major League Baseball. He was best known for his publicity stunts to raise attendance. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis...
and sent into a game as a pinch-hitter on August 19. His uniform number was 1/8. The promotional stunt ended when pitcher Bob CainBob CainRobert Max Cain [Sugar] was a left-handed pitcher who played Major League Baseball from 1949 to 1954. Cain was born in Longford, Kansas and raised in Salina....
, throwing at the smallest strike zone of all time, walked Gaedel on four pitches. Major League Baseball voided Gaedel's contract the next day and he never appeared in a game again. - Moonlight GrahamMoonlight GrahamArchibald Wright "Moonlight" Graham was an American professional baseball player who appeared as a right fielder in a single major league game for the New York Giants on June 29, 1905. His story was popularized by Shoeless Joe, a novel by W. P...
. Graham was an outfielder who played two innings of one game on defense for the 1905 New York GiantsSan Francisco GiantsThe San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
, neither making a putout nor getting a chance to bat. He would leave baseball and enjoy a long career as a doctor in Chisholm, MinnesotaChisholm, MinnesotaAs of the census of 2000, there were 4,960 people, 2,178 households, and 1,287 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,129 people per square mile . There were 2,375 housing units at an average density of 540/sq mi...
. His story was made famous when author W.P. Kinsella included it in his novel Shoeless Joe, which was then adapted into the hit movie Field of DreamsField of DreamsField of Dreams is a 1989 American fantasy-drama film directed by Phil Alden Robinson and is from the novel Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella...
. (Graham's story is reported incorrectly in the movie and in other sources. Contra the film's assertion that Graham only played one half-inning, the Society for American Baseball ResearchSociety for American Baseball ResearchThe Society for American Baseball Research was established in Cooperstown, New York, in August 1971 by Bob Davids of Washington, D.C. The Society's mission is to foster the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball, while generating interest in the game...
discovered that he actually played two innings. Also, there was at least one base hit to the outfield while Graham was in the game, so he might have gotten the chance to field a ball in play.) - Adam Greenberg. Greenberg was a Chicago CubsChicago CubsThe Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
farmhand who got called up in 2005. In his big-league debut, on July 9, Greenberg was hit in the head with the first and to date only pitch he ever saw in the majors. - Bumpus JonesBumpus JonesCharles Leander Jones was a right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants...
. Jones made his major-league debut on October 15, 1892, the last day of the season, for the Cincinnati RedsCincinnati RedsThe Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
. Jones threw a no-hitterNo-hitterA no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
. He pitched in twelve more games in 1893 and then was gone from the majors forever. - Mark KigerMark KigerMark Winston Kiger is a retired baseball third baseman.-Career:Kiger was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 27th round of the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign. After attending the University of Florida, he signed with the Oakland Athletics as a 5th round selection in 2002...
. Kiger is the only player to have only appeared in a playoff game and never in the regular season. He made his debut with the Oakland Athletics during the 2006 ALCS and only played two games at second base as a defensive replacement. He never got an at-bat. Since he was only in the playoffs, Kiger is extremely difficult to find in baseball encyclopedias. - John PaciorekJohn PaciorekJohn Francis Paciorek is an American baseball player with three career Major League at-bats, all for the Houston Colt .45s in 1963.He is famous for having arguably the greatest one-game career in baseball history...
. Paciorek played one game with the 1963 Houston Colt .45'sHouston AstrosThe Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
on the last day of the season. He came to the plate five times, and did the following: two walks, three singles, three RBIRun batted inRuns batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
, four runs scored, career batting average and on-base-percentage of 1.000. Of the 27 players in MLB history with batting averages of 1.000, Paciorek is the only one with three at-bats. - St. Paul Saints. In 1884, the Union AssociationUnion AssociationThe Union Association was a league in Major League Baseball which lasted for only one season in 1884. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season...
began operation as a third major league and rival to the two major leagues of the day, the National LeagueNational LeagueThe National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
and American AssociationAmerican Association (19th century)The American Association was a Major League Baseball league that existed for 10 seasons from to . During that time, it challenged the National League for dominance of professional baseball...
. However, the league faced multiple problems, including an uneven distribution of talent (the league champion St. Louis Maroons went 94-19) and poor attendance in a country that suddenly was oversaturated with baseball teams. As the season wore on, teams began to fold, and the league scrounged around for replacements. The last of these replacements were the minor-league Saints (Apostles), an entire team that got a cup of coffee when they were invited into the Union Association. They played exactly nine games, all on the road, at the end of the season. The Saints went 2-6-1. Three other UA teams played 25 games or less, with the Saints playing the fewest. The Union Association folded in January 1885. - Moses Fleetwood WalkerMoses Fleetwood WalkerMoses Fleetwood Walker [″Fleet″] was an American Major League Baseball player and author who is credited with being the first African American to play professional baseball.-Baseball career:...
and Welday WalkerWelday WalkerWelday Wilberforce Walker was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball, born in Steubenville, Ohio. He, along with his brother Moses Fleetwood Walker, became the first black baseball players to play in the major leagues when they played for the Toledo Blue Stockings of the American...
. Moses Walker played 42 games for the 1884 Toledo Blue StockingsToledo Blue StockingsThe Toledo Blue Stockings formed as a minor league baseball team in Toledo, Ohio in 1883. They won the Northwestern League championship in 1883. Their home ballpark was League Park....
. His brother Welday also played for Toledo that year, debuting after Moses and playing for six games. The Walker brothers are the first known Black major league baseball players, predating Jackie RobinsonJackie RobinsonJack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
by 63 years. The Toledo franchise folded after 1884 and player boycotts (Cap AnsonCap AnsonAdrian Constantine Anson , nicknamed "Cap" and "Pop", was a National Association and Major League Baseball first baseman...
being a ringleader) upheld baseball's color barrier. (Recent research indicates that William Edward WhiteWilliam Edward WhiteWilliam Edward White played as a substitute in one baseball game for the Providence Grays, on June 21, 1879. Recent work by members of the Society for American Baseball Research suggests that he may have been the first African-American to play major league baseball, predating the longer career of...
, who played one game in 1879, proceeded the Walkers, although White's ethnicity can't be definitely determined and likely was not known to baseball authorities.) - Larry YountLarry YountLawrence King "Larry" Yount is a former major league baseball player. Yount is the only player in MLB history to be credited with pitching a game without actually facing a batter...
. Yount, the brother of Hall of FamerNational Baseball Hall of Fame and MuseumThe National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
Robin YountRobin YountRobin R. Yount is an American former Major League Baseball shortstop and center fielder. He spent his entire 20-year baseball career with the Milwaukee Brewers . In 1999, Yount was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.-Early years:Yount was born in Danville, Illinois...
, appeared in a game without ever appearing in a game. He was summoned from the bullpen to pitch the top of the ninth inning for the Houston AstrosHouston AstrosThe Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
on September 15, 1971. Yount hurt his elbow while warming up and was removed from the game before ever throwing a pitch. He never made it back to the big leagues. By official rule, pitchers who leave the game due to injury after being announced are credited with a game appearance; thus Yount is listed as playing in one game despite never actually doing so.