Jacob Kornhauser - The Cup of Coffee Club

Bittersweet stories that were more sweet than bitter

Every kid with a bat and a ball has thought about the feeling of stepping up to the plate with the game on the line. Standing there in the backyard, you can almost hear the crowd noise as you stare down the pitcher. Digging your toes into the grass, you threw the ball into the air, loaded up, and smacked the game winning home run into your neighbor’s yard. You dropped the bat and started trotting around the bases, giving air high-fives, just imagining what it would feel like when you made your real major league debut. That’s often where the fantasy ended. Few dream about grinding it out in the minors, battling through injuries, and getting sent down for rehab assignments. No one pictures seeing their name in just one major league boxscore. 

While every kid may dream of the big leagues, only 882 players total were on MLB rosters for opening day last year. On any given day, only 270 players can be playing in an MLB game at a time. Finding your way into a Major League lineup is a helluva lot harder than finding that homerun ball in your neighbors yard. Some guys go on to play in the Bigs for years. But this week’s Moonlighter focused on those that had just about the shortest stints that a ball player could get. The Cup of Coffee Club is Jacob Kornhauser’s book telling the story of 11 ball players that, like Moonlight Graham himself, only appeared in 1 game. There are nearly 1000 members of the Cup of Coffee Club, but only 150 of them have played in the last 50 years.

“As I am reading these stories, my heart is breaking.”

This week, Tim sits down with author Jacob Kornuaser to hear the origins of his book and to dive into a few of the amazing untold stories of ball players who only had one shot. Like most great ideas, this book started as conversation with friends of just how many players had appeared in only 1 game. Kornhauser, an avid baseball fan, decided to dive into the question and connect with some of the players to tell their story. That passion project turned into phone calls and interviews with 11 players who only had one game in the majors. 

The Cup of Coffee Club includes a myriad of stories. Some read like a tragedy while others are just bad luck. Some players shined in their debut while others were barely a blip in the boxscore. Every story has its own twists. Kornhauser chased down the tales of 11 members of the club to tell their story and was a little surprised that many of the memories were more sweet than bitter. Many of the stories include major injuries that they just couldn’t rebound from. Others include near misses or more subtle ‘what ifs’. 

One common challenge that Kornhauser identified was the challenge of ‘climbing the mountain a second time’. After working their whole lives to reach the majors, each player’s story includes that challenge of trying to get back to the show whether from injury or being sent back to the minors. Though they had done it once, the test of making it back almost became more of a psychological obstacle than a test of their physical talents. 

One of the shortest stints was Larry Yount, brother of Robin, who actually took himself out of the lineup before he even played. His appearance counts because of his introduction even though he didn’t take the field. Another member with a famous brother, Stephen Larkin, went on to play 7 successful years in the minors after his cup of coffee but wasn’t able to make it back.

This book is one of the must-read baseball books of 2020. The excitement and heartbreak for each of the members of the club are told so well by Kornhauser that you will find yourself wanting to rewrite history for each guy. So many ‘if onlys’ will come to mind for each player as their story is told in their own chapters. Kornhauser has other projects and plenty of insights for baseball fans on his twitter account @KornSports and check out his book at baseballcoffeeclub.com. In addition to his book, this interview covers everything baseball including how to grow the game and fanbase. 

Baseball is a kid’s game that is woven into playgrounds and ballparks around the nation. The Cup of Coffee Club focuses on a unique aspect of the game that so many of us love. The experience of accomplishing a lifelong dream, if only for a minute. Even if they only had a cup of coffee, these players get to call themselves Big Leaguers for the rest of their lives.

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