Thanks to “Field Of Dreams” and “Shoeless Joe” (the W. P. Kinsella novel upon which the film was based) we’ve all heard of Archibald “Moonlight” Graham’s one-game career. And I’m sure some of you know about Larry Yount, Robin’s brother who was a pitching prospect for the Astros. Larry came into a game, hurt him arm during warm-ups, and never played again. Since he was technically announced into the game, his bizarre career line reads: 1 G 0 IP 0 H 0 BB. These are special cases, it’s pretty rare for a player to play just the one game in the majors.
To date, there have been only 961 times its happened, if you only count only players who have been to the plate, going back to 1871. Add a couple dozen more when you consider pitchers who didn’t last out there long enough to get their hacks. Rather than the one game, a player will typically stay a few days or weeks, usually at the end of a bad season, or to fill in for an injury or two. Most players who never made it swear they’d give their right arm for a “cup of coffee,” as such a short visit is called.While I was poring through some old baseball stats, I came across a name I hadn’t heard before, “Ed Irvin,” who had played exactly one game for the Detroit Tigers. He hit a pair of triples, but never played again. Seems a little odd to me that somebody makes it to the majors, tears the ball apart, and fades away. So I did some research.
The story goes like this: back in 1912,Ty Cobb had attacked a crippled fan In New York (yeah, old Ty was a sweetheart, wasn’t he?), earning himself a suspension. When the next game rolled around, the Tiger players, in protest, all went on strike for the day. In an effort to avoid a $5,000 fine for being unable to field a full squad, team owner Frank Navin ordered his manager to round up a bunch of amateurs to take the field for the game. The Tigers found nine amateur ballplayers to agree to take on the Athletics, and filled out the roster with two of their own coaches. Ed Irvin was the third baseman that Sunday afternoon.
Long story short, the kids got rocked 24-2. The Tiger coaches scored the two runs, and the only amateur to even get a hit was Irvin, with his triples. The pros came back for the next game, and the kids went home. Only one of them, Billy Maharg, ever played in the majors again. They all had their cups of coffee, then paid their checks.
So this got me thinking. How many other players gave a good showing in their one chance but still were passed over? A few hours later and “The Cup of Coffee All-Stars” were born: eight position players, four starting pitchers, and one reliever, in case things got rough. All played in exactly one game, all for a major league team (or one close enough in terms of the old-timers), and all made a nice showing. We may never know their stories, but we’ll at least know their stats.
Lineup
1. John Paciorek – OF – Houston Colt .45s – 1963
3 singles and 2 walks in 5 trips to the plate. Also drove in 2 runs and played flawless defense
2. Jerry Lynn – 2B – Washington Senators – 1937
2 for 3 with a double, Lynn also recorded 4 putouts, 3 assists and 2 double plays at second base
3. Aubrey “Yo-Yo” Epps – C – Pittsburgh Pirates – 1935
Rough in the field (2 errors in 8 in chances at catcher), but a masher at the plate: 3 for 4 with a triple, a run scored, and 3 RBI.
4. Ed Irvin – 3B – Detroit Tigers – 1912
His 2.667 “career” OPS ranks as the highest in the history of baseball, yet no Hall of Fame votes, as Irvin’s .500 fielding percentage at 3B couldn’t offset his 2 triples in 3 at bat day in the sun.
5. Tony “Mosquito” Ordenana – SS – Pittsburgh Pirates 1943
Perfect at short, 2 for 4 at the plate, and 3 RBI. What’s not to love about this plucky Cuban?
6. Bob Matthews – OF – Philadelphia Athletics – 1891
The only player on our team to strike out at the plate, the .333 hitting Matthews (1 for 3) is the only one with a good enough reason to walk away from the game: 2 HBP in 5 plate appearances. Tough way to compile a .600 OBP.
7. Bill Dam – OF – Boston Doves – 1909
1 for 2 with a double, a run scored, and a walk. .500 average and a .667 OBP isn’t bad for a number 7 hitter.
8. Jack Darragh – 1B – Louisville Colonels – 1891
1 for 2 in the American Association isn’t much to write home about, but the crop is thin for first base auditions. I’d have given 1910 St. Louis Browns atrocious third-sacker, Ray Jansen (3 errors at the not-so-hot corner) and his 4 for 5 performance a shot at first base if I had my druthers.
Pitching
Billy Ging – SP – Boston Beaneaters – 1899
If ever there were an ace-in-waiting, Ging looks like it. Complete game victory, 1.12 ERA (1 run on 5 hits and 5 walks in 8 innings). Attribute rookies nerves to the walks, but a 1.25 WHIP is still pretty decent.
Eddie Hogan – SP – St. Louis Brown Stockings – 1882
Tough luck for this kid, as he went he distance but lost 1-0. Another 1.12 ERA, yet still no second chance.
George Knight – SP – New Haven City Elms – 1875
Not even going to pretend that a team called the “New Haven City Elms” counts for much, but Knight went the full nine and of the 6 runs he gave up, only a pair were earned (more about that in a second). Let up a whopping 12 hits, but also struck out 12. Kid could bring the heat.
King Bailey – SP – Cincinnati Reds – 1895
A 5.62 ERA isn’t pretty, but how can you not love a pitcher who went 2 for 4 with a double, an RBI, 2 runs scored, and a stolen base? Besides, 13 hits, a wild pitch, and 5 earned runs in 8 innings isn’t that bad. It was a complete game victory, after all.
Sammy Curran – RP – Boston Beaneaters – 1902
6 and 2/3 innings, 1 run on 6 hits, 3 SO with a 1.35 ERA out of the pen. How do you spell relief? C-u-r-r-a-n.
Dishonorable Mention
Rit Harrison – 2B – New Haven City Elms – 1875
A teammate of George Knight on that fateful September 28th game, yet the Elms still found a way to win. Harrison went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI, but made 1 error in 2 chances at SS and 2 errors in 3 chances at C. And you wonder why the team finished 10th with a 7-40 record?
Postscript
As for Billy Maharg (Maharg is the reverse of his real name, Graham), he actually had two one game cups of coffee. The first in 1912 for the Tigers, then again for the Phillies in 1916. It seems Maharg was the chauffeur of Phils catcher, Bill Killefer, and was given a chance to bat in a game against the Braves. He grounded out, then played an inning in left. Thus ended the playing career of Billy Maharg. Although he did somehow end up in Chicago in 1919 where he became a co-conspirator in the Black Sox scandal.
Now that life story would be great over a cup of coffee.