Jacob Kornhauser’s The Cup of Coffee Club: 11 players and their brush with baseball history is another light read that fit with my peek interest in this year’s baseball playoffs. In the book, Kornhauser introduces us to and takes us through the experiences of 11 men who managed to play in just one major league game.
As a baseball fan, I enjoy learning about aspects of and journeys to involvement with the game. In The Cup of Coffee Club, Kornhauser tells the stories of 11 men who fought different battles and lived lived pretty different lives on their way to realizing a dream millions have had but only thousands have lived. What separates these men from the vast majority of people to realize the dream of being a major league baseball player is that they only experienced the realization of their dream once. Sure, they realized their dream. But their taste was as fleeting as possible.
One of the most interesting parts of their collective stories is the way the men had different reactions to their one moment in time. Others embraced the opportunity they had been given and appreciated how lucky they were to have had that taste. Others were made bitter by reasons, real and unreal, for why they only got one shot to play.
If you like baseball and you want to read a side of the game rarely told, The Cup of Coffee Club is for you.