Steve Gann
Sandra 1A Cup Of Joe, With An At-Bat To Go
April 23rd 2009 05:18
Admit it, as a baseball fan you have dreamed of having your name called by a legendary announcer and getting to play in a Major League game. Even if you have succeeded in another areas of your life, the dream is probably still there. For comedian Billy Crystal, the dream came true last year, as he was the beneficiary of a once in a lifetime gift by friend Derek Jeter and commissioner Bud Selig. Crystal, whose Yankee number 60 matched his age, got one at-bat in a recent spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Crystal, who was a good high school player, had captained his Long Beach (N.Y) team and batted .348 his senior year. For a senior citizen, he still had a decent swing. He fouled one pitch down the first base line before striking out on what would have been ball four.
What Crystal experienced is what baseball historians refer to as having a “cup of coffee in the show.” There have been 503 players who have played only one Major League game. Thankfully for them baseball is a statistics game and that one singular game was enough to cement their name forever as a Major League player. I wanted to give a little space to a few of the most notable one game players of all time.
Burt Lancaster gave Archie “Moonlight” Graham legendary status in the classic baseball film, “Field Of Dreams.” Graham played one inning for the New York Giants, on June 29th, 1905. He was a late inning defensive replacement and never got to bat. That would be the only game of his career as the 27 year old decided to hang up the cleats at the end of the season to pursue his academic passions. He would become a doctor and would live and practice in Chisolm, MN until his death in 1965.
The award for making the most of one plate appearance award goes to the St. Louis Cardinal’s Walter Alston. He struck out in his only plate appearance on September 27th, 1936. However, that would not be the last the baseball world would hear from Alston. He would become manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers and win over 2,000 games and record four World Series titles. Alston would later be elected to the Hall-Of-Fame. Not bad for a man whose career batting average was .000.
The Paciorek name is well known to baseball fans. Most people have heard of Tom and possibly Jim, but don’t know that their older brother John is the owner of a Major League record. John’s historic day would occur on September 29th, 1963 with the Houston Colt 45s. John, who would have to retire after aggravating his back in the off-season, would go 3-3 with two walks, three RBIs, and four runs scored. He holds the record as the only person to have a 1.000 batting average with at least three hits.
In easily the most painful one game appearance, Adam Greenberg was hit in the head by a pitch on July 9th, 2005. He shares the record with Fred Van Dusen as the only two players to be hit by a pitch in their only at-bat. Greenberg is still reported to be in baseball in the Kansas City organization. Hopefully he will get a chance to erase his name from the record books and have a successful Major League career.
Even though some of these “cup of coffee” stops may seem disappointing, they all could say that they were one of the few to have heard their name called by a big league announcer in the big leagues. It also gives us fans hope that even if we are sixty years old or only three feet tall that we could still get our day in the sun.
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