<div dir="ltr">All, Please find below and attached Mark Noe's review of
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kornhauser, Jacob.<span> </span>The
Cup of Coffee Club: 11 Players and Their Brush with Baseball History.<span> <br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span>Thanks</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span>Duncan</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kornhauser, Jacob.<span> </span>The
Cup of Coffee Club: 11 Players and Their Brush with Baseball History.<span> </span><span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0.5in;margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Lanham, MD: Rowman &
Littlefield, 2020.<span> </span>185pp.<span> </span>$32.00.<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Reviewed by Mark D. Noe<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span> </span>While
Little League is meant to teach lots of lessons, the one that perhaps hurts the
most is the one that tells a kid, “You’ll never play in the big leagues.”<span> </span>That may be a rude awakening to some; others
may labor on in spite of it, hope springing eternal and all that.<span> </span>It often becomes a question of whether that
disillusioned Little Leaguer feels more admiration or envy toward those who
actually reach the majors.<span> </span>Jacob Kornhauser’s
stories of eleven ballplayers (actually, more than that, with a few particularly
touching cases added in a final chapter) who made the bigs but played in just a
single game tends to temper any tendency toward envy.<span> </span><span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span> </span>The eleven
case studies range from 1958 (Charlie Lindstrom) to 2008 (Matt Tupman).<span> </span>Some names could have led to baseball
dynasties (Lindstrom, Larry Yount, Stephen Larkin).<span> </span>Others remained in the dugout but with a
different perspective (Rafael Montalvo and Jeff Banister in coaching and
managing roles).<span> </span>Some used the knowledge
gained through professional careers to make a living related to the game
(Lindstrom and ballpark lighting, Jon Ratliff and orthopedic implants, Sam
Marsonek and his baseball ministry oriented especially toward Latin American
kids).<span> </span>But they all played in just one
game.<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span> </span>Any
collection of stories like this will fascinate the typical baseball fan, who
(if I’m any example) must sit with Baseball Reference open on the laptop while
reading.<span> </span>Each case study includes an
interview, bringing the player into the narrative, providing a firsthand account.<span> </span>The reasons these players fail to get into a
second game vary, ranging from timing to injury to manager’s dislike to,
frankly, self-inflicted stupidity.<span>
</span>Results, too, vary, with most players ultimately accepting their
cup-of-coffee status, though never getting over their wonder at what might have
been.<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span> </span><i>The Cup
of Coffee Club</i> is an interesting take on a quirky sidelight of baseball
history.<span> </span>For a fanatic, it’s a dish of
candy worth dipping into.<span> </span>Though doing
so doesn’t allay any of those Little Leaguer regrets.<span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span></span></p>
<div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">Remember to smell the roses as you recumber past<br><br>Duncan R. Jamieson, Ph. D.<br>Professor of History<br>Book Review Editor<br><i>AETHLON: The Journal of Sport Literature</i><br>Ashland University<br>Ashland, OH 44805<br>USA<br></div></div></div></div>