What a cup of coffee really means in baseball

How a 'cup of coffee' became a common baseball term 

Baseball, like many sports, comes with a plethora of its own lingo and slang. Some, like 'dinger,' 'load the bases,' and 'rally cap' make sense in the context of the game. Others are a lot harder to understand if you're not familiar with the game — and even if you are, you'll be scratching your head more than Lou Costello in Who's on First. 

Take 'a can of corn,' which is a apparently an easy play. Why corn? No idea. There's also 'drop off the table,' which is just a longwinded way of saying curveball. There are literally dozens of these terms, but naturally, we were drawn to the coffee related ones. 

But we'll stay away from 'coffee can' — when a player wears a bigger athletic cup than necessary — for obvious reasons (mainly so I don't get fired). There's also 'bean,' which is a high-hopping grounder and technically derives from a jumping bean but we'll take the credit instead. 

'Cup of coffee'

We were most fascinated by 'a cup of coffee' and its history to baseball. When people use this phrase as it relates to baseball, they're not talking about the cup of joe they're grabbing during the 7th inning stretch (because let's face it, baseball games are LONG).

Instead, it's defined as a Minor League player pulled up to the Majors for a short period time — insinuating that their time spent in the big leagues is as long as it takes to drink a cup of coffee.

The term originated in baseball, but is also used in hockey, as both sports have extensive farm systems to move players up (and down) their leagues. Overall, there are 974 players who have only made it into the majors for one game.

There are hundreds of players that this term applies to, and highlights how competitive the major leagues are. One well-known variant of the 'cup of coffee' is the September call-up, where major league teams call up additional players to their rosters on Sept. 1 of each season. For some, like Hall of Famer MIke Piazza, this is their big break — but for many others, it's over before they can brew a second pot.

Read more baseball related coffee content and follow along with the Swig Leagues this spring — where the mugs are big and the wins are bigger. Between Pitch Black and the Creamators, who's your team? Find out more here.

[Featured Image Source: Ryan Arnst via Unsplash]