#9: Walt Alexander

Walt Alexander

I) Walt Alexander --> '17 Yankees --> Muddy Ruel

Can I just say the 1917 Yankees are cool in my book because they had players named Slim Love and Urban Shocker? Are those great baseball names or what?

II) Ruel --> '34 White Sox --> Luke Appling
      III) Appling --> '50 White Sox --> Billy Pierce, Nellie Fox
             IV) Pierce --> '64 Giants
             IV) Fox --> '65 Astros

Usually when I look for a player who outlasted his teammates, I get a couple of guys who qualify, therefore giving me a few options. This time around, I don't get any branches until Peirce and Fox. I don't know if this hurts me by limiting my options, but the fact Ruel and Appling allowed me to jump 33 years ahead may make the point moot. I'm going to give preferential treatment to the Hall of Famer and see where I go with Fox first:

             IV) Fox --> '65 Astros --> Mike Cuellar

I looked at the Astros roster and this name stood out. I know Mike Cuellar. Not personally, but enough I know enough about his career that I know he played for the orioles in the 70's. I think I have my chain:

1.Walt Alexander played for the 1917 New York Yankees with Muddy Ruel.
2. Muddy Ruel played for the 1934 Chicago White Sox with HOF Luke Appling.
3. Luke Appling played for the 1950 Chicago White Sox with HOF Nellie Fox.
4. Nellie Fox played for the 1965 Houston Astros with Mike Cueller.
5. Mike Cueller played for the 1976 Baltimore Orioles with Denny Martinez.
6. Denny Martinez played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 6

Another successful pre-WWII era connection! I'm rather impressed that this chain included 2 Hall of Famers - Appling and Fox. Also, strategically, I think it would benefit me to keep a list of all teams I've successfully linked. It'll be helpful if I do another player who played for, say, the 1965 Houston Astros, as I'll know where to go from there.

So here's my list so far:
1913 New York Giants (6)
1917 New York Yankees (6)
1928 Brooklyn Robins (6)
1934 Chicago White Sox (5)
1934 St. Louis Browns (5)
1947 Cleveland Indians (5)
1950 Chicago White Sox (4)
1953 Philadelphia Phillies (4)
1960 Chicago Cubs (4)
1964 St. Louis Cardinals (3)
1965 Houston Astros (3)
1976 Baltimore Orioles (2)
1976 Philadelphia Phillies (3)
1976 Baltimore Orioles (2)
1977 Montreal Expos (2)
1992 Montreal Expos (1)
1995 Boston Red Sox (1)
2000 Oakland Athletics (1)
2003 Pittsburgh Pirates (1)
2004 St. Louis Cardinals (2)
2005 Florida Marlins (3)
2005 Texas Rangers (2)
2007 Boston Red Sox (2)
2010 Boston Red Sox (2)

I've even put the degrees in parenthesis, so I have an idea of how many degrees I'll need to complete the chain. I think my next project will be to create a table and link it as a stand alone page.