#25: Tommy Thevenow

Tommy Thevenow

I) Tommy Thevenow --> '38 Pirates --> Ken Heintzelman

II) Heintzelman --> '52 Phillies

So close! The '53 Philles are a Connected Team, so I think I can make my link there. Let's see what else we can find.

II) Heintzelman --> '52 Phillies --> Curt Simmons, Steve Ridzik, Robin Roberts, Smoky Burgess
      III) Simmons --> '67 Cubs
      III) Simmons --> '67 Angels
      III) Burgess --> '67 White Sox
      III) Ridzik --> '66 Phillies
      III) Roberts --> '66 Astros
      III) Roberts --> '66 Cubs

Six potential branches, non of them featuring a Connected Team. However, the '65 Astros, of which Roberts also was on, is on my table. If there were three or four teams to test here, I might forgo the Astros link and see what other connections I can make. Six teams is a lot to go through, and I think this time I'm going to take the easy way out:

1. Tommy Thevenow played for the 1938 Pittsburgh Pirates with Ken Heintzelman.
2. Ken Heintzelman played for the 1952 Philadelphia Phillies with Robin Roberts.
3. Robin Roberts played for the 1965 Houston Astros with Mike Cuellar.
4. Mike Cuellar played for the 1976 Baltimore Orioles with Dennis Martinez.
5. Dennis Martinez played for the 1993 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 5

#24: Shairon Martis

Shairon Martis

1. Shairon Martis played for the 2009 Washington Nationals with Corey Patterson.
2. Corey Patterson played for the 2001 Chicago Cubs with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 2

#23: Ellis Kinder

Ellis Kinder

I) Ellis Kinder --> '57 White Sox --> Luis Aparicio, Minnie Minoso

When I'm looking to bridge the gap between decades, I'm looking for players who played 15+ years. Minnie Minoso is a rare player whose last at-bat occurred 31 years after his first! If I can connect a 50's player to Minoso, I can skip all the way to the 80's - lots of potential here. The question is how quickly I can get from Minoso to Stairs.

II) Minoso --> '80 White Sox --> Harold Baines
      III) Baines --> '92 Athletics --> Terry Steinbach

I've already used Steinbach before, so I know I can complete the link:

1. Ellis Kinder played for the 1957 Chicago White Sox with Minnie Minoso.
2. Minnie Minoso played for the 1980 Chicago White Sox with Harold Baines.
3. Harold Baines played for the 1992 Oakland Athletics with Terry Steinbach.
4. Terry Steinbach played for the 1996 Oakland Athletics with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 4

So I can go from Minoso to Stairs in 3 steps. That gives me a fighting chance with some of these older players.

#22: Tom Dodd

Tom Dodd

1. Tom Dodd played for the 1986 Baltimore Orioles with Dennis Martinez.
2. Dennis Martinez played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 2

#21: Bob Priddy

Bob Priddy

I) Bob Priddy --> '71 Braves --> Darrell Evans, Dusty Baker, Phil Niekro

Once again, I picked 3 guys I knew had careers that extended into the 80's.

II) Darrell Evans --> '89 Braves --> Zane Smith
      III) Smith --> '95 Red Sox --> Stairs

II) Dusty Baker --> '86 Athletics --> Terry Steinbach
      III) Steinbach --> '96 Athletics --> Stairs

Since I've already made 2 possible chains, I won't worry about Niekro. I'll take the Evans link here, since we've already used Steinbach before.

1. Bob Priddy played for the 1971 Atlanta Braves with Darrell Evans.
2. Darrell Evans played for the 1989 Atlanta Braves with Zane Smith.
3. Zane Smith played for the 1995 Boston Red Sox with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 3

Baseball-Reference.com Adds Photos

I just wanted to give a shout out to Baseball-Reference.com, which I use extensively for this blog. The wealth of information and statistics alone on this site are amazing.

Anyway, I was doing some more chains today, and I noticed that the site has started adding pictures of the player on their pages. Obviously this is a massive undertaking and a work in progress, so everyone's not on there yet, but it just adds an extra layer of coolness to the page. I love looking at the old black and white portraits of players from year before my time. To the people behind Baseball-reference: Keep up the great work!

By the way - no, Stairs does not have a picture yet on his profile page. Any bets on which cap will be on his head?

#20: John Goetz

John Goetz

Goetz was a member of the '60 Cubs, which we've already established as a linkable team:

1. John Goetz played on the 1960 Chicago Cubs with Tony Taylor.
2. Tony Taylor played on the 1976 Philadelphia Phillies with Dave Cash.
2. Dave Cash played on the 1977 Montreal Expos with HoF Gary Carter.
4. Gary Carter played on the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 4

#19: Myron White

Myron White

Yet another guy who had just a cup of coffee in the majors. At least this guy played during my lifetime. Since White played in an era where I have a somewhat familiarity with the players, and since it's only a 14 year gap to the beginning of Matt Stairs career, I don't have to find the player with the longest service time here. I can pick someone I'm familiar with and just run with it. I may not find the quickest link to Stairs, but I'm confident I'll make it in under 6 degrees.

I) Myron White --> '78 Dodgers --> Bob Welch, Dave Stewart, Rick Sutcliffe

I picked 3 pitchers whose careers I'm familiar with. They all had good, long careers and played with other clubs (Cubs, Athletics) that Stairs also played on.

II) Sutcliffe --> '90 Cubs --> Joe Girardi

From here it's the same chain as the Lance Dickson chain. I'd like to try and establish some new clubs and players though, so let's see what else I can come up with.

II) Stewart --> '95 Athletics
II) Welch --> '94 Athletics

Both players just missed playing with Stairs in 1996. It's really a moot point which one I go with. I'm going with Stewart, because I will always believe Welch didn't deserve to beat Roger Clemens for that Cy Young in 1990.

1. Myron White played for the 1978 Los Angeles Dodgers with Dave Stewart.
2. Dave Stewart played the 1987 Oakland Athletics with Terry Steinbach.
3. Terry Steinbach played for the 1996 Oakland Athletics with Matt Stairs.

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 3

I really could have gone with any of Stewart's 8 years in Oakland, but I wanted to build up my database of clubs with one from the 80's.

#18: Grover Baichley

Grover Baichley

Another guy who played one season in the early 1900's.

I) Grover Baichley --> '14 Browns --> Del Pratt

We've already connected Pratt, and I can easily complete my chain by going this route. However, I want to see if I can go a different route.

I) Grover Baichley --> '14 Browns --> Jimmy Austin

II) Austin --> '29 Browns --> Rick Ferrell, Red Kress
      III) Farrell --> '47 Senators
      III) Kress --> '46 Giants

The '46 Giants are on my table, so I know I can complete the chain here too. If I want to tread new ground, I'll have to take the Senators.

      III) Farrell --> '47 Senators --> Bobo Newsome

Bobo again! Unfortunately, we're too far down the chain to use him.

      III) Farrell --> '47 Senators --> Early Wynn, Eddie Yost
              IV) Wynn --> '63 Indians
              IV) Yost --> '62 Angels

Once again, I find myself leaning towards that Indians team, if only because I'm so close to a possible link to Rick Cerone.

              IV) Wynn --> '63 Indians --> Jim Perry
                      V) Perry --> '75 Indians --> Rick Cerone

Awesome. "Big 3" Cerone comes through for me again! During the course of this one, I could have completed this chain twice using previous links found. Because I bypassed known routes, I can now add more teams to my table. Technically, I could have even bypassed the "Big 3" link, as the '63 Indians also featured Tommy John, who pitched until '89. Anyway, I have my chain:

1. Grover Baichley played for the 1914 St. Louis Browns with Jimmy Austin.
2. Jimmy Austin played for the 1929 St. Louis Browns with Rick Ferrell.
3. Rick Ferrell played for the 1947 Washington Senators with Early Wynn.
4. Early Wynn played for the 1963 Cleveland Indians with Jim Perry.
5. Jim Perry played for the 1975 Cleveland Indians with Rick Cerone.
6. Rick Cerone played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 6

#17: Bob Weiland

Bob Weiland

I) Bob Weiland --> '40 Cardinals --> Murry Dickson, Enos Slaughter

II) Dickson --> '59 Athletics
II) Slaughter --> '59 Yankees
II) Slaughter --> '59 Braves

Of the three branches I have, I like Dickson the best. The '62 Athletics are on my Connected Teams list, so it should be fairly easy to jump the 3 years I need.

II) Dickson --> '59 Athletics --> Jerry Lumpe
      III) Lumpe --> '62 Athletics

However, in the interest of expanding my field of teams, I'm going to continue finding players who played the longest.

II) Dickson --> '59 Athletics --> Howie Reed, Ken Johnson, George Brunet, Russ Snyder, Lou Klimchock
      III) Brunet --> '71 Cardinals
      III) Reed --> '71 Expos
      III) Johnson --> '70 Expos
      III) Klimchock --> '70 Indians
      III) Snyder --> '70 Brewers

Wow, I was not expecting it to branch out so much. I'm tempted to take Klimchock here, because he ended his playing days with the Indians. Early in this blog, I identified 3 players who started in the 70's and played with Matt Stairs, my "Big 3". Denny Martinez and Gary Carter have already proven their worth, but the third, Rick Cerone, has yet to be connected. I think it's time I fixed that.

      III) Klimchock --> '70 Indians --> Ray Fosse
              IV) Fosse --> '76 Indians --> Rick Cerone

From one Indians catcher to another.

1. Bob Weiland played for the 1940 St. Louis Cardinals with Murry Dickson.
2. Murry Dickson played for the 1959 Kansas City Athletics with Lou Klimchock.
3. Lou Klimchock played for the 1970 Cleveland Indians with Ray Fosse.
4. Ray Fosse played for the 1976 Cleveland Indians with Rick Cerone.
5. Rick Cerone played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 5

#16: Lance Dickson

Lance Dickson

1. Lance Dickson played for the 1990 Chicago Cubs with Joe Girardi.
2. Joe Girardi played for the 2001 Chicago Cubs with Matt Stairs.

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 2

Initially, I though I could use Mark Grace as an easy link. As it turns out, he left for Arizona the one year Matt Stairs was a Cub. Fortunately, Joe "Don't call me Torre" Girardi left and came back.

#15: Jack Rothrock

Jack Rothrock

I) Jack Rothrock --> '37 Athletics --> Randy Gumpert, Wally Moses

II) Gumpert --> '52 Senators
II) Gumpert --> '52 Red Sox
II) Moses --> '51 Athletics

So far, I don't see any particular benefit of picking one over the other. We'll try both players for a bit.

II) Gumpert - '52 Senators --> Bobo Newsome

Hooray for unusual player names! I remembered Bobo Newsome helped us complete the John Merritt chain. I have my link!

1. Jack Rothrock played for the 1937 Philadelphia Athletics with Randy Gumpert.
2. Randy Gumpert played for the 1952 Washington Senators with Bobo Newsome.
3. Bobo Newsom played for the 1953 Philadelphia Athletics with Bobby Shantz
4. Bobby Shantz played for the 1964 St. Louis Cardinals with Mike Cuellar
5. Mike Cuellar played for the 1976 Baltimore Orioles with Dennis Martinez
6. Dennis Martinez played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 6

#14: Billy Baldwin

Billy Baldwin

Looking at the 2 teams he played for, no one name stands out. However, he did play for the Mets, so I should be able to link him to Gary Carter.

1. Billy Baldwin played for the 1976 New York Mets with Lee Mazzilli.
2. Lee Mazzilli played for the 1987 New York Mets with Gary Carter.
3. Gary Carter played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs.

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 3

#13: Matt DeWitt

Matt DeWitt

DeWitt played 3 seasons - a quick glance at each team and one name jumped out at me, Alan Embree. I am a die-hard member of Red Sox Nation, and he was on the 2004 World Champion Boston Red Sox. Because of that, I can link him along a similar chain as Jeremy Hermida:

1. Matt DeWitt played for the 2002 San Diego Padres with Alan Embree.
2. Alan Embree played for the 2004 Boston Red Sox with Tim Wakefield.
3. Tim Wakefield played for the 1995 Boston Red Sox with Matt Stairs.

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 3

Chances are if I really looked I probably could have found a more direct link, but I went for what I knew would work.

#12: Del Pratt

Del Pratt

I) Del Pratt --> '24 Tigers --> Charlie Gehringer

II) Gehringer --> '42 Tigers --> Dizzy Trout, Virgil Trucks
      III) Trout --> '57 Orioles
      III) Trucks --> '58 Athletics
      III) Trucks --> '58 Yankees

I have some choices here. The '60 Orioles are on my list of Connected Teams, so I think my best bet is to go with Trout and try to get to Brooks Robinson.

      III) Trout --> '57 Orioles --> Brooks Robinson

Simple enough.

1. Del Pratt played for the 1924 Detroit Tigers with Charlie Gehringer.
2. Charlie Gehringer played for the 1942 Detroit Tigers with Dizzy Trout.
3. Dizzy Trout played for the 1957 Baltimore Orioles with Brooks Robinson.
4. Brooks Robinson played for the 1977 Baltimore Orioles with Denny Martinez.
5. Denny Martinez played for the 1993 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 5

#11: Art Lopatka

Art Lopatka

Two seasons, two different teams...

I) Art Lopatka --> '45 Cardinals
I) Art Lopatka --> '46 Phillies

Both are worth exploring, we'll do the '46 Phillies first:

I) Art Lopatka --> '46 Phillies --> Granny Hamner

II) Hamner --> '62 Athletics --> Fred Norman
      III) Norman --> '80 Expos --> Gary Carter

That was easier than I thought it'd be.

1. Art Lopatka played for the 1946 Philadelphia Phillies with Granny Hamner.
2. Granny Hamner played for the 1962 Kansas City Athletics with Fred Norman.
3. Fred Norman played for the 1980 Montreal Expos with Gary Carter.
4. Gary Carter played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 4

Just as a side note, as I was updating my Connected Teams table, I noticed this was my first entry using a team from the 80's. I'm a little surprised that it took this long.

#10: Frank Chance

Frank Chance

Whoo-Hoo! My first Hall of Fame player!

I) Frank Chance --> '14 Yankees --> Joe Harris, Roger Peckinpaugh

II) Harris --> '28 Pirates
II) Harris --> '28 Robins
II) Peckinpaugh --> '27 White Sox

Joe Harris played with a previous link, Ty Tyson, on that '28 Robins team. I know I can get to Matt Stairs that way, but it won't be within 6 degrees. That leaves me with two branches left.

II) Harris --> '28 Pirates --> Dick Bartell, Rollie Hemsley
      III) Bartell --> '46 Giants --> Marv Grissom, Bobby Thomson
              IV) Grissom --> '59 Cardinals
              IV) Thomson --> '60 Orioles
              IV) Thomson --> '60 Red Sox
      III) Hemsley --> '47 Phillies --> Curt Simmons
              IV) Simmons --> '67 Cubs
              IV) Simmons --> '67 Angels

Harris to Hemsley to Simmons seems like my best bet here, although I am intrigued by the possibility of 1960 Orioles team, especially if there's someone who played all the way to 1976 with the team. Let's try that one first:

              IV) Thomson --> '60 Orioles --> Brooks Robinson

There we go! Robinson played until 1977, just long enough to play with "Big 3" Denny Martinez...

1. HoF Frank Chance played for the 1914 New York Yankees with Joe Harris.
2. Joe Harris played for the 1928 Pittsburgh Pirates with Dick Bartell.
3. Dick Bartell played for the 1946 New York Giants with Bobby Thomson.
4. Bobby Thomson played for the 1960 Baltimore Orioles with Brooks Robinson.
5. Brooks Robinson played for the 1977 Baltimore Orioles with Dennis Martinez.
6. Dennis Martinez played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 6