Dog Days of August

I have a confession to make. Whenever a new post comes up, it was actually done weeks in advance. I just stagger the dates to post a new one every other day. Truth is, I actually have quite a backlog of completed posts waiting to go. So, I'm going to try something. For the month of August, I'm going to post one a day. Not only will that help me clear up my inventory of posts, but it will give me an idea of if I can do this daily or not on a long term basis.

#57: Erik Hiljus

Erik Hiljus

So close! Only one year separating Hiljus and Stairs. I almost had another direct connection! Anyway, I can practically throw a dart at the 2001 Athletics roster and hit someone who played the year before with Stairs. I'm not going to do that, for no other reason that it will damage my screen. Instead, I'm going to pick 2004 postseason hero Mark Bellhorn.

1. Erik Hiljus played for the 2001 Oakland Athletics with Mark Bellhorn.
2. Mark Bellhorn played for the 2000 Oakland Athletics with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 2

#56: Buck Marrow

Buck Marrow

I) Buck Marrow --> '38 Dodgers --> Bert Haas

II) Haas --> '51 White Sox --> Minnie Minoso

Just like that, I've got my link. I discovered the Minnie Minoso time warp awhile back, and because of him, I can jump from 1951 to 1980. I'm not going to do any better than that.

1. Buck Marrow played for the 1938 Brooklyn Dodgers with Bert Haas.
2. Bert Haas played for the 1951 Chicago White Sox with Minnie Minoso.
3. Minnie Minoso played for the 1980 Chicago White Sox with Harold Baines.
4. Harold Baines played for the 1992 Oakland Athletics with Terry Steinbach.
5. Terry Steinbach played for the 1996 Oakland Athletics with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 5

Matt Stairs and the Hall of Fame

After finishing my post for the Hall of Fame, I started to wonder how many Hall of Famers/potential Hall of Famers Matt Stairs has played for. HoF Gary Carter is one of my Big 3, so I know that's at least one. For no other reason but to provide a diversion, I decided to take a look:

Current Hall of Famers:
Gary Carter (1993 Montreal Expos)
Rickey Hendeson (1998 Oakland Athletics)

Possible Hall of Famers:
Larry Walker (1993 Montreal Expos)
Roger Clemens (1994 Boston Red Sox)
Mark McGwire (1996-97 Oakland Athletics)
Miguel Tejada (1997-2000 Oakland Athletics)
Tim Raines (1999 Oakland Athletics)
Fred McGriff (2001 Chicago Cubs)
Sammy Sosa (2001 Chicago Cubs)
Kenny Lofton (2003 Pittsburgh Pirates)
Ivan Rodriguez (2006 Detroit Tigers)
Frank Thomas (2007-08 Toronto Blue Jays)
Pedro Martinez (2009 Philladelphia Phillies)

DISCLAIMER: I completely ignored any steroids/cheating aspect of this list. I don't vote, and I don't know how those accused of cheating will fare. I also ignored any players (Greinke, Teixeira, Halladay, etc.) who is still in the prime of their careers and may or may not be Hall worthy when they are through.

So, only 2 bona fide Hall of Famers so far, but as we can see, he'll be adding to that list quite a bit in the years to come.

#54-55: 2010 Hall of Fame - Andre Dawson, Whitey Herzog

Today, 3 new members of Baseball's Hall of Fame are sworn in - outfielder Andre Dawson, manager Whitey Herzog, and umpire Doug Harvey. In honor of them, I've hand-picked them as today's links. Although umpire Harvey never played in the Major Leagues, I can at least do Dawson and Herzog.

Andre Dawson

Hawk is an easy one.

1. HoF Andre Dawson played for the 1976 Montreal Expos with HoF Gary Carter.
2. HoF Gary Carter played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 2

Whitey Herzog

Herzog turns out to be an easy one too - he played on one of my Connected Teams.

1. HoF Whitey Herzog played for the 1959 Kansas City Athletics with Lou Klimchock.
2. Lou Climchock played for the 1970 Cleveland Indians with Ray Fosse.
3. Ray Fosse played for the 1976 Cleveland Indians with Rick Cerone.
4. Rick Cerone played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 4

Welcome to the Hall, gentleman!

#53: Norm Charlton

Norm Charlton

No clear cut way to go here. He played in the same general time frame as Stairs with a few different teams, especially towards the end of his career. I'll look breifly at a few of his seasons and see if any names jump out.

I) Norm Charlton --> 2001 Mariners --> Jamie Moyer

Moyer is a baseball freak. I'm amazed he's still out there at the age of 47. I hope he goes until he's 50, I really do. Even better, he played with Stairs last year!

1. Norm Charlton played for the 2001 Seattle Mariners with Jamie Moyer.
2. Jamie Moyer played for the 2009 Philadelphia Philles with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 2

Moyer may prove to be one of those valuable connecting players - he has played 24 seasons and has a few teams under his belt. I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up using him again.

#52: Harry Cassady

Harry Cassady

I) Cassady --> '04 Pirates --> Fred Carisch

I checked the other team Cassaday played for, the '05 Senators, but no one came close to lasting as long as Carisch. Carisch technically didn't even last that long. He stopped playing regularly in 1914, but came back 9 years later and played in two games!

II) Carisch --> '23 Tigers --> Del Pratt

We connected Pratt already, but using his chain will take us over 6 degrees. I'll have to see where else I can go.

II) Carisch --> '23 Tigers --> Earl Whitehill, Syl Johnson, Heinie Manush
      III) Manush --> '39 Pirates --> Ken Heintzelman, Bob Elliott
              IV) Heintzelman --> '52 Phillies
              IV) Elliott --> '53 Browns
              IV) Elliott --> '53 White Sox
      III) Whitehill --> '39 Cubs --> Phil Cavarretta
              IV) Cavarretta --> '55 White Sox
      III) Johnson --> '40 Phillies --> Kirby Higbe, Danny Litwhiler
              IV) Higbe --> '50 Giants
              IV) Litwhiler --> '51 Reds

We've used Heintzelman and the '52 Phillies before, but using them here wouldn't get us under 6 degrees. The '55 White Sox seem like my best bet.

              IV) Cavarretta --> '55 White Sox --> Minnie Minoso

So close! One degree earlier and I could have jumped all the way to Matt Stairs through Minoso. Although Minoso will win the longest lasting player award, I'll need to get to the 70's and use my Big 3 if I'm going to make it.

              IV) Cavarretta --> '55 White Sox --> Earl Battey
                     V) Battey --> '67 Twins

Nope. No luck here. I'm feeling ambitious however, so I'm going to go back and try the '53 Browns. Maybe I'll get lucky...

              IV) Elliott --> '53 Browns --> Don Larsen
                     V) Larsen --> '67 Cubs

I guess not. Unfortunately, I'm going to call this one. I came close, but in the end, I just didn't have it.

Degrees of Matt Stairs: over 6

#51: Art Johnson

Art Johnson

I) Art Johnson --> '42 Braves --> Warren Spahn

Wow, the great Warren Spahn played 10 whole seasons longer than anyone else on this roster.

II) Spahn --> '65 Mets
II) Spahn --> '65 Giants

I never knew he ended his career with these two teams. He played 20 years with the Braves, and it just seemed like he was a one team lifer.

II) Spahn --> '65 Mets --> Ron Swoboda

We've already connected Swoboda, so I know I can go from Johnson to Stairs in 5 degrees. As usual, I'll see what other paths I can take.

II) Spahn --> '65 Mets --> Tug McGraw, Bud Harrelson, Ed Kranepool, Ron Hunt
      III) McGraw --> '84 Phillies
      III) Harrelson --> '80 Rangers
      III) Kranepool --> '79 Mets
      III) Hunt --> '74 Expos

Despite 3 players who lasted longer, Hunt wins because he played with the Expos. I doubt I can do better than this.

1. Art Johnson played for the 1942 Boston Braves with Warren Spahn.
2. Warren Spahn played for the 1965 New York Mets with Ron Hunt.
3. Ron Hunt played for the 1974 Montreal Expos with Gary Carter.
4. Gary Carter played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 4

#50: Tim McNamara

Tim McNamara

I) Tim McNamara --> '26 Giants

The '24 Giants are on my Connected Teams list, and the connecting player, Freddie Lindstrom played on the '26 team as well.

I) Tim McNamara --> '26 Giants --> Freddie Lindstrom, Ty Tyson, Grover Hartley

It's like a 6 Degrees reunion! Yet, neither of these players lasted the longest. That honor goes to a Hall of Famer who debuted with the '26 Giants:

I) Tim McNamara --> '26 Giants --> Mel Ott

II) Ott --> '47 Giants

One of the greats things about this era was that there were only 16 teams at the time. That makes for a lot of repetition. Although, the '47 Giants aren't on my table yet, the '46 Giants are, so I can easily use Bobby Thompson and complete my chain. It'd be a safe assumption that he'd be the longest lasting player. Still I'll double check the roster.

II) Ott --> '47 Giants --> Bobby Thompson, Whitey Lockman
      III) Thompson --> '60 Orioles
      III) Thompson --> '60 Red Sox
      III) Lockman --> '60 Reds

Thompson still reigns, but he has company. Lockman for some reason played in '45 and '47 but somehow missed playing in '46. Still, he lasted as long as Thompson, so that's one more possibility. I had to go back and find the Thompson link again. (Note to self - it may be beneficial to amend the Connecting Teams table to show where the chain was used.) Anyway, it turns out I never tested the '60 Red Sox link, so that may be worth trying too. If I follow the Orioles path, I'll have the chain completed in 5 degrees. if the Reds or Red Sox paths can equal that, they'd be worth adding.

      III) Thompson --> '60 Red Sox --> Earl Wilson, Al Worthington, Gary Geiger, Jim Pagliaroni
              IV) Wilson --> '70 Tigers
              IV) Wilson --> '70 Padres
              IV) Geiger --> '70 Astros
              IV) Pagliaroni --> '69 Athletics
              IV) Pagliaroni --> '69 Pilots
              IV) Worthington --> '69 Twins

I only get 10 years out of the Red Sox path, not nearly enough to make it worthwhile.

      III) Lockman --> '60 Reds --> Frank Robinson, Vida Pinson, Leo Cardenas, Orlando Pena, Claude Osteen
              IV) Robinson --> '76 Indians
              IV) Osteen --> '75 White Sox
              IV) Pena --> '75 Angels
              IV) Cardenas --> '75 Rangers
              IV) Pinson --> '75 Royals

Yeah, that will work. I didn't need to go any further than Robinson though. I'm ready.

1. Tim McNamara played for the 1926 New York Giants with Mel Ott.
2. Mel Ott played for the 1947 New York Giants with Whitey Lockman.
3. Whitey Lockman played for the 1960 Cincinati Reds with Frank Robinson.
4. Frank Robinson 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

#49: Paul Rigdon

Paul Rigdon

Another case of two years, two teams. A quick look at the Indians roster shows he played with Sandy Alomar, but since this is such a recent player, I'm going to look for a possible direct connection.

It's funny, when I did the Alomar chain, I completely forgot that Kenny Lofton briefly played for the Pirates with Stairs. I could have just as easily done this with Alomar:

1. Paul Rigdon played for the 2000 Cleveland Indians with Kenny Lofton.
2. Kenny Lofton played for the 2003 Pittsburgh Pirates with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 2

Another one down!

#48: Zach McClellan

Zach McClellan

McClellan played one season with the Rockies. My best bet is to look at each teammate and see if any of them played directly with Stairs.

I) McClellan --> 2007 Rockies --> Yorvit Torrealba

That didn't take long. Torrealba is currently a member of the Padres.

1. Zach McClellan played for the 2007 Colorado Rockies with Yorvit Torrealba.
2. Yorvit Torrealba plays for the 2010 San Diego Padres with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 2

That's two current members of the Padres in a row.

#47: Clayton Richard

Clayton Richard

My first official current player, and guess what? He's a direct link!

1. Clayton Richard plays for the 2010 San Diego Padres with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 1

It doesn't get any easier than that!

#46: Milt Jordan

Milt Jordan

I) Milt Jordan --> '53 Tigers --> Al Kaline

II) Kaline --> '74 Tigers --> Jim Northrup, Aurelio Rodriguez, Ron LeFlore, Fred Holdsworth, Woodie Fryman
      III) Northrup --> '74 Expos
      III) Fryman --> '78 Expos
      III) LeFlore --> '80 Expos
      III) Holdsworth --> '82 Expos
      III) Rodriguez --> '83 Orioles

Five different players from this team played with one of my "Big 3" later on in their careers. I'm giving Northrup the nod here, since he jumped from the Tigers to the Expos in the same season.

1. Milt Jordan played for the 1953 Detroit Tigers with Al Kaline.
2. Al Kaline played for the 1974 Detroit Tigers with Jim Northrup.
3. Jim Northrup played for the 1974 Montreal Expos with Gary Carter.
4. Gary Carter played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

With this chain, I've now reached 100 connected teams! Whoo-hoo!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 4

#45: Tom Needham

Tom Needham

I) Tom Needham --> '14 Cubs --> Bubbles Hargrave, Cy Williams

II) Hargrave --> '30 Yankees --> Red Ruffing, Bill Dickey, Ben Chapman
      III) Ruffing --> '47 White Sox
      III) Dickey --> '46 Yankees
      III) Chapman --> '46 Phillies
II) Williams --> '30 Phillies --> Spud Davis, Chuck Klein, Tommy Thevenow
      III) Thevenow --> '38 Pirates
      III) Davis --> '45 Pirates
      III) Klein --> '44 Blue Jays

The '46 Phillies are a connected team, so I know this will be a success. Tommy Thevenow is also a successful link, but not an option since he required 5 degrees on his own. I have one branch that gets me to 1947, so I'll use that one.

      III) Ruffing --> '47 White Sox --> Dave Philley
              IV) Philley --> '62 Red Sox --> Carl Yastrzemski
                     V) Yastrzemski --> '83 Red Sox

This is a case where taking the longest lasting player probably hurt my chances. This far down the branch, I just don't have enough to make the jump. However, Philley played for the Orioles the two years before, making him a member of a Connected Team. If I use the '61 Orioles, I'll add 4 new teams to my table - that's good enough for me.

1. Tom Needham played for the 1914 Chicago Cubs with Bubbles Hargrave.
2. Bubbles Hargrave played for the 1930 New York Yankees with Red Ruffing.
3. Red Ruffing played for the 1947 Chicago White Sox with Dave Philley.
4. Dave Philley played for the 1961 Baltimore Orioles with Brooks Robinson.
5. Brooks Robinson played for the 1977 Baltimore Orioles with Dennis Martinez.
6. Dennis Martinez played for the 1993 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 6

#44: Jim Paciorek

Jim Paciorek

I) Jim Paciorek --> '87 Brewers

There's not a whole lot to choose from here. I recognize a few names that were at one time Red Sox, so I'll try that route first.

I) Jim Paciorek --> '87 Brewers --> Ernie Riles, Rob Deer
    II) Riles/Deer --> '93 Red Sox

Nope, they fell one year short of joining Stairs with the Red Sox. I guess I'll have to click through the Brewers roster and see if I can find anything.

I) Jim Paciorek --> '87 Brewers --> Rick Manning, Dale Sveum
    II) Manning --> '75 Indians
    II) Sveum --> '93 Athletics

Manning was on a connected team, while Sveum played for Oakland the year before Stairs joined. I'll go with Manning here.

1. Jim Paciorek played for the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers with Rick Manning.
2. Rick Manning played for the 1975 Cleveland Indians with Rick Cerone.
3. Rick Cerone played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 3

#43: Ron Swoboda

Ron Swoboda

I) Ron Swoboda --> '71 Expos
I) Ron Swoboda --> '73 Yankees

If I took the half season he played with the Expos, I'm pretty sure I can get to Gary Carter. I'm going to take the Yankees branch and see if I can add a few 80's teams.

I) Ron Swoboda --> '73 Yankees --> Graig Nettles, Rick Dempsey

II) Nettles --> '88 Expos
II) Dempsey --> '86 Orioles

Both of these guys played with Dennis Martinez. It's a no lose situation here.

1. Ron Swoboda played for the 1973 New York Yankees with Rick Dempsey.
2. Rick Dempsey played for the 1986 Baltimore Orioles with Dennis Martinez.
3. Dennis Martinez played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 3

#42: Charlie Chant

Charlie Chant

I) Charlie Chant --> '75 Athletics
I) Charlie Chant --> '76 Cardinals

There really isn't any benefit of picking one over the other. Looking at the teams, there are some players I know I can connect. Ray Fosse played for the Athletics that year, so I know I can connect via him. Keith Hernandez played with Gary Carter on the Mets. I don't think I can do any better than those two, which will allow me to connect within 3 degrees. I'll go with the Cardinals here, since it'll allow me to add an 80's Mets team.

1. Charlie Chant played for the 1976 St. Louis Cardinals with Keith Hernandez.
2. Keith Hernandez played for the 1985 New York Mets with Gary Carter.
3. Gary Carter played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 3