#104: Rick Vanden Hurk

Rick Vanden Hurk

An active player - it didn't take long to find a teammate who played with Matt Stairs.

1. Rick Vanden Hurk plays for the 2010 Baltimore Orioles with Miguel Tejada.
2. Miguel Tejada plays for the 2010 San Diego Padres with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 2

Fun Fact: Technically Vanden Hurk never played with Tejada. Baltimore traded Tejada to San Diego a few days before they acquired Vanden Hurk. Although my goal is to find teammates who played together, I don't go so far into detail that I look for them to have actually played a game together either. If anyone cares to nit-pick, Corey Patterson could have been used too.

#103: Lee Maye

Lee Maye

Lee Maye moved around a bit in his 13 seasons. Looking at his career, I see one team that we've listed before:

I) Lee Maye --> '65 Astros

Easy connection there. However, in an attempt to grow my lists, I'll try his last year in the majors.

I) Lee Maye --> '71 White Sox --> Ed Hermann, Pat Kelly, Tony Muser, Tommy John

II) Hermann --> '78 Expos --> Gary Carter
II) John --> '87 Yankees --> Rick Cerone
II) Kelly --> '80 Orioles --> Dennis Martinez
II) Muser --> '77 Orioles --> Dennis Martinez

I can add a new team if I go with Muser or Herman. No real reason to pick one over the other, so Hermann gets the nod.

1. Lee Maye played for the 1971 Chicago White Sox with Ed Hermann.
2. Ed Hermann played for the 1978 Montreal Expos with Gary Carter.
3. Gary Carter played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 3

#102: Kelvim Escobar

Kelvim Escobar

Relatively current players are easy.

I) Kelvim Escobar --> 2009 Angels --> Gary Matthews Jr.

II) Matthews --> 2001 Cubs
II) Matthews --> 2006 Rangers

Gary Matthews played with Matt Stairs on 2 separate occasions. I don't have the Rangers team yet so I'll go with that.

1. Kelvim Escobar played for the 2009 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim with Gary Matthews Jr.
2. Gary Matthews Jr. played for the 2006 Texas Rangers with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 2

#101: Harry Kirsch

Harry Kirsch

I) Harry Kirsch --> '10 Cleveland Naps

The 1911 team is on my list, so there's a good chance I can do this. Unfortunately, the connecting player I used then (Steve O'Neill) didn't play for the '10 Naps.

I) Harry Kirsch --> '10 Cleveland Naps --> Roger Peckinpaugh

II) Peckinpaugh --> '27 White Sox --> Ted Lyons
      III) Lyons --> '46 White Sox --> Dave Philley

Dave Philley is one of my previously Connected Players. I got this.

1. Harry Kirsch played for the 1910 Cleveland Naps with Roger Peckinpaugh.
2. Roger Peckinpaugh played for the 1927 Chicago White Sox with Ted Lyons.
3. Ted Lyons played for the 1946 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

100 Players - The Stats

Now that I have officially reached 100 players, I thought it would be fun to look at some random stats about the blog and what I've done so far.

Lifetime Record: 91-9 (91% success rate)

Degrees

Breakdown:
1 Degree: 7
2 Degrees: 30
3 Degrees: 20
4 Degrees: 10
5 Degrees: 11
6 Degrees: 13
7+ Degrees: 9

Average Number of Degrees (Successes only): 3.29 degrees


Teams:

Total Connected Teams Listed: 168

By decade:
1910's - 10
1920's - 11
1930's - 13
1940's - 11
1950's - 19
1960's - 13
1970's - 26
1980's - 19
1990's - 19
2000's - 24
2010 - 3

Top 10 (Really 12) Teams, By Appearance:
1. Expos (52)
2T. Orioles (20)
2T. Athletics (20)
4T. Cubs (11)
4T. Indians (11)
4T. Red Sox (11)
7. Phillies (10)
8T. White Sox (9)
8T. Yankees (9)
10T. Braves (8)
10T. Dodgers (8)
10T. Giants (8)

I'm not surprised in the least that the Expos are first by a large margin - connecting older players through my "Big 3" to Stair's rookie year is one of my primary strategies. I'm also not surprised by the Athletics, since Matt Stairs played in Oakland for a good while. The Orioles, on the other hand...I guess Dennis Martinez plays a bigger role than I realized.

Players:

Total Connecting Players Used: 199

Hall of Fame Players Used: 28

Hall of Fame Players Connected: 3

In case anyone is wondering how I was able to get these numbers, I am pleased to finally publish my Connected Players page!

If I keep up with this to get to 200, it'll be interesting to see how the stats change.

#100: Don Miles

Don Miles

My 100th player!

I) Don Miles --> '58 Dodgers --> Ron Fairly

II) Fairly --> '74 Expos --> Gary Carter
II) Fairly --> '77 Blue Jays --> Rick Cerone

Fairly played with two of my "Big 3" guys - Once again, I have to give the edge to the Hall of Famer.

1. Don Miles played for the 1958 Los Angeles Dodgers with Ron Fairly.
2. Ron Fairly played for the 1974 Montreal Expos with Gary Carter.
3. Gary Carter played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 3

#99: Lu Blue

Lu Blue

What a great name!

I) Lu Blu --> '33 Brooklyn Dodgers --> Dutch Leonard

Dutch has helped us before, so this is an easy link.

1. Lu Blue played for the 1933 Brooklyn Dodgers with Dutch Leonard.
2. Dutch Leonard played for the 1953 Chicago Cubs with Ernie Banks.
3. Ernie Banks played for the 1971 Chicago Cubs with Earl Stephenson.
4. Earl Stephenson played for the 1978 Baltimore Orioles with Dennis Martinez.
5. Dennis Mrtinez played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 5

#98: Jim McAndrew

Jim McAndrew

I) Jim McAndrew --> '74 Padres --> Bill Almond, Nate Colbert, Dave Freisleben, John Scott, Derrel Thomas, Dave Tomlin, Dave Winfield

II) Almond --> '87 Mets --> Gary Carter
II) Colbert --> '75 Expos --> Gary Carter
II) Freisleben --> '79 Blue Jays --> Rick Cerone
II) Scott --> '77 Blue Jays --> Rick Cerone
II) Thomas --> '84 Expos --> Gary Carter
II) Tomlin --> '82 Expos --> Gary Carter
II) Winfield --> '84 Yankees --> Rick Cerone

A lot of choices here. I have to go with Winfield here.

1. Jim McAndrew played for the 1974 San Diego Padres with Dave Winfield.
2. Dave Winfield played for the 1984 New York Yankees with Rick Cerone.
3. Rick Cerone played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 3

#97: Michael Smith

Michael Smith

Michael Smith played for 2 teams - the Blue Jays and the Twins. Since Stairs played for the Blue Jays, I'll bet I can easily find someone who played for Toronto in 2002 and 2007.

I) Michael Smith --> 2002 Blue Jays --> Vernon Wells, Roy Halliday, Jayson Werth, Felix Heredia

II) Wells --> 2007 Blue Jays
II) Halliday --> 2007 Blue Jays
II) Werth --> 2009 Phillies
II) Heredia --> 2001 Cubs

Quite a few choices here. I'll go with the future Hall of Famer here.

1) Michael Smith played for the 2002 Toronto Blue Jays with Roy Halladay.
2) Roy Halladay played for the 2007 Toronto Blue Jays with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 2

#96: Gus Getz

Gus Getz

I) Gus Getz --> '18 Indians
I) Gus Getz --> '18 Pirates

Two teams to go with here. I'll try both and see where I get the farthest.

I) Gus Getz --> '18 Indians --> Steve O'Neill, Tris Speaker, Stan Coveleski, Eddie Onslow

II) O'Neill --> '28 St. Louis Browns
II) Speaker --> '28 Philadelphia Athletics
II) Coveleski --> '28 Yankees
II) Onslow --> '27 Washington Senators

O'Neill and Speaker have appeared on this blog before, so I know I have a complete chain. I'll try the Pirates group just to see if anyone pops up that I may want to try.

I) Gus Getz --> '18 Pirates --> Carmen Hill, Hal Carlson, Billy Southworth, Max Carey

II) Hill --> '30 Cardinals
II) Carlson --> '30 Cubs
II) Southworth --> '29 Cardinals
II) Carey --> '29 Brooklyn Robins

Carey and the '29 Robins are also returning links. For the sake of fun and expanding my list of teams, I'll go with Carlson and those lovable Cubs.

II) Carlson --> '30 Cubs --> Guy Bush, Lon Warneke
      III) Bush --> '45 Reds
      III) Warneke --> '45 Cubs

Two more branches here. I guess I'll just have to see who takes me the farthest.

      III) Bush --> '45 Reds --> Herm Wehmeier, Hank Sauer
              IV) Wehmeier --> '58 Cardinals
              IV) Wehmeier --> '58 Tigers
              IV) Sauer --> '59 Giants

      III) Warneke --> '45 Cubs --> Andy Pafko
              IV) Pafko --> '59 Milwaukee Braves

Still no clear-cut choices. Let's just keep going...

      III) Warneke --> '45 Cubs --> Andy Pafko
              IV) Pafko --> '59 Milwaukee Braves --> Hank Aaron
                     V) Aaron - '76 Brewers

Nope.

      III) Bush --> '45 Reds --> Hank Sauer
              IV) Sauer --> '59 Giants --> Willie MCovey, Orlando Cepeda, Felipe Alou
                     V) McCovey --> '80 Giants
                     V) Cepeda --> '74 Royals
                     V) Alou --> '73 Expos
                     V) Alou --> '74 Brewers

Very close here. If Alou had played for the Expos the following year, I could have made a connection.

      III) Bush --> '45 Reds --> Herm Wehmeier
              IV) Wehmeier --> '58 Cardinals --> Lindy McDaniel
                     V) McDaniel --> '75 Royals

Nada.

      III) Bush --> '45 Reds --> Herm Wehmeier
              IV) Wehmeier --> '58 Tigers --> Al Kaline

Another dead end. Kaline helped us before, but we're too far down the chain to squeeze into 6 degrees. Fortunately, I established a couple links early on in the posts, so I can still make it to 6.

1. Gus Getz played for the 1918 Cleveland Indians with Steve O'Neill.
2. Steve O'Neill played for the 1928 St. Louis Browns with Red Kress.
3. Red Kress played for the 1946 New York Giants with Bobby Thompson.
4. Bobby Thompson played for the 1960 Baltimore Orioles with Brooks Robinson.
5. Brooks Robinson 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

Matt Stairs on Yahoo!

I just wanted to pass along a link that was on Yahoo! sports this weekend. It's a rather amusing Q&A with Matt Stairs.

Answer Man: Matt Stairs talks Canadian beer, food and dieting

#95: Dave Robinson

Dave Robinson

I) Dave Robinson --> '71 Padres --> Bill Laxton, Clay Kirby, Fred Norman, Fred Kendall, Nate Colbert, Leron Lee

All of these players played for one of my "Big 3".

II) Colbert --> '75-'76 Expos --> Gary Carter
II) Kendall --> '77 Indians --> Rick Cerone
II) Kirby --> '76 Expos --> Gary Carter
II) Laxton --> '77 Indians --> Rick Cerone
II) Lee --> '75 Indians --> Rick Cerone
II) Norman --> '80 Expos --> Gary Carter

Fred Norman is a good choice here, because I've used him before and he played 16 seasons with 7 different teams.

1. Dave Robinson played for the 1971 San Diego Padres with Fred Norman.
2. Fred Norman played for the 1980 Montreal Expos with Gary Carter.
3. Gary Carter played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 3

#94: Tim Spehr

Tim Spehr

Another direct link - it seems I've been getting a lot of those lately.

1. Tim Spehr played for the 1993 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 1

#93: Dennis Martinez

Dennis Martinez

According to Baseball-Reference.com, there have been over 17,000 men who have played professional baseball. The statistical probability of randomly selecting one of my "Big 3" is so small I didn't think I'd ever get one - not this soon at the very least. Yet, here we are. Welcome to the club Dennis!

1. Dennis Martinez played for the 1992 Montreal Expos and the 1993 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 1

#92: Nate Kellogg

Nate Kellogg

Another 1800's player..I am not encouraged.

I) Nate Kellogg --> 1885 Detroit Wolverines --> Deacon McGuire

Hmmm...better team name: Tigers or Wolverines? Close call.

II) McGuire --> '12 Tigers --> Charlie O'Leary
      III) O'Leary --> '34 St. Louis Browns

Charlie O'Leary stopped playing in 1913, then came back at the ripe age of 51 to get one more at bat. Amazing. I'm stopping here because the '34 Browns are on my connected teams list, and I would need 5 degrees to get to Stairs from that point.

Degrees of Matt Stairs: Over 6

#91: Sam McConnell

Sam McConnell

I) Sam McConnell --> '15 Athletics --> Herb Penock, Socks Seibold, Cy Perkins

II) Penock --> '34 Red Sox
II) Perkins --> '34 Tigers
II) Seibold --> '33 Braves

When in doubt, start with the Red Sox Hall of Famer!

II) Penock --> '34 Red Sox --> Bucky Walters
      III) Walters --> '50 Braves --> Warren Spahn, Dick Donovan, Del Crandall
              IV) Crandall --> '66 Indians
              IV) Donovan --> '65 Indians
              IV) Spahn --> '65 Mets
              IV) Spahn --> '65 Giants

I've used both Spahn and Crandall before, so I've got my chain.

1. Sam McConnell played for the 1915 Philadelphia Athletics with Herb Penock.
2. Herb Penock played for the 1934 Boston Red Sox with Bucky Walters.
3. Bucky Walters played for the 1950 Boston Braves with Warren Spahn.
4. Warren Spahn played for the 1965 New York Mets with Ron Hunt.
5. Ron Hunt played for the 1974 Montreal Expos with Gary Carter.
6. Gary Carter played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 6

#90: Bob Chipman

Bob Chipman

Bob Chipman last played for the Boston Braves in 1952. I already have the '50 and '51 Braves teams on my list, so this should be easy.

I) Bob Chipman --> '52 Braves --> Lew Burdette, Eddie Matthews

Burdette was the connecting player on my '51 Braves team, so I know that's a go. We'll see where Matthews takes us.

II) Matthews --> '68 Tigers --> Pat Dobson, Willie Horton, Jim Northrup
      III) Northrup --> '74 Expos
      III) Dobson --> '76 Indians
      III) Horton --> '78 Blue Jays

All three of these guys played with one of my Big 3. I already have the Expos and Indians teams on my list, so Horton's Blue Jays make the cut.

1. Bob Chipman played for the 1952 Boston Braves with Eddie Matthews.
2. Eddie Matthews played for the 1968 Detroit Tigers with Willie Horton.
3. Willie Horton played for the 1978 Toronto Blue Jays with Rick Cerone.
4. Rick Cerone played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 4