#123: Sparky Anderson

Sparky Anderson

Paying tribute to Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson, who passed away yesterday.

I) Sparky Anderson --> '59 Phillies --> Chris Short

II) Short --> '73 Brewers --> Pedro Garcia, Tim Johnson
      III) Garcia --> '77 Blue Jays
      III) Johnson --> '79 Blue Jays

1. Sparky Anderson played for the 1959 Philadelphia Phillies with Chris Short.
2. Chris Short played for the 1973 Milwaukee Brewers with Tim Johnson.
3. Tim Johnson played for the 1979 Toronto Blue Jays with Rick Cerone.
4. Rick Cerone played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 4

Rest in peace, Sparky.

#122: John Doherty

John Doherty

John Doherty --> '96 Red Sox

Another case of missing Stairs by a year. Most of these players played with Stairs the year before, so I can pick and choose as I see fit. Although I can go with someone I've already used (Wakefield), I'm going to honor a favorite player from that team.

1. John Doherty played for the 1996 Boston Red Sox with Mike Greenwell.
2. Mike Greenwell played for the 1995 Boston Red Sox with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 2

#121: Jack Cressend

Jack Cressend

I) Jack Cressend --> 2004 Indians --> Tim Laker, John McDonald, Ryan Ludwick, Ernie Young, Cliff Lee, Chad Durbin

II) Durbin --> 2006 Tigers
II) Laker --> '93 Expos
II) Lee - 2009 Phillies
II) Ludwick --> 2010 Padres
II) McDonald --> 2007 Blue Jays
II) Young --> '97 Athletics

Of this list, there's only 1 team I haven't used yet.

1. Jack Cressend played for the 2004 Cleveland Indians with Ernie Young.
2. Ernie Young played for the 1997 Oakland Athletics with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 2

Congrats to the Giants!

Congratulations to the 2010 World Series Champions San Francisco Giants! When the playoff started, I thought I'd do a special chain on whoever the World Series MVP ended up being. I must have ESP (or at least ESPN) because I already connected Edgar Rentaria in August.

As for the Texas Rangers, congrats on a fantastic year and thank you for knocking out the Yankees!

#120: Halloween Edition - Candy Maldonado

Candy Maldonado

I figured I'd make a lame attempt at humor and do a Halloween themed post. I searched a few different Halloween words on baseball-reference.com, and this was one of the better results I got.

I) Candy Maldonado --> '95 Blue Jays
I) Candy Maldonado --> '95 Rangers

Candy ended his career with two team, both of which Stairs played with. I'll take a look and see if any names stick out.

I) Candy Maldonado --> '95 Rangers --> Ivan Rodriguez

Technically, I've never used Pudge Rodriguez before. However, he was one of the names I found when I made my potential Hall of Famers list in July.

1. Candy Maldonado played for the 1995 Texas Rangers with Ivan Rodriguez.
2. Ivan Rodriguez played for the 2006 Detroit Tigers with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 2

#119: Art Reinholz

Art Reinholz

2 games in 1928 - not the briefest baseball career we've seen, but still pretty brief.

I) Art Reinholz --> '28 Indians --> Mel Harder

II) Harder --> '47 Indians

I have the '47 Indians team already, so I have my chain.

1. Art Reinholz played for the 1928 Cleveland Indians with Mel Harder.
2. Mel Harder played for the 1947 Cleveland Indians with Jim Heagan.
3. Jim Heagan played on the 1960 Chicago Cubs with Tony Taylor.
4. Tony Taylor played on the 1976 Philadelphia Phillies with Dave Cash.
5. Dave Cash played on the 1977 Montreal Expos with HoF Gary Carter.
6. Gary Carter played on the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 6

#118: Ben Dyer

Ben Dyer

How funny, my last post compiled a list of absent years on my Connected Teams table, and now for I get to hopefully cross another year off that list.

I) Ben Dyer --> '19 Tigers --> Harry Heilmann

II) Heilmann --> '32 Reds --> Ernie Lombardi, Si Johnson

I don't have any 1932 teams either!

      III) Lombardi --> '47 New York Giants
      III) Johnson --> '47 Boston Braves

I have the '47 Giants team already connected, so lets see where the '47 Braves can take us.

      III) Johnson --> '47 Boston Braves --> Warren Spahn

I've used Spahn before, so this is as far as I need to go!

1. Ben Dyer played for the 1919 Detroit Tigers with Harry Heilmann.
2. Harry Heilmann played for the 1932 Cincinati Reds with Si Johnson.
3. Si Johnson played for the 1947 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

#117: Elmer Riddle

Elmer Riddle

I) Elmer Riddle --> '49 Pirates --> Murry Dickson, Ed Fitz Gerald, Ted Beard

I'm going to go off on a tangent here for a moment. Whenever I start one of these, I check the player's teams to see if I've connected them before, especially their last year. I was a bit surprised that after all these posts, This will be my first team from 1949. It made me wonder how many other years I'm missing. I decided to check. From 1910 to present, the following years have no representation:

1912, 1916, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1925, 1931, 1932, 1935, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1948, 1949, 1955, 1956, 1981

1981 surprises me. I may have to target that one. The rest are from over 50 years ago, so I'm not surprised. Anyway, back to our chain.

II) Beard --> '58 White Sox
II) Dickson --> '59 Kansas City Athletics
II) Fitz Gerald --> '59 Washington Senators
II) Fitz Gerald --> '59 Indians

OK, The '59 Athletics are connected, so I know I can go there. I also have the '57 White Sox connected, so I'm sure I can follow that path as well. I'm going to try Fitz Gerald and see if I can get to Stairs quicker.

II) Fitz Gerald --> '59 Senators --> Jim Kaat
      III) Kaat --> '80 Yankees --> Rick Cerone

Easy enough.

1. Elmer Riddle played for the 1949 Pittsburgh Pirates with Ed Fitz Gerald.
2. Ed Fitz Gerald played for the 1959 Washington Senators with Jim Kaat.
3. Jim Kaat played for the 1980 New York Yankees with Rick Cerone.
4. Rick Cerone played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 4

#116: Chick King

Chick King

Chick split his last season between two teams, the Cubs and the Cardinals. Neither team is on my list of Connected Teams, although I do have the Cubs team from the following year. A quick look shows the same connecting player, Tony Taylor. We'll see where the Cardinals team takes us.

I) Chick King --> '59 Cardinals --> Tim McCarver

II) McCarver --> '80 Phillies --> Randy Lerch, Marty Bystrom, Del Unser, Pete Rose, Manny Trillo
      III) Bystrom --> '84 Yankees
      III) Lerch --> '82 Expos
      III) Rose ---> '84 Expos
      III) Trillo --> '83 Expos
      III) Unser ---> '78 Expos

Of these, the '84 Expos are the only team I don't have yet. This would get me to Stairs in 4 degrees, which would be equal if I used the Cubs team. I have my link.

1. Chick King played for the 1959 St. Louis Cardinals with Tim McCarver.
2. Tim McCarver played for the 1980 Philadelphia Phillies with Pete Rose.
3. Pete Rose played for the 1984 Montreal Expos with Gary Carter.
4. Gary Carter played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 4

#115: Ed Boland

Ed Boland

I) Ed Boland --> '44 Washington Senators --> Early Wynn

I've used Wynn before, so this is an easy link.

1. Ed Boland played for the 1944 Washington Senators with Early Wynn.
2. Early Wynn played for the 1963 Cleveland Indians with Jim Perry.
3. Jim Perry played for the 1975 Cleveland Indians with Rick Cerone.
4. Rick Cerone played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 4