#114: Ed Poole

Ed Poole

I haven't been able to connect anyone before 1910 so far, so the odds are against me here. Let's see what I do.

I) Ed Poole --> '04 Brooklyn Superbas --> Fred Jacklitsch

II) Jacklitsch --> '17 Boston Braves --> Rabbit Maranville
      III) Maranville --> '35 Boston Braves --> Ray Mueller
              IV) Mueller --> '51 Boston Braves

The chain ends here. I've already used Mueller in a chain, so I know where this is going to go. Unfortunately, I missed my mark.

Degrees of Matt Stairs: Over 6

#113: Mike Bell

Mike Bell

Mike Bell is a third generation baseball player. He's got one team to his name.

I) Mike Bell --> 2000 Reds --> Ken Griffey Jr., Norm Charlton

Two players I've already connected, but I going for a more direct link here.

I) Mike Bell --> 2000 Reds --> Benito Santiago, Sean Casey, Pokey Reese, Dmitri Young, Michael Tucker, Alex Ochoa, Manny Aybar, Scott Sullivan, Dennys Reyes

II) Casey/Young --> 2006 Detroit Tigers
II) Ochoa --> 2002 Milwaukee Brewers
II) Reese/Reyes --> 2003 Pittsburgh Pirates
II) Aybar/Tucker --> 2001 Chicago Cubs
II) Reyes/Santiago/Sullivan --> 2004 Kansas City Royals

Good grief! It's a Matt Stairs alumni reunion! So far I have yet to document Stair's time with the Brewers, so this makes picking a winner easy.

1. Mike Bell played for the 2000 Cincinati Reds with Alex Ochoa.
2. Alex Ochoa played for the 2002 Milwaukee Brewers with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 2

#112: Ron Taylor

Ron Taylor

Ron played for a team I've already connected ('65 Astros) and one that is a year after a team I connected ('72 Padres). Both will allow me to connect in 3 steps. Of course, I could go with some other team, but realistically, 3 degrees is the best I can hope for. We'll add a team with the Padres.

1. Ron Taylor played for the 1972 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

#111: Ed Farmer

Ed Farmer

There's a few different routes I can take here, but I'm feeling lazy. This is essentially the exact same chain as my last post.

1. Ed Farmer played for the 1974 Philadelphia Phillies with Dave Cash.
2. Dave Cash played for the 1977 Montreal Expos with Gary Carter.
3. Gary Carter played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 3

#110: Cy Acosta

Cy Acosta

Another pretty easy one. Although the '75 Phillies aren't on my Connected Teams list yet, the '76 Phillies are.

1. Cy Acosta played for the 1975 Philadelphia Phillies with Dave Cash.
2. Dave Cash played for the 1977 Montreal Expos with Gary Carter.
3. Gary Carter played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 3

#109: Rick Burleson

Rick Burleson

Yeeaaahhhh, I've come to link the Rooster! Oh Yeah!

Now that I've gotten the Alice In Chains reference out of the way, I'm excited to have a former Red Sox All-Star here. I have a few of his baseball cards. Looking at his carreer, it ended in 1987 with the Orioles. However, Dennis Martinez wasn't with the Orioles then, so I'll have to use one of his other teams. Hmmm...who to use?

I) Rick Burleson --> '80 Red Sox --> Tony Perez, Fred Lynn, Jim Dwyer, Jack Brohamer, Stan Papi, Dennis Eckersley, Steve Renko, Bob Ojeda, Mike Torrez

II) Brohamer --> '75 Indians
II) Dwyer/Lynn --> '85 Orioles
II) Eckersey --> '98 Red Sox
II) Ojeda --> '86 Mets
II) Papi/Perez --> '78 Expos
II) Renko --> '75 Expos
II) Torrez --> '74 Expos

Quite a few choices here. However, I'm going with the Eck, since he'll allow me to make a chain with just Red Sox teams and he's a Hall of Famer.

1. Rick Burleson played for the 1980 Boston Red Sox with Dennis Eckersley.
2. Dennis Eckersley played for the 1998 Boston Red Sox with Tim Wakefield.
3. Tim Wakefield played for the 1995 Boston Red Sox with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 3

#108: Tim Blackwell

Tim Blackwell

This guy played for the Expos, making this a real easy one.

1. Tim Blackwell played for the 1983 Montreal Expos with Gary Carter.
2. Gary Carter played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs.

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 2

#107: Danny Young

Danny Young

This guy played on the Cubs the year before Stairs did. If I throw dart at the team roster, I'll likely hit my connecting player. I've used a couple of these guys before, so we'll keep it simple.

1. Danny Young played for the 2000 Chicago Cubs with Corey Patterson.
2. Corey Patterson played for the 2001 Chicago Cubs with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 2

#106: Josh Sharpless

Josh Sharpless

This guy only played for a couple years, but he played for a team a few years after Stairs was there.

I) Josh Sharpless --> 2006 Pirates --> Jack Wilson, Jason Bay, Craig Wilson, Joe Randa, Jose Hernandez, Humberto Cota, Oliver Perez, Kip Wells, Salomon Torres, Ryan Vogelsong, John Grabow, Mike Gonzalez, Jonah Bayliss

II) Bay --> 2003 Pirates
II) Bayliss --> 2005 Royals
II) Cota --> 2003 Pirates
II) Gonzalez --> 2003 Pirates
II) Grabow --> 2003 Pirates
II) Hernandez --> 2003 Pirates
II) Perez --> 2003 Pirates
II) Randa --> 2004 Royals
II) Torres --> 2003 Pirates
II) Vogelsong --> 2003 Pirates
II) Wells --> 2003 Pirates
II) C. Wilson --> 2003 Pirates
II) J. Wilson --> 2003 Pirates

Yeah, I think I can make this link, don't you? Even picking who gets the honor of completing my link is easy. I'm picking the one team not on my list yet.

1. Josh Sharpless played for the 2006 Pittsburgh Pirates with Jonah Bayliss.
2. Jonah Bayliss played for the 2005 Kansas City Royals with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 2

#105: Harry Huston

Harry Huston

This will be a tough one.

I) Harry Huston --> '06 Phillies --> Mickey Doolan, Sherry Magee

II) Doolan --> '18 Brooklyn Robins
II) Magee --> '19 Reds

Not a good start. I was hoping to catch a 20-year veteran, maybe get midway through the 1920's. Well, let's see where the tides take us.

II) Magee --> '19 Reds --> Dolf Luque
      III) Luque --> '35 New York Giants --> Harry Gumbert
              IV) Gumbert --> '50 Pirates --> Vern Law
                     V) Law --> '67 Pirates

Dead end - I'm not surprised.

II) Doolan --> '18 Brooklyn Robins --> Burleigh Grimes
      III) Grimes --> '34 Cardinals
      III) Grimes --> '34 Yankees
      III) Grimes --> '34 Pirates

I remember Burleigh Grimes. Not in real life, but from a previous post. No sense following this path any more.

Degrees of Matt Stairs: Over 6