Archive for 2/4/2009 - 10 Shevat, 5769

I asked the Baseball Oracle to connect Hornsby with McGwire, this is what it spit back:

�� Rogers Hornsby played with Pat Malone for the 1929 Chicago Cubs
�� Pat Malone played with Phil Cavarretta for the 1934 Chicago Cubs
�� Phil Cavarretta played with Minnie Minoso for the 1955 Chicago White Sox
�� Minnie Minoso played with Rich Gossage for the 1976 Chicago White Sox
�� Rich Gossage played with Mark McGwire for the 1992 Oakland Athletics

This depressed me, so I asked for it to try again, and they offered:

�� Rogers Hornsby played with Freddie Lindstrom for the 1927 New York Giants
�� Freddie Lindstrom played with Phil Cavarretta for the 1935 Chicago Cubs
�� Phil Cavarretta played with Minnie Minoso for the 1954 Chicago White Sox
�� Minnie Minoso played with Rich Gossage for the 1976 Chicago White Sox
�� Rich Gossage played with Mark McGwire for the 1992 Oakland Athletics

I wanted to cry. I hit reload.

�� Rogers Hornsby played with Sam West for the 1933 St. Louis Browns
�� Sam West played with Early Wynn for the 1939 Washington Senators
�� Early Wynn played with Minnie Minoso for the 1949 Cleveland Indians
�� Minnie Minoso played with Harold Baines for the 1980 Chicago White Sox
�� Harold Baines played with Mark McGwire for the 1992 Oakland Athletics

This was slightly better. But I wasn’t satisfied with the Browns, so I pressed reload one more time:

�� Rogers Hornsby played with Chick Hafey for the 1926 St. Louis Cardinals
�� Chick Hafey played with Eddie Joost for the 1937 Cincinnati Reds
�� Eddie Joost played with Jim Pagliaroni for the 1955 Boston Red Sox
�� Jim Pagliaroni played with Reggie Jackson for the 1968 Oakland Athletics
�� Reggie Jackson played with Mark McGwire for the 1987 Oakland Athletics

I knew the odds were low I’d be able to get both of them in St. Louis, but a few clicks of the Reload button, and I did come up with:

�� Rogers Hornsby played with Estel Crabtree for the 1933 St. Louis Cardinals
�� Estel Crabtree played with Murry Dickson for the 1942 St. Louis Cardinals
�� Murry Dickson played with Ken Johnson for the 1958 Kansas City Athletics
�� Ken Johnson played with Dusty Baker for the 1968 Atlanta Braves
�� Dusty Baker played with Mark McGwire for the 1986 Oakland Athletics

This was the most satisfying chain I’ve discovered so far:

� Dizzy Dean played with Bill McGee for the 1935 St. Louis Cardinals
�� Bill McGee played with Stan Musial for the 1941 St. Louis Cardinals
�� Stan Musial played with Bob Gibson for the 1959 St. Louis Cardinals
�� Bob Gibson played with Bob Forsch for the 1974 St. Louis Cardinals

And interesting, because all the above were pitchers. (OK, Stan only pictched to one batter in one game, but that counts.)

Finally, this was the biggest surprise….I didn’t think it was going to be this short of a connection:

�� Whitey Herzog played with Ray Jablonski for the 1960 Kansas City Athletics
�� Ray Jablonski played with Red Schoendienst for the 1953 St. Louis Cardinals