Baseball fans: A fun teammates exercise (Cross-posted from the Lounge)
Take your favorite player within the past 20-30 years. Then connect him all the way back to Babe Ruth based solely upon shared teammates. (It has to be players on the roster itself, not managers who were once players. Also, you have to go chronologically backwards at all times. No back and forth.)
(Sort of a 6 degrees of Babe Ruth, so to speak. But if you can't manage within six steps, you're still okay. In fact, the more convoluted, the more interesting!)
Hint: Use https://www.baseball-reference.com/ to help. It has both individual players and team rosters by year. It's invaluable!
Here's what I've done so far:
1. Cal Ripken--was teammates with
2. Jim Palmer--who was teammates with
3. Luis Apparicio--who was teammates with
4. Nellie Fox--who was teammates with
5. Buddy Rosar--who was teammates with
6. Lou Gehrig--who was teammates with
7. Babe Ruth
1. Derek Jeter--who was teammates with
2. Mike Mussina--who was teammates with
3. Jesse Orosco--who was teammates with
4. Rick Dempsey--who was teammates with
5. Mel Stottlemeyer--who was teammates with
6. Mickey Mantle--who was teammates with
7. Joe DiMaggio--who was teammates with
8. Lou Gehrig--who was teammates with
9. Babe Ruth
1. Jacob DeGrom--who was teammates with
2. Bartolo Colon--who was teammates with
3. Julio Franco--who was teammates with
4. Pete Rose--who was teammates with
5. Bill Henry--who was teammates with
6. Al Benton--who was teammates with
7. Billy Rogell--who was teammates with
8. Jack Quinn--who was teammates with
9. Babe Ruth
1. Shohei Ohtani--who was teammates with
2. Ian Kinsler--who was teammates with
3. Phil Nevin--who was teammates with
4. Kirk Gibson--who was teammates with
5. Rusty Staub--who was teammates with
6. Pete Runnells--who was teammates with
7. Mike Guerra--who was teammates with
8. Jake Powell--who was teammates with
9. Frankie Crosetti--who was teammates with
10. Babe Ruth