This MLB puzzle ran on Oct 16, 2026. The task was to connect Chris Young to Torii Hunter with a chain of real players. The objective: “Your chain must include a player born in South Korea.” Par was 4 links. A search of the full player pool found a shortest chain of 2 links.
Chris Young (SP) played in the MLB from 2004 to 2017. Career stops: the Rangers (2004 to 2005), the Padres (2006 to 2010), the Mets (2011 to 2012), the Mariners (2014), and the Royals (2015 to 2017). As the Start of the chain, a household name like this gives you a lot of teammates to branch from, which makes it a friendly place to begin.
Torii Hunter (OF) played in the MLB from 1997 to 2015. Career stops: the Twins (1997 to 2015), the Angels (2008 to 2012), and the Tigers (2013 to 2014). As the Finish of the chain, a household name like this gives you a lot of teammates to branch from, which makes it a friendly place to begin.
Chris Young and Torii Hunter do not share a team or a college, so there is no direct link. You need at least one connector in between, and the objective decides which ones are allowed to count.
This was a birthplace objective. At least one player in the chain has to have been born in the named country. Of the 11,807 players in the pool, 32 satisfy it. The best known are Shin-Soo Choo (OF, 2005 to 2020), Chan Ho Park (SP, 1994 to 2010), Byung-Hyun Kim (RP, 1999 to 2007), Hyun Jin Ryu (SP, 2013 to 2023), Hyeseong Kim (SS, 2025 to 2026), and Ha-Seong Kim (SS, 2021 to 2026).
11 of those players share a team or college with Chris Young, and 4 share one with Torii Hunter. The Finish is the tighter side, so it often pays to work backward from Torii Hunter.
One shortest chain found by searching the full player pool, preferring the best known names at every step:
Many other chains work. Scoring rewards lower-profile connectors, so the best-known route is rarely the highest scoring one.
Want more? Browse the full MLB puzzle archive, read the strategy guides, or see how scoring works on How to Play.