This MLB puzzle ran on Oct 26, 2026. The task was to connect Ian Happ to Lyle Overbay with a chain of real players. The objective: “Your chain must include a player with a 300+ strikeout season.” Par was 4 links. A search of the full player pool found a shortest chain of 3 links.
Ian Happ (OF) played in the MLB from 2017 to 2026. A one-team career, spent with the Cubs (2017 to 2026). 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.
Lyle Overbay (1B) played in the MLB from 2001 to 2014. Career stops: the Diamondbacks (2001 to 2012), the Brewers (2004 to 2014), the Blue Jays (2006 to 2010), the Pirates (2011), the Braves (2012), and the Yankees (2013). 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.
Ian Happ and Lyle Overbay 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 stat milestone objective. At least one player in the chain has to have cleared the career or season mark named in the objective. Of the 11,807 players in the pool, 15 satisfy it. The best known are Steve Carlton (SP, 1965 to 1988), Randy Johnson (SP, 1988 to 2009), Pedro Martínez (SP, 1992 to 2009), Justin Verlander (SP, 2005 to 2026), Max Scherzer (SP, 2008 to 2026), and Clayton Kershaw (SP, 2008 to 2025).
0 of those players share a team or college with Ian Happ, and 6 share one with Lyle Overbay. With one side that thin, the route has to be built outward from the other end.
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.