This MLB puzzle ran on Oct 30, 2026. The task was to connect Kazuma Okamoto to Nico Hoerner with a chain of real players. The objective: “Your chain must include a player with 3,000+ career strikeouts.” Par was 4 links. A search of the full player pool found a shortest chain of 3 links.
Kazuma Okamoto (3B) played in the MLB from 2026. A one-team career, spent with the Blue Jays (2026). No college is on record for this player. 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.
Nico Hoerner (2B) played in the MLB from 2019 to 2026. A one-team career, spent with the Cubs (2019 to 2026). 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.
Kazuma Okamoto and Nico Hoerner 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, 19 satisfy it. The best known are Greg Maddux (SP, 1986 to 2008), John Smoltz (SP, 1988 to 2009), Steve Carlton (SP, 1965 to 1988), Tom Seaver (SP, 1967 to 1986), Randy Johnson (SP, 1988 to 2009), and Gaylord Perry (SP, 1962 to 1983).
3 of those players share a team or college with Kazuma Okamoto, and 2 share one with Nico Hoerner. The Finish is the tighter side, so it often pays to work backward from Nico Hoerner.
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.