This MLB puzzle ran on Nov 4, 2026. The task was to connect Jeff Bagwell to Adam Wainwright with a chain of real players. The objective: “Your chain must include a player with a 40+ save season.” Par was 3 links.
Jeff Bagwell (1B) played in the MLB from 1991 to 2005. A one-team career, spent with the Astros (1991 to 2005). Honors in the dataset: MVP and Rookie of the Year. 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.
Adam Wainwright (SP) played in the MLB from 2005 to 2023. A one-team career, spent with the Cardinals (2005 to 2023). 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.
Jeff Bagwell and Adam Wainwright 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, 91 satisfy it. The best known are Mariano Rivera (RP, 1995 to 2013), John Smoltz (SP, 1988 to 2009), Dennis Eckersley (RP, 1975 to 1998), Bruce Sutter (RP, 1976 to 1988), Trevor Hoffman (RP, 1993 to 2010), and Craig Kimbrel (RP, 2010 to 2026).
12 of those players share a team or college with Jeff Bagwell, and 17 share one with Adam Wainwright. The Start is the tighter side, so working forward from Jeff Bagwell narrows the options fastest.
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.