Immaculate Grid is the MLB guessing game that’s sweeping seamhead nation, with the daily Baseball Reference-powered puzzle providing us with one giant, “hey, let’s remember some baseball guys” moment as we chase lower “rarity scores.”
With that in mind: If you’re doing the quiz daily, it probably means you could use some help to get all nine guesses right for an immaculate grid. So we’re giving you a list of some players you should memorize to help you with that ever-elusive victory. This is a combo of players who have been on a ton of teams and some who have some of the statistical achievements that are involved:
1
Jim Thome
A VERY important player: He played for Cleveland, the Phillies, White Sox, Twins, Dodgers and Orioles … AND he hit 612 home runs.
2
Edwin Jackson
Seventeen years, 14 teams for the hurler: Dodgers, Rays, Tigers, Diamondbacks, White Sox, Cardinals, Nationals, Cubs, Braves, Marlins, Padres, Orioles, A’s and Blue Jays. Whew.
3
Bartolo Colon
Completely forgot that he won a Cy Young until recently. But he also pitched for the Guardians, Angels, Mets, A’s, White Sox, Twins, Braves, Rangers, Yankees … and the Expos (they count fo Nationals!).
4
Rickey Henderson
A great name to remember: A Hall of Famer, MVP, World Series champ, steals king, and 3,000 hits player who played for the A’s, Yankees, Padres, Mets, Red Sox, Dodgers, Angels, Mariners and Blue Jays.
5
Octavio Dotel
Remember him? The pitcher was with the Mets, Tigers, Astros, A’s, Tigers, White Sox, Royals, Rockies, Pirates, Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers, Yankees and Blue Jays.
6
Frank Robinson
Checks a lot of boxes: Hall of Famer, MVP, Rookie of the Year, All-Star aplenty, World Series winner (with an MVP!) and he played for the Reds, Orioles, Guardians, Angels and Dodgers. Oh and he’s a 500-HR club guy.
7
Nelson Cruz
He’s played for eight teams — the Brewers, Rangers, Orioles, Mariners, Twins, Rays, Nationals and Padres — and has a bunch of the stats to use — 40-plus home runs, a Sliver Slugger, a .300 season and so on.
8
Manny Ramirez
A 500-home run guy with stops in Cleveland, Boston, the Dodgers, Rays and White Sox. Also: A bunch of Silver Sluggers, a batting title and a World Series MVP.
9
Jamie Moyer
I’ve used him a bunch — he was an All-Star and won 20 games. But he was also with the Cubs, Rangers, Cardinals, Orioles, Red Sox, Mariners, Phillies and Rockies.
