Six degrees of separation for every player in every sport

Over at Slate, there’s a traffic-generating machine that goes by the name of “Six Degrees of Kevin Garnett”. Enter in two players, and see how many players it takes to link them as teammates. For example, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays.

BABE RUTH played on the 1925 New York Yankees with ...
Leo Durocher, who played on the 1945 Brooklyn Dodgers with ...
Eddie Stanky, who played on the 1951 New York Giants with ...
WILLIE MAYS

Cool. But Baseball-Reference.com has had something like this for years. What’s the big deal?

This one is for players for every sport.

WILT CHAMBERLAIN played on the 1964-65 San Francisco Warriors with ...
Cotton Nash, who played on the 1969 Minnesota Twins with ...
Rick Dempsey, who played on the 1990 Los Angeles Dodgers with ...
Dave Hansen, who played on the 2005 Seattle Mariners with ...
YUNIESKY BETANCOURT

Good god. Wait, is Jim Thorpe closer to Brad Penny as a baseball player or a football player?

JIM THORPE (FOOTBALL) played on the 1928 Chicago Cardinals with ...
Clem Neacy, who played on the 1927 Chicago Bears with ...
George Halas, who played on the 1919 New York Yankees with ...
Jack Quinn, who played on the 1933 Cincinnati Reds with ...
Si Johnson, who played on the 1946 Boston Braves with ...
Warren Spahn, who played on the 1964 Milwaukee Braves with ...
Phil Niekro, who played on the 1987 Toronto Blue Jays with ...
David Wells, who played on the 2007 Los Angeles Dodgers with ...
BRAD PENNY

JIM THORPE (BASEBALL) played on the 1913 New York Giants with ...
Heinie Groh, who played on the 1927 Pittsburgh Pirates with ...
Paul Waner, who played on the 1942 Boston Braves with ...
Warren Spahn, who played on the 1964 Milwaukee Braves with ...
Phil Niekro, who played on the 1987 Toronto Blue Jays with ...
David Wells, who played on the 2007 Los Angeles Dodgers with ...
BRAD PENNY

WAIT WAIT WHAT ABOUT KAREEM AND BO JACKSON?

KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR played on the 1981-82 Los Angeles Lakers with ...
Kurt Rambis, who played on the 1992-93 Phoenix Suns with ...
Danny Ainge, who played on the 1979 Toronto Blue Jays with ...
Dave Stieb, who played on the 1993 Chicago White Sox with ...
Bo Jackson, who played on the 1987 Los Angeles Raiders with ...
BO JACKSONWhoa.

Anyway, this thing will suck hours of your life if you let it. So let it. Your kids will remember you either way, even if they have to get their dinner for one lousy night.