I’ve added the Immaculate Grid from Baseball Reference to my daily puzzle routine. The Grid joins Wordle, the Mini Crossword, and Connections from the New York Times as part of the morning routine I use to jump-start my brain for the day.

The Grid challenges baseball fans to fill nine squares in a table based on criteria displayed on the x and y axes. In most cases the information called for is the names of players who played for each of the teams whose logos intersect at the vertical and horizontal axes. For example, in the pictured Grid, the top, left square calls for a player who played at least one game for both the Astros and the Rangers.

As you can see from the photo, some squares ask for players who achieved a specific milestone while with a certain team.

Once you make a correct selection, the Grid fills the square with a picture of the selected player and also lets you know the percentage of participants who also selected that player. Once all nine squares are filled, the Grid spits out a score, which is the total of the percentages you achieved in the nine squares. The goal is to have the lowest score you can get.

Taking all that into account, I have developed some strategies to not only fill the squares with correct answers but also to tab the most obscure players I can think of. Remembering my early baseball card collection is helpful. While having multiple Len Gabrielson cards was annoying at the time, recalling him as a Brave, a Cub, a Giant, an Angel, and a Dodger comes in handy. My old Strat-O-Matic game helps in a similar way, especially for players who had two cards issued in the same set because they played for multiple teams during the same season.

I also try to recall players from my youth who were traded repeatedly. Tommy Davis is one of my most frequent selections. After Davis left the Dodgers, he had brief stints with the Mets, White Sox, Pilots, Astros, Cubs, Athletics, Orioles, Angels, and Royals. Journeymen Tito Francona and Alex Johnson are also good selections.

Remembering details of trades is helpful, especially if you can recall the secondary players involved. For instance, the Braves traded Darrell Evans to the Giants for Willie Montañez, but they also included Marty Perez in the deal and received Craig Robinson along with Montañez. Perez or Robinson are much more obscure selections than either Evans or Montañez.

When considering a player from a certain team, you can pick from the entire history of the franchise. When the Grid calls for a player from the Nationals, I try to recall early players from the Expos. I do the same with the Rangers and the Senators, but I have to be careful not to confuse the Senators who became the Rangers with the Senators who became the Twins.

If the Grid calls for a player who won a Gold Glove, I try to go with a pitcher when I can (Bob Gibson, Jim Kaat, Phil Niekro, etc.) figuring most people will select a position player.

The last four expansion teams–the Marlins, Rockies, Diamondbacks, and Rays–give me the most trouble.

You must complete the Grid in nine guesses, and each blank square adds 100 points to your final score. The lowest score I have obtained so far is 2 on Grid #106 (pictured above) on July 17, but I usually land somewhere around 45.

The Immaculate Grid is both a puzzle and a trip down memory lane, and that’s a winning combination.