## data.search_player()


Substring-match player names against cached MLB rosters.


Usage


``` python
data.search_player(
    query,
    seasons_back=3,
)
```


Returns up to 50 matches with columns `playerID`, `fullName`, `debutYear`, `finalYear`. `finalYear` is `"Active"` for currently-active players, otherwise the most recent season the player was found on a roster (a proxy for their final season).

Walks rosters from the current season back through `seasons_back` prior seasons, returning on the first season that yields matches. Default `seasons_back=3` gives fast typeahead for active and recently-retired players; pass a larger value for a deeper lookup (e.g. `29` to cover ~30 years of retirees).