Books and articles about Jack Bentley

In Game Five of the 1924 World Series, Bentley pitched the Giants to a 6-2 win over the Senators and hit a two-run homer off Walter Johnson. However, he lost Game Two 4-3 and dropped the finale in relief when Earl McNeely's double-play grounder hit a pebble and bounced over third baseman Fred Lindstrom's head in the 12th inning after two other fielding blunders.

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Bentley was an excellent hitter; while going 13-8 in 1923, his first year with the Giants, he hit .427 in 89 at-bats, including a league-leading 10 pinch hits in 20 pinch at-bats. He had been acquired after going 41-5 in three years with the Baltimore Orioles of the International League. Also playing in the outfield and at first base, he had hit .349 for Baltimore in 1922 and was considered "the next Babe Ruth." After going 16-5 in 1924, weight problems took their toll in 1925, as he went 11-9 with a 5.04 ERA, and he was traded to the Phillies. Playing first base in Philadelphia, he hit .258 in 75 games, pitching only eight times, and returned to the Giants near the end of the season. (SH)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » October 1, 1913: Jack Bentley makes his major league debut for Washington. shutting out the A's, 1–0 in eight innings. The good-hitting Bentley will win five games next year for the Nats, but will not win another in the majors until he resurfaces with the Giants in 1923 after going 41–3 for Baltimore (IL) in three seasons. » August 24, 1914: In the 2nd game of a twinbill at Washington, Detroit's Hooks Dauss and four Nats pitchers combine to plunk a record seven batters, a record that will remain unmatched until 1971. Hooks hits three while Jim Shaw, Jack Bentley, Harry Harper, and Jim Stevens hit four. The Tigers win 11–0. » October 30, 1922: The Giants pay $65,000 and 3 players to Baltimore for Jack Bentley, “another Babe Ruth.” Bentley hit .349 and was 13–1 as a pitcher in 1922 (41–5 since 1920). The 3 players are to be delivered by March 20, 1923, and if not satisfactory to Baltimore, the Giants will pay $2,500 per man instead. » October 14, 1923: In game 5, the Yankees score three in the first and four in the 2nd off Jack Bentley (13-8), and Joe Bush spins a 3-hitter for an 8–1 win. Joe Dugan has four hits, including a homer. » September 27, 1924: Behind Jack Bentley's 4-hitter the Giants clinch their 4th straight pennant, beating the Phils 5–1, while Brooklyn is losing 3–2 to Boston. » October 8, 1924: Walter Johnson tries for a World Series win again, but he's far from invincible. Fred Lindstrom is 4-for-5 with two RBI, and Johnson's pitching opponent Jack Bentley (16-5) clouts a 2-run homer for a 6–2 New York win. » October 10, 1924: President and Mrs. Coolidge and 31,665 others thrill to the 2nd 3-hour battle of the Series. Bucky Harris starts 23-year-old righthander Curly Ogden (9-8) against Virgil Barnes (16-10), then pulls him after he fans Fred Lindstrom and walks Frisch. In comes lefty George Mogridge (16-11), a move intended to keep lefty Bill Terry on the Giants bench. Bucky Harris lifts one into the temporary seats in LF for a 1–0 lead. In the 6th a single ties it at 1–1, and Harris brings in Firpo Marberry for his 4th appearance. A base hit and two costly errors give the Giants a 3–1 lead. In the 8th, pinch-hitter Nemo Liebold doubles and C Muddy Ruel singles. A walk loads the bases and up comes Harris, who hits a hard bounder to 3B that strikes a pebble and skips over Lindstrom's head and down the LF line as the tying runs score. Walter Johnson, pitching on one days rest, then comes in to hold New York. With one out in the last of the 12th, Giants reliever Jack Bentley gets Muddy Ruel to pop up near home plate, but veteran C Hank Gowdy steps on his discarded mask, which he cannot shake from his shoe, and the ball falls to the ground. Ruel then gets his 2nd hit, a double. Walter Johnson reaches 1B on SS Travis Jackson's error. Earl McNeely hits a grounder at Lindstrom, and improbably, the ball again takes a bounce over his head. Ruel tears home with Washington's first World Series championship. » May 30, 1925: For the first time in ML history, two pinch hitters hit homers as Phillie subs Jimmie Wilson and Hal Carlson connect off the Giants Jack Bentley in game 2. The Phils win the opener, 7–4 before losing 14–5. » December 30, 1925: The Phils send P Jimmy Ring to the Giants for pitchers Jack Bentley and Wayland Dean.