Where did they go? Pre-war players who reappeared

[packs]

I've noticed that there are a number of pre-war players who seemingly disappeared for a while during their active careers only to briefly reappear later. Some of the more common examples with explanations would be:

Dizzy Dean: his career ended in 1941, then 6 years later he made one start for the Browns after he commented on how terrible they were.

Satchel Paige: his career ended in 1953 but he later reappeared in 1965 to throw three innings for the A's as a publicity stunt.

But what about some others?

Babe Herman's career was over in 1937 but then he managed to reappear and play 37 games for the Dodgers 5 years later in 1942.

Jimmie Foxx missed two seasons between 1942 and 1944 as well, but not due to service.

Gabby Street's career ended in 1912 but then he later reappeared for one game in 1931.

Anyone know the stories behind these gaps? Or other players with similar distances in their careers?

[The Detroit Collector]

Didn't Foxx retire and then come back?

[packs]

I forgot about Jim O'Rourke too. He ended his career in 1893 and then in 1904 he resurfaced at 53 years old to play another game.

Charley O'Leary from the T205 set ended his career in 1913 and then reappeared for a single game in 1934 and got a hit in his only at bat at 58 years old.

Bobby Schang's career was over in 1913 at 28 years old. Then he came back and played 5 games in 1927 as a 40 year old.

[Jay Wolt]

I always wondered about Arlie Latham, who came back twice after his initial career was over

Initially played from 1880 to 1896
then came back for the Senators for 6 games in 1899
& then came back w/ the Giants in 1909 for 4 games

[molenick]

Nick Altrock was last a regular player in 1909 and made appearances for the Senators (where he was a longtime coach) in 1912-15, 1918-19, 1924, 1929, 1931, and 1933 (at age 57).

[z28jd]

A lot of gaps in baseball history can be explained by one of two things. A player turning into a coach, then being forced into action when the team was short-handed OR players reappearing during the war years because the talent level dropped. I just wrote about Herman for an article. He was just in the minors plugging along and came back when the talent level dropped.

My opinion of the best ever is pitcher Paul Schreiber, who made it to the majors for two years in 1922, then played for the 1945 Yankees, 22 years after his last game. He was a batting practice pitcher for them, forced into action in the lowest point of talent, though he pitched due to being there and not exactly due to his talent the last time.

[BioCRN]

Johnny Kling left baseball in 1909 to play pool, very successfully, after the Cubs didn't meet his pay demands.

He returned in 1910, asking to be reinstated after being "banned" for abandoning his contract for the 1909 season. He was fined $700 to resolve the issue.

[GeoPoto]

In between MLB stints with Washington (1913-16) and the New York Giants (1923-26), Needles Bentley won a world war and did this:

It proved a very prescient move. Beginning in 1919, the Orioles won seven consecutive International League pennants, and for three of those years Bentley, who by then considered himself a hitter who occasionally pitched, put on one of the most dazzling offensive demonstrations the league had ever seen. In his first two seasons, 1917 and 1919 (he was in the US Army in 1918), with the exception of a lone pitching appearance in his first year, Bentley played exclusively at first base and in the outfield: In 185 games, he posted averages of .333 batting and .510 slugging. Then he really caught fire. From 1920 to 1922, Bentley’s numbers were staggering, as he batted .378 in 439 games, scored 340 runs, drove in 399, and had a slugging average of an astounding .590. In both 1920 (161) and 1921 (120), Bentley led the league in RBIs; in 1921, he won the league Triple Crown, batting .412 (the league’s highest season average in the 20th century), with 24 home runs and 120 RBIs. His 246 hits that season remain the league’s single-season record.

Yet Bentley continued to pitch when needed, and those results, too, were staggering. From 1920 through 1922, Bentley pitched in 56 games and produced a 41-6 record, a winning percentage of .872: in both 1921 (.923) and 1922 (.867), he led the league in that category. In 1920 (2.10) and 1922 (1.73), Bentley also led the league in ERA, and over three seasons his ERA was an astounding 2.07. During those years, by virtue of his performance both at the plate and on the mound, the press bestowed on Bentley the moniker "Babe Ruth of the Minors."



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[Rad_Hazard]

Dan Brouthers left the game in 1896, then reappeared for 2 fruitless games with McGraw's 1904 Giants.

[David W]

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/delanbi02.shtml

Branch Rickey said he was in his top 3 catchers of all time with Cochrane and Campanella. Tuberculosis did him in.

This is not my card, wish it was, Ebay scan.

[G1911]

Hugh Jennings came back like this several different times for a few plate appearances when a team he was coaching needed a warm body.

Not a year gap, but John McGraw from 1904-1907 did the same thing every year.

[packs]

Some of these stories are unbelievable. I found an old article online that didn't exactly explain why Charley O'Leary pinch hit when he was 58 years old, but it does say that Charlie Gehringer more or less let the ball through so he could record a hit.

I also found this note on Gabby Street entering a game in 1931. At 48 years old he still caught the inning AND threw out Babe Herman trying to steal 2nd:

St. Louis, September 21, 1931. — “Today’s battery, Johnson and Street.” Diamond followers who thrilled to that cry years ago when Walter Johnson and Gabby Street of the Washington Senators formed the most famous battery in history, heard it once again here Sunday. Street, now piloting St. Louis’ championship Cardinals, returned to active play for the first time since 1928, when he played with Knoxville in the Southern League, and caught three innings against Brooklyn. His pitcher was Sylvester Johnson, completing the “Johnson and Street” battery. Street showed he still retained his throwing ability by tossing out Babe Herman, the only Robin who attempted to steal. He was at bat only once and flied out to Herman

[The Detroit Collector]

Hugh Jennings came back like this several different times for a few plate appearances when a team he was coaching needed a warm body.

Not a year gap, but John McGraw from 1904-1907 did the same thing every year.

Yep, when the team went on strike for Cobbs suspension, he went in to bat to fill some holes.

[packs]

I wish they still did this. I would love to see Donnie Baseball get up there and take some swings just to entertain the crowd for one moment.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Minoso made a couple of guest appearances long after he retired.

[Misunderestimated]

Sam Thompson returned for 8 games in 1906 -- at age 46...

[G1911]

I wish they still did this. I would love to see Donnie Baseball get up there and take some swings just to entertain the crowd for one moment.

It seems like there are 2 types of players here. Coaches and Managers that stepped in when injuries, strikes or other problems struck and the team needed a warm body, and then players who came back as entertainment stunts. I can't think of a guy after Minoso of either type

[packs]

Don’s bench coach for Toronto so he would fit the bill.

The only guy I can think of who got a special at bat in recent memory was Adam Greenberg.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

On a related note, there are those players whose gaps between MLB appearances were large due to many years of toil in the minors. Millard "Dixie" Howell, Clay Touchstone and Al Epperly to name a few.

[commishbob]

Charles Bender pitched an inning for the White Sox in 1925, eight years after his retirement. He was their pitching coach at the time and the game was part of a doubleheader due to a rainout earlier that week. I'd guess he was just trying to keep his staff from overwork.

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jhkRvDXzQVM/WpDjflnFXqI/AAAAAAAAo4o/qRhCreWDL5cu-Nm-8Zn3K9rahEQItHkdACLcBGAs/s640/THN80014.jpg

[RUKen]

It seems like there are 2 types of players here. Coaches and Managers that stepped in when injuries, strikes or other problems struck and the team needed a warm body, and then players who came back as entertainment stunts.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the coaches' boxes were manned by players who were not in the game that day, or sometimes by the manager. When John McGraw hired Arlie Latham and Wilbert Robinson to be non-playing coaches in 1909, he had to add them to the team roster along with the players; there was not a separate roster for the manager and coaches. This situation persisted for years as more teams hired coaches who were generally not expected to play. All of these coaches could enter a game when needed, or as a lark at the end of the season.

[abothebear]

Raphael Palmeiro made a comeback attempt a few years ago (2019). He had a .919 OPS in independent ball in 31 games.

[ValKehl]

In between MLB stints with Washington (1913-16) and the New York Giants (1923-26), Needles Bentley won a world war and did this:

It proved a very prescient move. Beginning in 1919, the Orioles won seven consecutive International League pennants, and for three of those years Bentley, who by then considered himself a hitter who occasionally pitched, put on one of the most dazzling offensive demonstrations the league had ever seen. In his first two seasons, 1917 and 1919 (he was in the US Army in 1918), with the exception of a lone pitching appearance in his first year, Bentley played exclusively at first base and in the outfield: In 185 games, he posted averages of .333 batting and .510 slugging. Then he really caught fire. From 1920 to 1922, Bentley’s numbers were staggering, as he batted .378 in 439 games, scored 340 runs, drove in 399, and had a slugging average of an astounding .590. In both 1920 (161) and 1921 (120), Bentley led the league in RBIs; in 1921, he won the league Triple Crown, batting .412 (the league’s highest season average in the 20th century), with 24 home runs and 120 RBIs. His 246 hits that season remain the league’s single-season record.

Yet Bentley continued to pitch when needed, and those results, too, were staggering. From 1920 through 1922, Bentley pitched in 56 games and produced a 41-6 record, a winning percentage of .872: in both 1921 (.923) and 1922 (.867), he led the league in that category. In 1920 (2.10) and 1922 (1.73), Bentley also led the league in ERA, and over three seasons his ERA was an astounding 2.07. During those years, by virtue of his performance both at the plate and on the mound, the press bestowed on Bentley the moniker "Babe Ruth of the Minors."

Interestingly, Needles was not Bentley's nickname - rather, "Jack" was. His given name was John Needles Bentley.

From 1923-27, Bentley's pitching record with the NY Giants is 40 wins vs. 22 losses and a .324 batting average. He appeared in the 1923 WS vs. the Yankees and the 1924 WS vs. the Senators, compiling an overall record of 1 win vs. 4 losses. Bentley's one WS win was Game 5 of the 1924 WS vs. the Senators in which he beat Walter Johnson.

It seems to me that Bentley could be considered an early version of Shohei Ohtani.