Deadball Era Heroes: “A Mighty Batsman”

[GeoPoto]

If J. Bentley Seymour was "Babe Ruth" before Ruth's career started, another J. Bentley was "Babe Ruth" during the Babe's career.

John "Needles" Bentley. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1913-1916. 46 wins and 8 saves in 9 MLB seasons. His most productive season was 1924 with the New York Giants as he posted a 16-5 record with a 3.78 ERA in 188 innings pitched. Was a good hitter with a career OBP of .316 in 616 plate appearances. Gave up World Series winning-ground ball single to McNeely in the 1924 "pebble" game.

Bentley's SABR biography explains how he became known as "Babe Ruth": 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".

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1644059930

[Piratedogcardshows]

He was a interesting player. Good post.

[cgjackson222]

Fantastic write-up. Thanks for sharing!!!

One more fun fact is that Seymour's talents, though somewhat forgotten now, were certainly recognized in his day.

"Even with his skills declining, the Reds sold Seymour to the Giants in 1906 for an eye-popping $10,000, the biggest price paid for a player at that point."

https://www.timesunion.com/albanyrur...al-4983734.php

Of course, this $10,000 would be far eclipsed in the coming years, with Ruth ultimately being sold for $100,000 (some say even more).

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by cgjackson222

Fantastic write-up. Thanks for sharing!!!

One more fun fact is that Seymour's talents, though somewhat forgotten now, were certainly recognized in his day.

"Even with his skills declining, the Reds sold Seymour to the Giants in 1906 for an eye-popping $10,000, the biggest price paid for a player at that point."

https://www.timesunion.com/albanyrur...al-4983734.php

Of course, this $10,000 would be far eclipsed in the coming years, with Ruth ultimately being sold for $100,000 (some say even more).

Didn't King Kelly command that sum twenty years earlier?

I love the pose on this card:

[cgjackson222]

Originally Posted by BobbyStrawberry

Didn't King Kelly command that sum twenty years earlier?

I think you are right. Per SABR "The Boston Beaneaters believed Kelly would attract the numerous Irish population of the city, and were willing to pay the amazing sum of $10,000 to purchase his contract. They paid Kelly $5,000 in salary, which was listed as the $2,000 National League maximum plus $3,000 for the use of his picture for advertising purposes." and later in the same article it says that "Boston sent another $10,000 to Chicago in the offseason to purchase pitcher John Clarkson, and could boast in 1888 of its $20,000 battery, Kelly and Clarkson."
https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/king-kelly/