Where did they go? Pre-war players who reappeared

[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."



Sent from my motorola edge 5G UW (2021) using Tapatalk

[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/p...elanbi02.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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by 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.

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

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by 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."

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.