Jack Bentley

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1913-1927)

Jack Bentley was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1913 to 1927 for the Washington Senators, the New York Giants, and the Philadelphia Phillies, a span of 15 seasons. Across 138 career appearances, he went 46-33 with a 4.01 ERA and 259 strikeouts. He also batted .291 with 7 home runs.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

W–L 46–33
ERA 4.01
WHIP 1.43
SO 259
Pitcher PIV -3788.7
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
5'11" / 200 lb
Born
3/8/1895 in Sandy Spring, MD, USA
Died
10/24/1969 in Olney, MD, USA
MLB Debut
1913-09-06
Last Game
1927-05-20

Full name: John Needles Bentley

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Career Pitching Statistics

Jack Bentley — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
46 33 138 89 39 4 9 714.0 761 318 37 263 259 4.01 -3788.7

Career ERA 4.01 vs. league average 3.63 across their career seasons — 10.5% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jack Bentley Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1913 WS1 AL 1 0 3 1 0 0 1 11.0 5 0 2 5 0.00 3.07 (+100%) 156.2
1914 WS1 AL 5 7 30 11 3 2 4 125.1 110 33 53 55 2.37 2.93 (+19%) -964.2
1915 WS1 AL 0 2 4 2 0 0 0 11.1 8 1 3 0 0.79 2.90 (+73%) -89.2
1916 WS1 AL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1.1 0 0 1 1 0.00 — 0.0
1923 NY1 NL 13 8 31 26 12 1 3 183.0 198 91 67 80 4.48 4.03 (-11%) -80.1
1924 NY1 NL 16 5 28 24 13 1 1 188.0 196 79 56 60 3.78 4.13 (+8%) -746.3
1925 NY1 NL 11 9 28 22 11 0 0 157.0 200 88 59 47 5.04 4.55 (-11%) -1672.3
1926 PHI NL 0 2 7 3 0 0 0 25.1 37 23 10 7 8.17 4.11 (-99%) -392.8
1926 NY1 NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2.0 0 0 2 1 0.00 — 0.0
1927 NY1 NL 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 9.2 7 3 10 3 2.79 4.08 (+32%) 0.0
Career · 10 seasons 46 33 138 89 39 4 9 714.0 761 318 263 259 4.01 — -3,789

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Jack Bentley — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
287 584 58 170 30 8 7 71 0 21 39 .291 .316 .406 .722 -111

Career AVG .291 vs. league average .271 across their career seasons — +7.6% above league average.

Career OBP .316 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — 5.7% below league average.

Career SLG .406 vs. league average .369 across their career seasons — +9.9% above league average.

Career OPS .722 vs. league average .704 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jack Bentley Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1913 WS1 AL 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1914 WS1 AL 30 40 7 11 2 0 0 4 0 0 5 .275 — — — — 0.0
1915 WS1 AL 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1916 WS1 AL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1923 NY1 NL 52 89 9 38 6 2 1 14 0 3 4 .427 .282 (+51%) .344 (+29%) .390 (+47%) .734 (+39%) 578.3
1924 NY1 NL 46 98 12 26 5 1 0 6 0 3 13 .265 .283 (-7%) .345 (-17%) .389 (-14%) .734 (-15%) -260.9
1925 NY1 NL 64 99 10 30 5 2 3 18 0 9 11 .303 .288 (+5%) .349 (+3%) .407 (+19%) .756 (+12%) 200.2
1926 PHI NL 75 240 19 62 12 3 2 27 0 5 4 .258 .279 (-8%) .345 (-21%) .390 (-8%) .735 (-14%) -628.9
1926 NY1 NL 3 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 — — — — -628.9
1927 NY1 NL 8 9 1 2 0 0 1 2 0 1 1 .222 — — — — 0.0
Career · 10 seasons 287 584 58 170 30 8 7 71 0 21 39 .291 — — — — -740

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Jack Bentley — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
10 12 1 5 1 0 1 2 1 1 .417

Playoff Batting by Year

Jack Bentley — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1924 WS NY1 5 7 1 2 0 0 1 2 1 1 .286
1923 WS NY1 5 5 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 .600

Playoff Career Pitching

Jack Bentley — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 3 5 3 0 23.2 28 13 12 11 4.94

Playoff Pitching by Year

Jack Bentley — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1924 WS NY1 1 2 3 2 0 17.0 18 6 8 10 3.18
1923 WS NY1 0 1 2 1 0 6.2 10 7 4 1 9.45

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (425 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Jack Bentley — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1512842884538.296
Away1363003086232.287

Pitching — Home / Away

Jack Bentley — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home70377.13531391331373.32
Away68335.14111811301204.86

Last 10 Games — Batting

Jack Bentley — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1927-05-20 NY1PITL 100000000
1927-05-07 NY1CHCL 000000010
1927-05-04 NY1BROW 101000100
1927-05-03 NY1BROL 211001100
1927-05-02 NY1BROL 200000000
1927-04-30 NY1BSNW 100000000
1927-04-19 NY1BSNL 100000000
1927-04-14 NY1PHIL 100000001
1926-09-20 NY1CHCL 200000000
1926-09-17 NY1CINW 101000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Jack Bentley — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1927-05-02 NY1BRO — 3.0330011
1927-04-30 NY1BSN — 1.0010200
1927-04-19 NY1BSN — 4.2433620
1927-04-14 NY1PHI — 1.0000210
1926-09-20 NY1CHC — 2.0000210
1926-07-17 PHISTL — 5.1131111310
1926-07-13 PHICIN L 6.0885510
1926-07-09 PHIPIT — 2.0100000
1926-06-14 PHICHC — 1.2544012
1926-05-28 PHIBRO L 8.0733140

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Jack Bentley — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 59 0 527 28 4 41
OF 3 0 4 0 0 0
P 138 0 26 160 10 7

Season-by-Season Fielding

Jack Bentley — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1913 WS1 P 3 0 0 5 0 0
1914 WS1 P 30 0 9 31 3 1
1915 WS1 P 4 0 1 2 1 0
1916 WS1 P 2 0 0 1 0 0
1923 NY1 P 31 0 5 38 1 1
1924 NY1 P 28 0 3 43 1 3
1925 NY1 1B 1 0 2 0 0 0
1925 NY1 OF 3 0 4 0 0 0
1925 NY1 P 28 0 7 33 3 2
1926 PHI 1B 56 0 516 28 4 41
1926 PHI P 7 0 0 5 0 0
1926 NY1 P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1927 NY1 1B 2 0 9 0 0 0
1927 NY1 P 4 0 1 2 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Jack Bentley Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 138
First Base 59
Right Field 3

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Jack Bentley (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Bill Steele
    37-43, 4.02 ERA
  2. 88
    Steve Comer
    44-37, 4.13 ERA
  3. 81
    Bubba Church
    36-37, 4.10 ERA
  4. 68
    Vic Keen
    42-44, 4.11 ERA
  5. 62
    Johnny Broaca
    44-29, 4.08 ERA
  6. 58
    Red Oldham
    39-48, 4.15 ERA

Jack Bentley: the record in brief

Between the debut on September 6, 1913 and the final game on May 20, 1927, Jack Bentley built the record summarized on this page. Bentley played for the Washington Senators (1913 through 1916), the New York Giants (1923 to 1927), and the Philadelphia Phillies (1926). Bentley, born on March 8, 1895, in Sandy Spring, MD, USA, is listed as a pitcher and batted and threw left-handed. The bio gives 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds. The bio records the death on October 24, 1969, in Olney, MD, USA. Jack Bentley was the playing name; the full given name is John Needles.

Bentley pitched in 138 games, starting 89, and finished with a 46-33 record and 4.01 ERA. Also on Bentley's record: 259 strikeouts and 39 complete games. The league ERA over Bentley's seasons was 3.63, so the 4.01 figure ran 10.5% worse than average. 1924 brought Bentley a season-high 16 wins. 1923 produced Bentley's most strikeouts, 80.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jack Bentley

What years did Jack Bentley play?
Jack Bentley played in Major League Baseball from 1913 to 1927.
Was Jack Bentley a pitcher?
Yes. Jack Bentley pitched in the major leagues, recording 46 wins and 259 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Jack Bentley hit?
Jack Bentley hit 7 career home runs with 170 hits.
What was Jack Bentley's career batting average?
Jack Bentley batted .291 over his career, with 170 hits in 584 at bats.
How many RBI did Jack Bentley have?
Jack Bentley drove in 71 runs in his career.
What was Jack Bentley's career ERA?
Jack Bentley finished with a 4.01 career ERA, going 46-33 with 259 strikeouts.