Jack Bentley

John "Needles" Bentley (March 8, 1895 – October 24, 1969) was an American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher over parts of nine seasons (1913–1916, 1923–1927) with the Washington Senators, New York Giants and Philadelphia Phillies. For his career, he compiled a 46–33 record in 138 appearances, with a 4.01 ERA (earned run average) and 259 strikeouts. Bentley was a member of the Giants' pennant-winning teams in 1923 and 1924. He was 1–3 with a 4.94 ERA and 11 strikeouts in World Series play. The Senators sent Bentley to play for the minor league Minneapolis Millers briefly in 1915-16. He was a good hitting pitcher in his major league career. In nine seasons, he compiled a .291 average (170-584) with 7 home runs and 71 RBI. In 1923 Bentley batted .427 (38-89) for the New York Giants. In the 1923 and 1924 World Series, he hit .417 (5-12) with one home run and 2 RBI. He would be the last pitcher to pinch-hit in the World Series until Zack Greinke, who pinch-hit in the 2021 World Series. He also played 59 games at first base and 3 games in right field in the majors.

In 1922, Bentley pitched for the minor league Baltimore Orioles in the International League, going 13–2 with a 1.73 ERA before he was called up again to the Big Leagues by the New York Giants.

He was born in Sandy Spring, Maryland,