In Game Five of the 1924 World Series, Bentley pitched the Giants to a 6-2 win over the Senators and hit a two-run homer off Walter Johnson. However, he lost Game Two 4-3 and dropped the finale in relief when Earl McNeely‘s double-play grounder hit a pebble and bounced over third baseman Fred Lindstrom’s head in the 12th inning after two other fielding blunders.
Bentley was an excellent hitter; while going 13-8 in 1923, his first year with the Giants, he hit .427 in 89 at-bats, including a league-leading 10 pinch hits in 20 pinch at-bats. He had been acquired after going 41-5 in three years with the Baltimore Orioles of the International League. Also playing in the outfield and at first base, he had hit .349 for Baltimore in 1922 and was considered “the next Babe Ruth.” After going 16-5 in 1924, weight problems took their toll in 1925, as he went 11-9 with a 5.04 ERA, and he was traded to the Phillies. Playing first base in Philadelphia, he hit .258 in 75 games, pitching only eight times, and returned to the Giants near the end of the season.
