Rube Benton

John Cleave "Rube" Benton (June 27, 1890 – December 12, 1937) was a pitcher, born in Clinton, North Carolina, for Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds (1910–15 and 1923–25) and New York Giants (1915–21).

He helped the Giants win the 1917 National League pennant and the 1921 World Series. Benton threw a shutout against the Chicago White Sox in Game 3 of the 1917 World Series, but was the losing pitcher in Game 6 on the final day of the Series.

He pitched for the Giants in the 1921 season but did not make an appearance in that World Series, which the Giants won in eight games over the crosstown Yankees.

In 15 seasons he had a 150–144 Win–Loss record, 437 Games, 305 Games Started, 145 Complete Games, 24 Shutouts, 83 Games Finished, 21 Saves, 2,517 ¹⁄₃ Innings, 2,472 Hits Allowed, 1,115 Runs Allowed, 863 Earned Runs Allowed, 52 Home Runs Allowed, 712 Walks, 950 Strikeouts, 66 Wild Pitches, 10,539 Batters Faced, 6 Balks and a 3.09 ERA.

He died in an automobile accident in Dothan, Alabama.

• Led National League in Games (50), Games Started (39), Hit Batsmen (18) and Batters Faced (1,302) in 1912.
• Led National League in Hit Batsmen (19) in 1915.
• Led National League in walks per 9 innings pitched (1.33) in 1924.
• Ranks 74th on List of Major League Baseball career hit batsmen leaders (95).