SURE GLAD I INVITED MYSELF

April 28, 1924

Well, I never got any quick telegram from Rachel so I thought what the heck, why not go up to New York anyway and surprise her after the Phillies-Giants game? Mama bought my story about the newspaper carrier research, actually she was overjoyed that I was thinking about a job even though I wasn't, so all that was left was to either invite Benny with me or not.

Seeing the Phillies play at the Polo Grounds was exciting to me, but maybe seeing Rachel by myself was even more, so I decided to do my own adventure this time and tell Benny about it later. His luggage friend at the train station luckily remembered me and put me in a potato crate this time, and I just had to put up with sneezing once in a while.

When I got to Pennsylvania Station it took me a while to find the right el train that went to the Polo Grounds. The thing rolled right by brand new Yankee Stadium and let me tell you, that place is so huge it's frightening. Seems that the Yanks are playing kind of lousy, though, so I don't figure other teams have been too scared of them lately.

The Polo Grounds got bigger and bigger as the train got closer, and when I saw all the crowds outside I knew it would be tough to find a ticket. I had taken all the extra money I was saving in my snow boot in the closet, but if I spent it all on baseball tickets all week I might be in trouble. So lucky for me I saw a cop chasing away some poor kids trying to sneak in an outfield gate, and took a chance and slipped inside when his back was turned.

Wow, what a beautiful palace of baseball! They were finishing construction on one part of the upper grandstand in left, but I found a bunch of empty seats on the upper first base side that was pretty far from the seat ushers. The big centerfield was way open and you could see for miles. including Yankee Stadium across the river. It was strange to be with all Giants fans, and it was a good thing I didn't wear any Phillies clothes because they were in a bad nervous mood for most of the game because they just finished a pretty poor series at Ebbets Field.

Carlson was pitching for us and Art Nehf for the Giants, and even though pitchers were giving up hits, not many scored. Frisch hit a sacrifice fly in the 5th for New York, and it seemed like the one run might be the only one. There was a close play at frst base in the 6th where Holke was called safe, and I saw McGraw jump out of the dugout right below me and scream at the umpire, but the fans around me were yellng so much I couldn't hear any of his cusses.

Then in the 8th, Sand led us off with a single, and Holke doubled into the right corner. The stadium got real quiet, like they were waiting for a hangman noose. And they got one. Cy Williams knocked a high fly to right, which disappeared into cigar smoke for a few seconds, then dropped into the stands for a 3-run homer! I jumped and let out a yelp, then quickly sat back down when someone threw a peanut at the back of my head. Frisch flubbed a ball the next inning with Sand on third, and we had a fourth run we didn't even need. We outhit the Giants 15-6 and now have the same record as them!

Afterwards I found my way to Brooklyn and Rachel's rooming house, but believe it or not she had gone up to Boston to watch her team play the Braves! Plus her neighbor didn't even know when she was coming back so I left a note for her and walked up the street. I ended up in a seedy part of Brooklyn in the rain and slept in a doorway with a couple vagrant kids who spoke some language I couldn't figure out. Tomorrow I'll try this again and if I don't get a Phillies win maybe I'll at least get Rachel. Good night, reader-people!
—Vinny

PHL 000 000 031 - 4 15 1
NYG 000 010 000 - 1 6 1

Other National League games on the Polo Grounds scoreboard:

ROBINS 10-13-2, at BRAVES 1-3-0
Yay for Rachel! Gibson triples in a run for the Braves in the 1st inning and that's their only highlight because Stengel gets hurt right away. Bill Doak is fantastic, and Fournier hits homer no. 6 to top both leagues.

at REDS 7-12-3, CARDINALS 4-9-1
Specs Toporcer leads off the game with a Cards homer, but then the Reds beat them silly again with five runs of their own, started by a Bottomley error and triple by Boob Fowler. Edd Roush comes back from a long injury, Pete Donohue gets the win, and Cincy is over .500 now.

at CUBS 8-12-2, PIRATES 7-16-1 (13 innings)
A crazy one at Wrigley. The Cubs have a 6-3 lead behind Jacobs in the 8th and throw that away, then give up the lead in the 13th on a Moore double and Kiki Cuyler single. Grantham pinch-hits in the bottom half, gets hit by Cooper's pitch and knocked out for a week, and Barney Friberg then socks one over the LF wall for a game-winning homer. Every team in the league now is within two and a half games!

NATIONAL LEAGUE through Monday, April 28
Pittsburgh Pirates	8	5	.615	—
Brooklyn Robins	8	5	.615	—
Cincinnati Reds	7	6	.538	1
Philadelphia Phillies	6	7	.462	2
New York Giants	6	7	.462	2
Boston Braves	6	7	.462	2
St. Louis Cardinals	6	8	.429	2.5
Chicago Cubs	6	8	.429	2.5