LADIES DAY, AND THEN SOME

VINNY'S NOTE: Well, my World Series dreams against the Yankees have kept going, and both times I twittered about them the Phillies won, so what the heck, might as well try it again tonight. We got some old Spanish guy pitching against a French one, so we'll see how that goes. See you right here at game time!

July 30, 1924

It was the first Ladies Day I ever batboyed for, and let me tell you, it's pretty different from sitting in the stands. So many of the players are peeking out to eye-sample the girl pickings it's a wonder they don't get conked on the head by foul balls.

"Section 12, fourth row!" yelled Henline down the bench to Ford, who picked up a small pair of field glasses probably meant for operas and squinted at whoever Butch was talking about. "Eyes on the ballgame, fellas!" shouted Fletcher, but only because he was being paid to do it. I caught him peering out of the dugout at least five times during the game.

But the real shocker came when I finished getting our bat rack back in order after the scoreless 1st inning. I took a peek behind the dugout right after our starters ran back on the field, and there's Mama, sitting there knitting a sweater! "Hi there, Vinny!" she said with a big goofy smile. I told her I thought she didn't even like baseball and she said she didn't but she was missing me since I got this job and wanted to see what I actually do here all day and the tickets were half price so...

So I spent the entire day answering her dopey baseball questions and being ribbed by the Phillie players.

Thankfully there was a game going on I could try and distract myself with. Carlson gave the Cards a 2nd inning run on a Bottomley double (him again!) and single by Max Flack, but Mokan bombed one off Rhem in the 3rd to tie it up. After a Bottomley walk and Clemons double in the 4th, Flack scored Sunny Jim with a deep fly, which got Mama asking "How can he run home if the fielder caught it?" about four times until I had a headache. Usually I stand just outside our dugout so I can run up to home plate and grab the tossed bats, but today I tried to stay out of Mama's sight as long as possible.

We strung a great rally together in the 4th, though. Cy singled to begin, Wrightstone got him to third with another single and Wilson walked. "Who's that tall one on the third base?" asked Mama, and I said it was Cy Williams, our best player. "Ohh!" she said, and stopped knitting to stare at him. Seconds later Mokan got him and Wrightstone home with a single and we had a 3-2 lead. "Yay Cy!!' Mama yelled, like he had done something important, and I swear I saw Cy wink at her as he jogged into the dugout.

A crappy Wrightstone error in the 6th helped the Cards go back on top, and then a ball squirted past Wilson behind the plate to make it 5-3 St. Louis in the 7th, and the crowd got quiet again.

Not Mama though. "Swing those things, Phillie boys!" I swear she yelled, making our bench whistle and laugh and turning my face the color of tomato sauce. "How much did you pay your mother to do this?" Holke asked me, which got everyone cracking up even more.

But we suddenly started hitting again. Schultz pinch-hit a single. Harper singled. Heinie ran up there, still chuckling, beat out an infield hit and when Cooney threw the ball into the stands both runners scored to tie the game! The play got him to third, ladies were screaming all around us, and with Cy coming back up against relief man Stuart, Mama was standing on her chair and waving her knitting needles. Cy turned, gave her a nod, and whacked a ball deep the oppsite way. Left fielder Blades caught the ball but Heinie ran in to give us the lead!

This time Huck Betts was relaxed and perfect, retired all five Cards he faced, even hitless Hornsby to end the game, and we'd opened the series in winning style.

The players all patted my back after and thanked me for bringing "Good Luck Mama" to the game and I went along with it. By the time I got home after stopping at Mort's for the other scores, the house was empty, and there on the kitchen table was a note next to some leftover sandwich meat.

Your friend Cy took me out for dinner and a show. Help yourself!
—Mama

Oh boy...

STL 010 102 100 - 5 9 3
PHI 001 200 30x - 6 8 2

Only National League games today:

PIRATES 1-9-0, at GIANTS 0-6-1 (10 innings)
Kremer's third shutout of the year might be the Giants' low point, because it can't get any worse than this. With Virgil Barnes throwing his best game of the year the New York offense is deader than a squashed chipmunk. FIrst and third, no one out in the 2nd, they can't score. Man on third, one out in the 4th, they can't score. First and third, no one out in the 7th, they can't score. Of course Glenn Wright then pops a cheap homer down the left field line with one out in the 10th and that's that.

at BRAVES 2-6-0, REDS 1-8-0
Just to make the pennant race worse, Cincy drops only their second game of the year to the crappy Braves as Marquard beats Luque and singles in the winning run in the 5th.

at ROBINS 2-9-1, CUBS 1-4-0
Good tough win for Brooklyn, though, as they hop over McGraw's losers again with Tiny Osborne beating Vic Aldridge, something darn near close to impossible.

NATIONAL LEAGUE through Wednesday, July 30
Pittsburgh Pirates	64	33	.660	—
Cincinnati Reds	59	43	.578	7.5
Brooklyn Robins	58	44	.569	8.5
New York Giants	56	43	.566	9
St. Louis Cardinals	52	48	.520	13.5
Chicago Cubs	46	53	.475	19
Philadelphia Phillies	38	63	.376	28
Boston Braves	27	73	.270	38.5