If you build it, they will come. MLB announced that on August 13, 2020, the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox will play a regular season game in Dyersville, Iowa, the filming location for the 1989 baseball movie “Field of Dreams”.
The baseball field used in the production of the film is still standing. For the last three decades, the “Field of Dreams” field is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Iowa.
MLB will construct a new 8,000-seat stadium in the cornfields adjacent to the original field. Since the Chicago White Sox are hosting the Iowa game as a home game, the field will resemble old Comiskey Park circa 100 years ago. The new stadium will also have a glass wall in right field to expose the corn fields behind the ballpark.
“As a sport that is proud of its history linking generations, Major League Baseball is excited to bring a regular-season game to the site of Field of Dreams,” said commissioner Rob Manfred. “We look forward to celebrating the movie’s enduring message of how baseball brings people together at this special cornfield in Iowa.”
The game, scheduled for next August, will mark the first MLB game in the state of Iowa.
“We’ll get Costner back to throw the first pitch,” joked Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “James Earl Jones to get a catcher’s mask, get back there.”
In the past, MLB has hosted games in unusual places such as London Stadium this year for a Yankees and Red Sox series. Williamsport, home of the Little League World Series, also hosts a special pro event in conjunction with the LLWS.
Another Special Game for the Yankees
Before the All-Star Break, the Yankees and Red Sox played two games in London Stadium for the first-ever MLB games in Europe. The Yanks and Sox split the series, which saw a ridiculous amount of offense from both teams.
The White Sox got tapped to host the game with the Yankees participating as the visiting team.
“Field of Dreams is an iconic, generational baseball story built upon a deep love of the game that transcends even the most impossible of circumstances,” said White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. “The filmmakers tell a beautiful story that resonates to this day. It is an incredible honor for the White Sox franchise to be the home team against the Yankees in a special setting that will capture everyone’s imagination just like the movie does.
“It will be cool to be in the outfield with all that corn behind me,” said Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.
Judge appeared in a promo that features a scene from “Field of Dreams”.
Is This Heaven? No, It’s Iowa
“Field of Dreams” is one of three baseball movies featuring Kevin Costner. The 1989 film, nominated for three Oscars, is more of a fantasy film than a baseball movie. However, it’s become a huge hit for the last three decades, especially among non-baseball fans.
Kevin Costner plays Ray Kinsella, an Iowa farmer. He hears voices in his cornfield saying things like “If you build, they will come.”
Costner frantically plows over corn to construct a baseball diamond. Little does he realize, the corn surround the diamond has a portal to the afterlife. Ghosts of former pro ballplayers, including Shoeless Joe Jackson from the 1919 Black Sox, appear to play exhibition games for the Kinsella family.
BASEBALL MOVIES
Eight Men Out (1988)
Bull Durham (1988)
Field of Dreams (1989)
Major League (1989)
Universal Pictures produced “Field of Dreams”, which they shot on location in Iowa.
Once Hollywood ended production, the owner of the farm decided to keep the field and not plow it over to build condos. As a result, the field has become a Mecca-like place for baseball fans.