Around this time next summer, the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox will head toward a cornfield in Dyersville, Iowa for the Field of Dreams game.
Major League Baseball announced Thursday that the two teams will play the first big-league game in Iowa at a temporary 8,000-seat ballpark that will be built on the farm where the iconic 1989 movie was shot. The game is set for August 13, 2020, and construction will begin Tuesday, exactly one year out.
This game follows MLB’s trend of scheduling games outside of traditional ballparks, including the Yankees and Boston Red Sox playing in London earlier this year for the first game in Europe and teams now annually playing in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where the Little League World Series is held.
“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,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said, via MLB.com. “We look forward to celebrating the movie’s enduring message of how baseball brings people together at this special cornfield in Iowa.”
This is a phenomenal idea not only for fans of the Kevin Costner/James Earl Jones movie but also for baseball fans in Iowa who will finally host a local game. Why not continue experimenting with novelty games like this?
The design of the ballpark in Dyersville, including the shape of the outfield and the bullpens beyond the center-field fence, will pay homage to Comiskey Park, which was home of the White Sox from 1910-90. The right-field wall will include windows to show the cornfields beyond the ballpark, which will overlook the movie set.
Baseball fans were pumped about this announcement. Field of Dreams has several commonly quoted lines, but many of them reacted to the news in the most predictable way with some version of: “If you build it, he will come.” The other popular option was: “Is this heaven?” “No, it’s Iowa.”
Either way, here’s how baseball Twitter and fans reacted to Thursday’s announcement.
