MLB at Field of Dreams

A request that this article title be changed to is under discussion. Please do not move this article until the discussion is closed.

It has been suggested that this article be split into articles titled and . (Discuss) (September 2021)

MLB at Field of Dreams

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E New York Yankees 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 4 8 8 0 Chicago White Sox 1 0 4 2 0 0 0 0 2 9 8 1
Date	August 12, 2021
Venue	Field of Dreams
City	Dyersville, Iowa
Managers	Aaron Boone (New York Yankees) Miguel Cairo[a] (Chicago White Sox)
Umpires	HP: Pat Hoberg 1B: Laz Diaz 2B: Mike Estabrook 3B: Jeff Nelson
Attendance	7,832
Ceremonial first pitch	6:24pm CDT
Television	Fox
TV announcers	Joe Buck (play-by-play) John Smoltz (analyst) Ken Rosenthal (reporter) Tom Verducci (reporter)
Radio	ESPN
Radio announcers	Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play) Gregg Olson (analyst)

MLB at Field of Dreams (known as MLB at Field of Dreams presented by GEICO for sponsorship reasons) was a regular season Major League Baseball (MLB) game played on August 12, 2021, near Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, a site popularized by the 1989 baseball film Field of Dreams. The game was contested between the Chicago White Sox (designated as the home team) and the New York Yankees. It was the first MLB game played in the state of Iowa.^[2] The White Sox won the game, 9–8, on a walk-off home run by Tim Anderson. The game was televised on Fox in the United States.^[3]

Background[]

Dyersville

Location of the ballpark in Iowa

The game was originally planned to be played on August 13, 2020, with the Chicago White Sox facing the New York Yankees.^[2] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MLB implemented a shortened 2020 season that limited games played to each team's division and the opposite league's geographically equal division to reduce travel. Hence, on July 1, MLB announced that the St. Louis Cardinals would replace the Yankees for the game.^[4] After several St. Louis players and coaches tested positive for COVID-19 in late July, MLB postponed several Cardinals games, eventually leading the league to announce on August 3 that the MLB at Field of Dreams game would be postponed to the 2021 season.^[5] In November 2020, MLB announced the 2021 game date and that the contest would feature the originally planned participants, the White Sox and Yankees.^[6]

Ballpark[]

Aerial view of the MLB ballpark (at left) and the original movie set field (at right)

The game was hosted in Dyersville, Iowa, at the filming location of the titular 1989 baseball movie. The field constructed for the movie, which has been operated as a tourist destination since 1989, could not be brought to MLB game standards without permanently altering major features of the property and destroying its movie authenticity, so it was decided to build a separate playing facility at a distance of approximately 500 ft (150 m) in the cornfields. The new field is in the property of the Ameskamp family, who used to own the left and center field of the 1988 Field of Dreams (the rest was owned by the Lansing family) before selling it to the Lansing family in 2007.

The design of the ballpark pays homage to the White Sox' home from 1910 to 1990, Comiskey Park, including the shape of the outfield and the bullpens beyond the center field fence. Windows were included in the design of the right field wall to show the cornfields beyond the ballpark and to provide views of the movie set.^[3][2]

Following postponement of the originally scheduled game, the field remained fallow during the 2020 season.^[7] During the 2021 season, many of the temporary structures that were intended for MLB at Field of Dreams were moved to Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, to allow that Triple-A ballpark to accommodate the Toronto Blue Jays.^[8][9] In late June 2021, a news report by KTIV of Sioux City, Iowa, showed that the baseball field and lights were in place for MLB at Field of Dreams, but seating had not yet been erected.^[10] On August 9, it was revealed that Iowa native Pat Hoberg would be the home plate umpire for the game.^[11]

Rosters[]

New York Yankees[]

Chicago White Sox[]

Game[]

It has been suggested that this section be split out into another article titled . (Discuss) (September 2021)

Pregame[]

Prior to the game, a pregame ceremony was conducted, during which Kevin Costner led players from both teams onto the field from the corn, in tribute to an iconic scene which occurs in the film.^[12]

Uniforms[]

The White Sox and Yankees both wore throwback uniforms resembling those worn during the 1919 Major League Baseball season.^[13][14]

Recap[]

External video
Fox's broadcast of the full ninth inning on YouTube (uploaded by Major League Baseball)

The early game was defined by strikeouts, with four from Lance Lynn and three from Andrew Heaney through the first two innings. The first scoring was a home run over the left field fence by José Abreu in the bottom of the first inning, the first ever major league home run hit in the state of Iowa.^[15] From the third inning on, the game was described as a slugfest with Home Runs by Aaron Judge in the top of the third, Eloy Jiménez in the bottom of the third, Seby Zavala in the bottom of the fourth, and Brett Gardner in the top of the sixth.^[16][17] In the game, there was eight total home runs hit into the cornfield. Heading into the ninth inning, the White Sox led 7–4. The Yankees then rallied ahead with a pair of two-out, two-run home runs by Aaron Judge, his second of the night, and Giancarlo Stanton, both off of Liam Hendriks, to put them ahead of the White Sox by one run. The game ended with a walk-off two-run homer hit by Tim Anderson off of Zack Britton, giving the White Sox the 9–8 win. The homer was the 15th walk-off home run against the Yankees in White Sox history; the first was hit by Shoeless Joe Jackson on July 20, 1919, a fictional version of whom features heavily in the Field of Dreams film.

Line score[]

Box score[]

Reception[]

Fans and media personalities alike responded positively to the presentation of the game, which drew the highest ratings for a regular-season telecast on Fox Sports at 5.9 million viewers since a Yankees-Red Sox contest on October 1, 2005.^[18][19] Len Kasper, who called the game on radio for the White Sox, commented that "I’m not really sure MLB could have done an event better than the Field of Dreams Game. Yes, the game was bonkers and the finish was Oscar worthy, but the entire thing—the scenery, the park, the weather, the people involved, the vibe—it was just perfect. Unforgettable experience.”^[20]

Future game[]

It has been suggested that this section be split out into another article titled . (Discuss) (September 2021)

Shortly before the game, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed that there will be another game at the Field of Dreams in 2022, likely during August, but did not reveal which teams would be playing.^[21] MLB later announced that the Cincinnati Reds (the same team who would beat the White Sox in the controversial 1919 World Series) would play the Chicago Cubs at the site on August 11, 2022, with Cincinnati as the designated home team in the game.^[22]

See also[]

• List of neutral site regular season Major League Baseball games played in the United States and Canada

Notes[]

References[]

Coordinates: 42°29′56″N 91°03′26″W / 42.498889°N 91.0571°W / 42.498889; -91.0571